Suddenly a new shadow appeared in the magnificent blue, it approached us slowly, it seemed to dance or fly under water. A giant manta (Manta Birostris) swam directly to the dive site. Friendly, gentle, with slow movements around the divers posing for pictures and video. First, only 6 divers were seeing the manta around them. Then, little by little more divers came closer and after 30 minutes all Rocio del Mar divers were contemplating this fabulous animal. Not trained, not in a zoo, not in a marine park. Not any of that. It is a free, wild animal willing to swim and share some time with divers.
That was the end of our trip to Revillagigedo, our last trip of this incredible season.
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| Poncho, our chef during the crossing to Revillagigedo |
Rocio del Mar just got back to port in San José del Cabo and both passengers and crew returned really happy. It was an amazing trip.
We had on board friends that have come for two or more times (even five times) to dive in Revillagigedo. This says a lot of the importance of this dive destination. There is always a surprise. Some times the surprise is mantas, other times very close encounters with sharks. Some trips there are huge schools of hammerheads, other times just a few of them but passing only a few feet away from divers. Some trips we can dive with humpback whales, dolphins, huge tunas, you name it. But there's always something amazing to see and never forget in Revillagigedo.
These are only a few reasons of why people come again and again to dive here. But not only diving is important, conservation of this reserve is fundamental. The presence of divers and tourists is a big pressure to the federal government to apply more strict laws in the area and the testimony in photos and video of all visitors tells the world that we must protect this archipelago from illegal fishing.
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| Greg and his toys at Roca Partida |
Divers arrived during the afternoon of May 23rd and that night we set
sail to San Benedicto after dinner. This time we had three groups:
Team A: Greg (visiting the archipelago for 5th time) with his friends Joe, John, Dan, James, Eldon and Dulce and Drew.
Team B: John A, Rosanne, Pascal, Sharon, Tosh and Thomas.
Team C: Alfredo, Erendira, Henry, Rod and the huge cameras! :-)
Alfredo
is an underwater videographer and Erendira is a cinematographer and
both have worked before in marine documentaries. They were here one more
time in Revillagigedo to capture the magnificence of the marine life
around the archipelago.
Our first stop was in San Benedicto and we dove the "Fondeadero" and the "Boiler". After the first dive the first divers team found a group of false killer whales and snorkeled with them! Other divers saw dolphins It was awesome!! And this was just the first dive of the trip.
At the Boiler one manta came to say hello to everybody for some
time swimming around divers.
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| Rossane at Roca Partida |
Since the weather was good we headed to Roca Partida. And
Roca, amazing as always didn't disappoint us. Honestly some of the
better dives of the season happened during this trip at Roca Partida.
Numerous and huge galapagos sharks were swimming very close to divers,
schools of hammer heads, silky sharks, white tips, no manta this time,
but great conditions to see sharks: current and good visibility. A group
of divers even had the chance of seeing the white tips trying to mate.
Mother nature was very generous with us this time.
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| Pollo loco ready to dive! |
After two days
at Roca Partida we went to Socorro island. The biggest island of the
archipelago. On board the group's mood was excellent. Very enthusiastic
and the pollo loco started to appear in action.
This present the
"chicken divers" left for us on board a few trips ago, it is now the
trophy for those divers that without paying attention get to the dive
site without mask, weights, or with the air off!!! There's someone that
is ready to jump off the panga without fins and the "pollo loco" always
want to dive!
We had a great time with the "pollo loco" diving with Henry, John F, Greg, Drew, Joe and once with Pedro!
The contest of the "pollo loco" got very competitive this trip!
In Socorro we dove "Punta Tosca", "Roca O'Neal", "Cabo Pearce" and the "Aquarium". Visibility in general was not good and water temperature was around 70. Some times even high 60's. And even though we didn't see mantas during our dives we had dolphins and some sharks visit from time to time. Then we decided to go and snorkel with the mantas. They have been swimming and feeding near the Aquarium dive site and ... it was a great experience.
This group of mantas were at the beginning shy and were swimming fast away from divers. But after some time they realized that we were not there to harm them, only to swim and take pictures of them and they started their show!! Swimming very close to divers and spinning while eating. It was in simple words AMAZING!!. Our divers got great pictures and video of this more than three hour experience. Really worth it.
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| Rey during a dive briefing |
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| Diver during surface interval warming up |
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| See you soon San Benedicto! |
The last image of this trip is of two hammerheads swimming
slowly in the deep blue with the sun behind them. Fortunately sea drops
are clear and salty as tears and no one noticed how moved and thrilled
we were to say good bye to Revillagigedo.
The final count of the "Pollo Loco" contest give us a tie between John F and Henry!!! Congratulations to them and all the "pollo loco" divers!
The final count of the "Pollo Loco" contest give us a tie between John F and Henry!!! Congratulations to them and all the "pollo loco" divers!
Thank you to all our friends, divers and passengers for this great trip. We really hope to see all of you diving soon aboard Rocio del Mar in Revillagigedo or Sea of Cortez.
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| Rocio del Mar will be waiting for you .... |
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Passengers Comments
This was my 4th trip on the Rocio Del
Mar and it has been fantastic every time.
This time, I brought 7 of my friends to experinece the Soorro Islands
and Socorro did not disappoint. 6
fantastic days of diving with sharks, manta rays and dolphins made this a trip
that no one will ever forget. The
highlight was the very last dive when we got to spend 30 minutes with a manta
that wanted to make sure we departed with good memories and a desire to return.Greg Sherman
Tucson, AZ, USA
My first rip to Socorro Island and the
Revillagegedo archipelago was full of encounters with the big stuff. Amazing diving and snorkeling with Mantas
which seem to enjoy the company of people.
Close encounters with ach one no many sharks, from little White Tips to
stocky Galapagos and schooling
Hammerheads. Dolphin and big Tuna would cruis by as well. The reefs here were surprisingly varied and
full of little stuff, abundant
nudibranchs, eels and octopus.
Water temps were running in the low 70s and the visibility ranged from
40 to 80 feet with strong current and surge at times. Great boat and crew made for an excellent
experience all around.
Thomas Jackman
Taos, New Mexico
Taos, New Mexico
My 2nd
trip to Socoorro Island. This time on the RDM.
The
crew works hard to fulfill a great day of diving & eating. Each one
knowing there roll to help make your
time enjoyable stress
Henry Cook
San Diego, CA
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