A thousand years of Coral

I had the pleasure of diving Shacks Beach in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. At first glance it appears like any other beach on the Island. Once I entered the water I was amazed.

From the beach you can see the surf breaking over the coral. Once in the water you realize that the entire area is one huge coral reef. As I swam gliding over the coral ensuring I did not touch it so as not to harm the life of the reef. There was abudant life abound over the entire area. Tropical fish were swimming among the coral darting to hide as I approached.

We swam to a hole in the coral that went to a depth of 30ft. I dove to the bottom and stood there and looked up. I was amazed the coral rose from the bottom to just below the surf. I was completely surrounded by coral rising to the surface. I turned and awed at the magnificant spectical. I had never experienced in all my years of diving a view such as this. We dove a second time this time we swam thru a coral tunnel leading further out to sea. As I swam thru I faced the roof of the tunnel and noticed a group of Brazilian Lobster, much smaller than the spiney lobster native to the east coast. Upon exiting this tunnel we entered what appeared to be a long hallway leading out to the open sea. The walls were solid coral, the floor pure white sand and the roof breaking surf. I swam at about 15 feet and slowly rolled to enjoy all that nature had to offer... and she offered a spectacular scene I will never forget.

If you are ever in Puerto Rico then go to the North west corner of the Island to Aguadilla or Rincon. Ask a local dive shop where Shacks Beach is, they will know. A few years later I was reading a dive magazine and it listed Shacks Beach as one of the top ten beach dives in the world. I agree. If you can freedive this beach it makes a huge difference. If you can not hold your breath for greater than two minutes do not go thru the tunnel. When you get to the beach you will see the hole. This is also a nice night dive.

Enjoy John