Page 136 - Florida and the US Caribbean Isles

CAYO DIABLO - Located northeast off the shores of Fajardo, El Dia- wall and adjacent canyon. This is a great site to check out the plant
blo, otherwise known as Cayo Diablo, is rated among the top five dive life, with gorgonians, whip corals, large golden zoanthids, green finger
sites of this fascinating country and is renowned for its colorful and sponges, black coral and rope pore sponges growing from what seems
intricate coral gardens and abundance of marine life. El Diablo con- like every surface. This dive also offers queen triggerfish, spotted ea-
sists of several dive sites lying around an uninhabited island. It takes gle rays, schools of goatfish and parrotfish, as well as a hefty dose of
about 30 to 40 minutes by boat to get there. Both sides of the island lobster action.
offering spectacular underwater scenery. The ancient coral reef of El
Diablo features a number of coral heads formed by the skeletons of MONA ISLAND - The island is about 7 miles long and 4 miles wide,
hermatypic corals. At first glance, these coral formations may appear with an approximate area of 13,638 acres (twice as large as Culebra);
solid, but upon closer inspection it becomes clear that they are riddled its shape roughly that of a lima bean with the concavity toward the
with holes and channels left by the corals that have died. Some of these north. Its climate is classified as semi-arid, sub-tropical climate, with
holes are even large enough to allow a scuba diver to carefully swim temperatures fluctuating 80 to 90 all year long. The island has 200-foot
through them. Other fascinating features of Cayo Diablo include a cliffs riddled with caves. The highest peak is about 300 feet above sea
mound of star coral overlapping each other, giving the impression of level. There is little vegetation, although there has been some reforest-
a waterfall, as well as a mound of star coral resembling an enormous ation. The island has no permanent inhabitants, except by the Puerto
mushroom. Many of these lifeless coral heads are covered in new life, Rico Department of Natural Resources (DNR) personnel (resident
as delicate-looking sea fans attach to them and sway gently to and biologist and rangers). Mona is often compared to Galápagos, the is-
fro harboring long slender trumpet fish waiting inconspicuously for a land teems with giant iguanas, among them the Mona Iguana (certi-
tasty treat to pass their way. The constant motion of the sea fans, the fied as threatened by the Endangered Species Act of 1973) and the
intricate patterns of the different types of coral and the colorful fish Geco Oriundo, three species of endangered sea turtles (the Hawks-
darting this way and that, create a mystical underwater wonderland bill and the Leatherback sea turtle), red-footed boobies and countless
at El Diablo that is well worth exploring when visiting Puerto Rico. other sea birds. The waters surrounding the island is home of over
THE WALL GUANICA – One mile off-shore, the continental shelf 270 species of fish and endangered sea turtles. Some species are so
drops off, creating a spectacular and dramatic marine wall 22-miles rare or endangered elsewhere on Puerto Rico that these islands can be
long. The Wall is the Caribbean’s newest world-class dive destination. considered their last significant refuge. During the winter humpback
This spectacular dive Wall has a series of slopes and sheer drop-offs whales, uuaully several at a time with their young, are regular visitors.
that start at 30 feet to 120 feet before disappearing into a 2,000-foot The Mona Iguana found nowhere else in the world, is considered the
drop, well beyond diver depths. most spectacular single form of life on the island. It attains four feet in
length but is harmless.

PARGUERA’S WALL - This wall dive near La Parguera (sometimes
also called Efra’s Wall) boasts multitudes of colorful coral lining the