RDM Review by Scubadiverinfo.com

Liveaboard Review: Rocio Del Mar Dive trip aboard the Rocio Del Mar to the Midriff islands in the Sea of Cortez: a week of diving, enjoying and exploring by Conrad Blickenstorfer and Carol Cotton, July 2012 This is a review and description of the seven day/seven night "liveaboard" dive trip to the Midriff islands (Islas Grandes) of the Sea of Cortez onboard the Rocio Del Mar. The trip consists of crusing to and among several of the islands and is famous for dramatic diving, swimming with whale sharks, and encountering dolphins, whales, sea lions and birds in gorgeous, unspoiled environments. Start and end: Starts and ends at Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) on the northern end of Baja California, Mexico. Our modified itinerary terminated at the town of Kino. Rocio Del Mar/Midriff islands: The Rocio Del Mar is a 110-foot long, 24-foot wide liveaboard vessel providing all-inclusive liveaboard dive vacations. There is diving at Angel island, Salsipuedes island and San Pedro Martir. Dive itineraries vary according to weather conditions, and may also include diving along Baja. The distance from Puerto Penasca to the dive sites on Angel island is about 125 miles, the distance between Angel island and Salsipuedes about 80 miles, and from there to San Pedro Martir island about 50 miles. The Rocio Del Mar has 10 air-conditioned staterooms for a maximum of 20-22 passengers and usually a crew of about ten, including two or three divemasters. Each room has its own bathroom and shower, the dining room on the lower deck is also air-conditioned, there is an indoor air-conditioned lounge, a covered outdoor lounge, a large sun and observation deck, food and drinks (including alcohol) are included, and depending on conditions, there will be a maximum of 24 dives on this itinerary. Being on a liveaboard is the easiest and most relaxing way to dive because you never have to carry your gear around, and booking a trip on the Rocio Del Mar, which has served as a liveaboard dive vessel since 2008, is a great way to get in some serious, and very unique diving and exploring. Arrival/customs: Unlike most of our liveaboard trips, this one didn't involve a flight into a foreign country with forms and immigration and passport controls. Instead, we flew into Phoenix, had a cup of coffee and a sandwich and waited for the "Head Out To Rocky Point" shuttle to arrive to pick us up. Mike and Lynelle have been doing this shuttle service for a very long time, having been Rocky Point regulars for decades. Do make sure you have your reservations with them nailed down and know where to be when so as to avoid playing cellphone tag. Once we did link up, the van turned out to be large, fairly comfy and with good air conditioning. The trip from Phoenix to Rocky Point/Puerta Penasca takes about four hours, a bathroom/sandwich stop at Ajo, AZ, included. The border crossing into Mexico is a non-issue; we didn't even have to show our passports. The ride is quite scenic with lots of dramatic desert with millions of cacti, the occasional off-roaders, and it offered a chance to acquaint ourselves with some of our fellow passengers on the Rocio Del Mar to come. Arriving at the Rocio Del Mar: liveaboards often dock in remote marinas or you have to walk a good bit with your gear to get to the boat. Not so with the Rocio Del Mar. The shuttle drives right into the thick of things and there she is, the Rocio Del Mar, at the end of a pier. Getting onboard is actually a wee bit involved; no big, comfy ramp to get onboard here. So what. First impressions: When you first step onboard it's onto the bustling dive deck where divers assemble their gear. As always when you get on a boat you're not familiar with, it takes a bit to figure out how it all fits together. A big surprise was to see our old friend Rey, whom we knew from the Solmar V, as dive master and captain on the Rocio! In our cabin we found personalized water bottles and chocolates waiting for us. And by now the sun was setting, painting everything in magical brilliance. Rooms: The Rocio Del Mar has ten staterooms, eight on the main deck and two on the upper deck. Each state room has large windows, making for an open, airy, light atmosphere. Cabins 1 through 6 have two single beds, cabins 7 and 8 in the front have a single large bed, and cabins 9 and 10 upstairs have a double and then a bunk bed on top. We stayed in stateroom 9 on the upper deck. All rooms are quite spacious for liveaboard standards, and there is ample drawer and storage space. There are hooks on the doors to hang a few things, there are small cubbies in the bathroom, but we missed cubbies or a small shelf next to the beds. Whatever bags and luggage you bring can either be stored in a storage compartment or, in some rooms, under the beds. There is a generous number of American-style 110 Volt