I just returned from a trip to Mona Island off of Puerto Rico and Desecheo Island with Spree Expeditions. Below are some notes about the trip, the boat and the diving.
The travel
Getting to Mayaguez is a challenge. The Spree management knows about it and, if they return to Mona, they will probably offer some easier way to get there. We flew into san Juan (northeast) and needed to get to Mayaguez (southwest). Some folks flew to another airport on the west coast (Aguadilla) but we rented two one-way cars; one to go from San Juan to Aguadilla, and one for the return from Mayaguez to san Juan. You'll need a taxi to get from Aguadilla to Mayaguez. Taxi ride is about $50 and the car ride is about 2 hours. Once you get to the boat, all is well.
The boat
The Spree is rigged for adventure travel. It is designed for divers who may want to forego a bit of luxury in order to reach some unspoiled sites not frequented by other operations. There normal run for recreational divers is the Dry Tortugas, another great area to dive. There are 24 bunks, most of which are contained in 4 bunk rooms. The accommodation below decks is Spartan but comfortable. The main deck has a nice salon with enough room for all to sit and eat. The dive deck is also large enough for all divers. The upper sun deck is nice and open. There is no shade up top but the bean bag chairs make up for a lot.
The food was what I would call "home-style". Good, nutritious, and plentiful. Two cooks were on board for the meals.
Diving is done by giant stride and, in this case, is really giant (about 6-8 feet). I have an ikelite housing on my camera and was warned not to jump in with it. When the boat is moored, the crew will let your camera down on a line. For drift dives, I opted not to bring the camera.
The crew will assist you if you ask for help but they are resolved to pretty much stay out of your way. This will appeal to many divers who want to do their own thing anyway. There were always two DM's on deck at all times and the captain was definitely involved in the diving operation. There was a DM in the water with a marker buoy as a convenience but most divers paired up and drifted as they wanted.
Most of our dives were live-boat (drift dives). The boat dropped us off, we carried smb's and waited after diving for the pickup. No one was lost. the crew does a very good job making sure they keep track of divers and I felt very safe diving with them. We all dove nitrox - offered 32%. I believe it makes the dives safer and the Spree folks seemed to prefer that we used it.
The diving
This island is pretty remote and, in addition, protected by the government. The coral life is awesome. Great healthy coral fields, big walls, lots of fish. There is an absence of large predators in Puerto Rico in general and Mona/Desecheo also had few. Mona is characterized by great fields of coral sitting on top of sandy ledges overlooking deep walls of coral. We did find the usual suspect; nurse sharks, morays, turtles, some snapper, some baracuda, and many small school fish. While you can go very deep, most life is up around 60 feet.
I was more impressed with Desecheo than Mona because of the greater quantity and the greater overall amount of coral and fish. Both islands are unspoiled though and the diving is incredible.
La Parguera
We did also spend a few dives at the wall and reef in the south of Puerto Rico. La Parguera is a small resort town very close to the wall and we did see the normal wall sites. The reef is also pretty healthy as it is also protected. There is a lot of coral here too though not like Mona or Desecheo. The life is somewhat less as well but the dives are still very comfortable.
Summary
I'd definitely suggest to do this trip if offered again. It was a rare opportunity to see a part of the ocean that not many people can get to. The Spree crew was exceptional in their treatment of us and very professional.
The travel
Getting to Mayaguez is a challenge. The Spree management knows about it and, if they return to Mona, they will probably offer some easier way to get there. We flew into san Juan (northeast) and needed to get to Mayaguez (southwest). Some folks flew to another airport on the west coast (Aguadilla) but we rented two one-way cars; one to go from San Juan to Aguadilla, and one for the return from Mayaguez to san Juan. You'll need a taxi to get from Aguadilla to Mayaguez. Taxi ride is about $50 and the car ride is about 2 hours. Once you get to the boat, all is well.
The boat
The Spree is rigged for adventure travel. It is designed for divers who may want to forego a bit of luxury in order to reach some unspoiled sites not frequented by other operations. There normal run for recreational divers is the Dry Tortugas, another great area to dive. There are 24 bunks, most of which are contained in 4 bunk rooms. The accommodation below decks is Spartan but comfortable. The main deck has a nice salon with enough room for all to sit and eat. The dive deck is also large enough for all divers. The upper sun deck is nice and open. There is no shade up top but the bean bag chairs make up for a lot.
The food was what I would call "home-style". Good, nutritious, and plentiful. Two cooks were on board for the meals.
Diving is done by giant stride and, in this case, is really giant (about 6-8 feet). I have an ikelite housing on my camera and was warned not to jump in with it. When the boat is moored, the crew will let your camera down on a line. For drift dives, I opted not to bring the camera.
The crew will assist you if you ask for help but they are resolved to pretty much stay out of your way. This will appeal to many divers who want to do their own thing anyway. There were always two DM's on deck at all times and the captain was definitely involved in the diving operation. There was a DM in the water with a marker buoy as a convenience but most divers paired up and drifted as they wanted.
Most of our dives were live-boat (drift dives). The boat dropped us off, we carried smb's and waited after diving for the pickup. No one was lost. the crew does a very good job making sure they keep track of divers and I felt very safe diving with them. We all dove nitrox - offered 32%. I believe it makes the dives safer and the Spree folks seemed to prefer that we used it.
The diving
This island is pretty remote and, in addition, protected by the government. The coral life is awesome. Great healthy coral fields, big walls, lots of fish. There is an absence of large predators in Puerto Rico in general and Mona/Desecheo also had few. Mona is characterized by great fields of coral sitting on top of sandy ledges overlooking deep walls of coral. We did find the usual suspect; nurse sharks, morays, turtles, some snapper, some baracuda, and many small school fish. While you can go very deep, most life is up around 60 feet.
I was more impressed with Desecheo than Mona because of the greater quantity and the greater overall amount of coral and fish. Both islands are unspoiled though and the diving is incredible.
La Parguera
We did also spend a few dives at the wall and reef in the south of Puerto Rico. La Parguera is a small resort town very close to the wall and we did see the normal wall sites. The reef is also pretty healthy as it is also protected. There is a lot of coral here too though not like Mona or Desecheo. The life is somewhat less as well but the dives are still very comfortable.
Summary
I'd definitely suggest to do this trip if offered again. It was a rare opportunity to see a part of the ocean that not many people can get to. The Spree crew was exceptional in their treatment of us and very professional.