Hi again.
My last post was on Aguada, Aguadilla, PR (the post is here). Our next stop is Rincon, PR.
They are not very far from each other, 10-15 minutes by car.
We had diving reservations for Desecheo Island that day. They told us to arrive Taino Divers office at 7:30am sharp. Hence, we had to wake up even before the sunrise :/
After loading our backpacks to the car, hubby went to check out and immediately returned with a big surprise. Hotel lobby was locked. The only living beings around were one horse having breakfast across the street and a kitten looking for somebody to play with. We didn't want to miss the boat so, took the phone number and left for the diving trip.
It was really difficult to find the turn for Taino Divers. PR 413 is a tiny country road with no road signs or street names whatsoever. When we called the Taino, the guy insisted that we should turn left from where we were. It was puzzling because left side was all mountains and beach was supposedly on our right. It's good thing that we didn't go with the suggestion and just followed our instincts. Finally, we found the place.
Yet, a not-so-pleasant surprise was waiting for us. When we greeted them they popped the bad news: We couldn't go to Desecheo because of the strong wind. :( Instead, they arranged a shorter neighborhood reef trip.
We had to wait for maybe an hour after registration and gear arrangements until the boat arrived. The only advantage of early arrival is ease of finding a parking spot.
Around 9am we all walked to the beach. We carried gears to the boats and hit the road.
On the left, there is a picture of the Rincon beach where our dive trip started and ended. The view was amazing (please don't mind the finger :-P ).
Dive trip was okay, but visibility was below average.
The most memorable part of the experience was observing many Lion Fish (also known as Pterois) during daytime. For those of you who are not familiar, pterois is a nocturnal animal, in other words it cannot be observed during the day in its natural waters.
I was puzzled at first. Then my hubby cleared the issue by passing the explanation of dive instructor. It is believed that these animals were introduced into Caribbean during early 1990's because of a hurricane and tank release. Since their predators do not exist in this sea, they became a crowded herd very easily. They are not welcomed guests though, rather invasive (if you're interested, more reading is here).
I must say, the trip was not very well organized/dive-computer planned. If you are planning to dive with them, I recommend you to plan your dive and dive your plan, do not expect them to provide a plan.
Divemaster was very busy, he changed our equipment and was keeping track of the snorkelers as well as beginner-level divers. He had an unfortunate accident, a jellyfish bite, so we were alone underwater most of the time.
Our dive trip ended around noon. We immediately went back to the hotel to check out and return the keys. The owner felt so bad because we were stressed in the morning, he seemed like a decent person.
If you stay there, keep in mind, they open the front desk after 9am. If you need to check out earlier, let him know in advance.
Our next hotel was Lazy Parrot Inn.
This is a beautiful hotel which you cannot tell from its entrance. It has a very surprising structure. Located on PR 413, maybe a km before the right turn to Taino Divers (If you're driving from Aguada side).
Entrance looks like a small, two story motel. You climb up the stairs and will see a nice porch. There are parrot themed ornaments everywhere, decoration is in harmony with the name. Now, walk through the door and follow the signs: You will enter the restaurant, take a left and walk down the stairs. You will see a bar on your right side.
You're not there yet. Continue walking to the left side and take all the stairs down until you see the beautiful view ahead (like the picture on the left), a nice pool and pool-bar on the right, and the front desk/breakfast area on the left. Now you can see the some live parrots as well. :)
Their rooms were spacious and clean. Also, people were very friendly.
Here is another view from our floor.
There is a small health drink shop called Banana Dang next door.
Nothing pretentious like Jamba juice, you can think of it as a very healthy Starbucks.
We tried their Nutty Dang with soy protein boost and it was YUMM! If you ever pass by you should definitely stop by for a drink, or two. ;)
Hope you enjoyed this post.
Next post will be about our day-long road trip from Rincon to Luquilla, on Ruta Panoramica.
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