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Candyland
 Desecheo Island, PR
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Max Depth: 71-80ft/22-24m
Entry Type: Boat
Bottom Composition: Sand
Aquatic Life: Plenty To See
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Rating: 5.00 by 4 divers
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Candyland is a boat accessible salt water dive site, located in Desecheo Island, PR. This dive site has an average rating of 5.00 out of 5 from 4 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 71-80ft/22-24m.
Candyland (Desecheo) Remember that old-school board game from your childhood? We dare you to tell us the huge, funky-shaped coral mounds don’t look like the ones you remember from the Candyland game. There are a kaleidoscope of colors on this must-see reef, embodied in gigantic sea fans, lettuce corals and sponges . There are also crazy amounts of tropical fish, adding to the already surrealist vibe here. The maximum depth is about 80 feet.
A flat topped reef punctuated by sand patches gradually falls away to 80 feet. The site is called Candyland because of the proliferation of corals—crammed in like sweets in a candystore. Candyland is a site that can be used when there are swells or waves making the north and west side of the island undivable. Although the top of the reef looks pretty much the same all along, navigation is easy because the visibility is so good—just look for the dive boat. Puerto Rico Area 5 - West coast including Desecheo and Mona sample dive site map As we descend to the reef below the boat, Venus sea fans wave a welcome, directing us toward the reef slope. Between the fans and vase sponges a great variety of hard corals thrive. Boulder and star coral make up much of the mass but we see brain corals, flower and cup corals and patches of pillar coral. As is generally the case with a healthy reef, there is a good variety of reef fish. Princess and stoplight parrotfish nibble at the coral along with longsnout butterflyfish. Black durgons hover above the reef, although occasionally we find one tucked into a hole in the reef. Equally well hidden are trumpetfish, hanging among the gorgonians waiting to unhinge that extraordinary jaw of theirs in order to inhale a passing meal.