NOW January 28, 2019

What a day! I headed to Rincon to dive with Rincon Diving and Snorkeling. My dive buddy Darryl is working there now. As I pulled out, I realized I had a flat tire - again. That tire has been patched at least four times. It's just done with it. So, before I could go on my dive adventure, I had a
change-the-tire (again) adventure.

We've dove on the wall in Rincon before. I love that wall. It's a good swim out to get to it but it is a shore dive, no boats. Anyway, I knew that part of diving in Rincon.

There is a reef that Darryl learned about after he started working with Rincon diving he wanted me to see. "I know you want to see this. You didn't know you wanted to see it, but I know you do." He was so right! The reef (and the area/beach) is called Stella. It's a hundred yards or so off the beach. It is gorgeous!

It looks like Hurricane Maria didn't even touch it, unlike Natural and Crashboat. (I still haven't dove Shacks yet so I don't know what it looks like.) Lots and lots of healthy soft corals, sea fans and gorgonians. Schools of healthy fish of many many species. Tube sponges and barrel sponges, both of which were wiped out at Natural and Crashboat. In fact it reminds us both of Natural before Maria. We saw four turtles and a Southern stingray lounging on the bottom. The reef is fairly shallow; our maximum depth was 40 feet. At that depth, even on a cloudy day like we had, colors are amazing. Stella is on the Caribbean side of the line so the water is very blue. (It is weird: it's like there is a line in the water between the Caribbean and the Atlantic. You can actually see the change when you cross it.)

This was kind of a whirlwind tour of the reef so I could learn where it is and get a sense of it's size and layout so I can come back with other divers. As a consequence, I did not take a lot of photos. There is so much there to explore! We could easily do three dives on reef and not see it all. It is also a fabulous second shallow dive after doing a deep dive on the wall. I will most definitely be back.

And if you're coming to PR and want to dive Stella, check out Rincon Diving and Snorkeling on Facebook or their website, www.rincondiving.com. You can even book your dive right online. If you need a dive buddy, call me!

How did I not know about Stella before? I don't know but I know about it now! I can't wait for the next flat, no-wave day in Rincon.