SCUBA at Desecheo

Desecheo is a small (1.5 square kilometers or just over 1/2 a square mile) island some 21 kilometers (14 miles) west of Puerto Rico. It is easily seen from Aguadilla, Rincon and Mayaquez riding on the horizon.

Two sites at Desecheo are listed in the top 10 Puerto Rico dive sites by Scuba Diving Magazine. The first is called "Candyland."

"Remember that old-school board game from your childhood? We dare you to tell us the huge, funky-shaped coral mounds don't look like the ones you remember from the Candyland game. There are a kaleidoscope of colors on this must-see reef, embodied in gigantic sea fans, lettuce corals and sponges . There are also crazy amounts of tropical fish, adding to the already surrealist vibe here. The maximum depth is about 80 feet." - Scuba Diving Magazine

Almost adjacent to Candyland is "Las Cuevas" - The Caves.

"Swim-through junkies, this is your spot. Welcome to a water wonderland of canyons and arches, where as many as 20 of you can explore at once, to your heart's content. Check out the triangular-looking windows that resemble Darth Vader's mask." - Scuba Diving Magazine

It's about a 45 minute boat ride out of Rincon to get to Desecheo. The ride out in the morning was pretty easy with light seas and beautiful sunshine. The ride back was a bit rougher through four-to-six foot seas. But it was really no problem for Cap'n Frank and the crew from Taino Divers in Rincon.

It was a beautiful pair of dives, a great day and a great time with Darryl, John D., Trevor, March and Ruchie from Technical Dive Center here in Aguadilla.

The two things that are most impressive about the Desecheo dives are 1) the 100-150 foot visibility and 2) the incredibly blue water of the Caribbean. The great visibility is due in large part to the fact that there are standing bodies of water and no rivers on Desecheo so there is no runoff. And there is a reason just about every paint company has a "Caribbean Blue" paint chip: it truly is spectacular. The minimal current, at least on our dive is also an advantage.

All that said: Diving right here, right off our beach at Shacks is a very similar dive to Candyland through the coral canyons of the outside reef. And the swim-throughs of the cavern tour around Blue Hole is actually more impressive than Las Cuevas. We frequently have 60-80 foot visibility here at Shacks. If Shacks has one disadvantage, it is the surge that sometimes comes up in the canyons. But that's a small price to pay for having dives that we can walk to from home.

Our local shore dives don't get much publicity from the magazines. The magazines get their information about dive sites from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company which in turn provides information from and about its paying members. That's okay as far as it goes but it means that magazine readers get a very limited view of what's actually available on the island. Some of the best dives are never reported. But in a way that's good: it slows the wrecking of the beaches and reefs and means less crowded dives for us locals. I'm okay with that.