You'll never know what your going to ride up on when on a motorcycle in Tennessee. It became a special day when we came upon Doyle Smiths Iris patch. Terri and I pull up into the driveway of the farm where this was at, I asked who is responsible for all of this. Doyle responded with it was completely all of my doing.
I would like to think that there is a special place in heaven for people that bring beauty to the world. If this is the case Doyle Smith has earned himself a first class ticket.
If you are on a trip near Red Boiling Springs you must take highway 56 east of town. You will find Doyle in the spring near mothers day tending his patch of blooming Iris's on Bennett Road. Stop in and say hi, enjoy the beauty that he has created.
This was a great trip with my son. Probably the last snorkel trip we will do in Puerto Rico together for a while since he is being transferred to Seattle. This was a special trip to visit my new grandson. I do hope the three of us will some day snorkel together in Puerto Rico. It was good to get out with Ryan for a few hours to snorkel and visit a new beach in this country that I love so much.
General Description: Playa Punta Salinas is great Swim Beach close to San Juan is a managed beach in the Puerto Rico Park system.
Degree of Difficulty: Moderate - There was a strong current it would be better to Snorkel this location at slack tide. Although you can snorkel along the rock retaining wall anytime.
Grid Coordinates: 18.472380, -66.185849
Maps: Bayamon Topo USGS 5964440
Finding the Beach: From San Juan take Highway 22 towards Dorado. Take the Highway 165 exit towards Canato. Once passing through Levitown the beach entrance will be on the right.
Beach Overview: This was a great beach. I wish we could have spent a little more time there. It seemed like a local family place that was safe and clean, a place to have a family barbecue. We went there to do a quick snorkel, it was a fun day snorkeling with Ryan.
Snorkeling Instructions: Once getting there go to the far north side of the beach. There is a rock tidal wall that stops the current from affecting the roped in and buoyed beach. Enter the water outside the northern beach boundary. Follow the rock wall out to the point you will see plenty of fish near the point. Once passing the point the current will push back to the beach. Like a roller coaster, you will swim around back to the point which the current will once again grab you and send you to the beach. It is a heck of a ride.
General Description: Rarely in life are things as good as they describe. This snorkel trip exceeded all my expectations. This trip to Puerto Rico was a little different than the ones in the past. I had a new grandson to visit. So I made a quick 5-day trip back to this Island I love so much. While here I decided to book a snorkel day trip with pickup from my Old San Juan Location. So with a simple internet search Snorkel Trips from San Juan, this is what I came up with. A guided Snorkel Trip on a Catamaran called Barefoot.
My Pick up point was the old town Sheraton, a short 2 block walk from my son's apartment. My pick up time was at 0745. I arrived at 0730, and the bus driver was there waiting for me. After visiting 5 or 6 other hotels for to pickup other customers, we make our way to Fajardo. Which is about a 40-minute ride to the Marina where our catamaran the Barefoot was located.
The Crew was friendly and informative, The crowd was the usual tourist assortment. Once the quick safety briefing was completed we set sail to Icacos, a small set of Islands off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico.
Our first stop was Lobos (Wolf) Reef. There were not a lot of swimmers on this trip. Most were there to drink rum punches and pianolas on the boat. So I made the lone 100-meter swim to the Reef. As soon as I enter the water, there was a large school of tuna below the boat. The water was crisp and clear. As I swam out to the reef the amount of fish increased. Once getting there was some storm damage to the windward side of the reef. It was an excellent swim; many fish and coral.
After Snorkeling they served an incredible lunch with many drinks of choice.
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Grid Coordinates:18.377617, -65.570713
Maps: Cayo Icacos US Topo
Finding the Beach: Let the Barefoot catamaran take you there. Swim for your lunch. A great set of Islands off Puerto Rico's eastern coast.
Beach Overview: Lobos Reef is an incredible Reef in the Icacos Island Chain. After snorkeling for a couple of hours we made our way over to the small Island of Palominitos. The crew beached the boat so we could enjoy the beach and walk around the island. Supposedly many movies and a Microsoft screen saver were photographed here. It was an amazing place and a amazing time.
Snorkeling Instructions: The boat anchored about a 100 meters north of Lobos Reef. Once swimming to the reef it ran perpendicular to shore, parallel to the boat. Between the boat and the reef was a rock outcrop. The rock out crop was a natural fish attractor with hundreds of fish swimming above and circling the reef.
You'll never know what your going to ride up on when on a motorcycle in Tennessee. It became a special day when we came upon Doyle Smiths Iris patch. Terri and I pull up into the driveway of the farm where this was at, I asked who is responsible for all of this. Doyle responded with it was completely all of my doing.
I would like to think that there is a special place in heaven for people that bring beauty to the world. If this is the case Doyle Smith has earned himself a first class ticket. 