outlets for electronic gear. We had no fewer than 12 plugs in our room and bathroom — perfect for those who need to charge a lot of batteries. The Rocio Del Mar allows charging of equipment in the rooms, and there are also charging stations in the library and on the dive deck for camera and strobe batteries. Each cabin has a small but perfectly adequate bathroom with a toilet, sink and a separate shower. Fixtures, flushing and shower all worked fine and there usually was adequate hot water with good water pressure. It's probably okay to drink the water as it comes from the boat's own onboard systems, but management suggests using drinking water. The shower has a soap and shampoo dispenser, but no hair dryer. There is no minibar or safe (neither are needed as you can always get what you want from the fridge/bar, and everything is totally safe). The picture below shows one of the two forward cabins (I took the shot with permission of the guests while the cabin was in use). The Rocio Del Mar has excellent air conditioning throughout the ship. If anything, sometimes we were almost too cold. On a dive boat you need plenty of towels, and there is a good supply in the rooms. On the dive deck, however, you are assigned just one towel at a time and that won't be changed for three days. Towels are separated into inside and outside towels, and they are not to be mixed. Contrary to some liveaboards we've been on, you are allowed to wear shoes inside the Rocio Del Mar, and since the outside decking got quite hot, we were glad to have our Crocs with us. The beds were comfortable though the mattresses were on the thin side (management informed us that they are replacing them with thicker and much more comfortable memory foam mattresses) and the pillows were comfortable, too. One tends to sleep well after three or four dives, and between the Rocio's inherent stability and the calm seas we had, we slept very well. The crew makes up your bed while you are diving. Below is the deck floorplan of the Rocio Del Mar. State rooms are in blue, indoor guest common areas in yellow: Lounge and entertainment: liveaboards aren't cruise ships, even spacious ones like the Rocio Del Mar, so there aren't any hot tubs, shops or night clubs. The purpose of the Rocio is exploring and diving, and at the end of each eventful day, we were too tired to do much but talk with new friends, gaze at the starry sky, and then retire to our cabin. The Rocio Del Mar, though, has a comfortable indoor lounge on the main deck with comfortable sofas and lounge chairs, a refrigerator with soft drinks and beer, as well as a flatscreen TV used for briefings and entertainment, a DVD player, and a sound system. There are also books, board and card games, and a large library of movie DVDs. The lounge is also where the crew served snacks and fruit platters every day. As stated, the Rocio Del Mar has a maximum capacity of 20-22 guests, and on our trip we had a full load. On many boats this would make for a crowded feeling, but the Rocio Del Mar is more than spacious enough for everyone to be comfortable, be that in the lounge, downstairs in the dining room, or upstairs on the large sun deck. During meal times the dining room does get quite full and it can get loud in there. The large, open top deck offers plenty of space to stretch and enjoy the sun and the views. There are lounge chairs and stargazing at night is a treat. Perhaps best of all, you never have to worry about mosquitoes or other bugs. There aren't any! There is no cover, but it's rumored the top deck will get a sun bonnet in the near future. Crew: On our trip, we had an almost all-male crew of captains Lolo and Rey; engineer Aurelio; dive masters Mayo and Rey; chef Gerardo; and pangeros Tito, Everardo and Jorge. Co-owner Dora made a wonderful hostess. They were all exceptionally friendly, helpful and very competent. The crew provided a perfect mix of unobtrusive service and friendly interaction. They were always there, but never got in the way. Although almost the entire crew was Mexican, there was hardly any language barrier as most spoke at least passable English. Food/Dining: Eating on the Rocio Del Mar is informal restaurant style in the dining room/lounge downstairs. There are three large table/ booths. It can get a little tight and pretty loud in there, but worked amazingly well even with our full load of guests. All food is prepared on board. The menu is posted on a white board. Special dietary requests are honored if communicated beforehand. Breakfast consisted of early Continental-style self-serve (coffee, teas, bagels, bread, fruit, yoghurt, cereal, etc.) before the first dive, then the full breakfast around 9AM after the first dive. The full breakfast was cooked to order and we had truly excellent waffles, French toast, pan cakes, eggs any style, and sausage or bacon. The boat's coffee was good and strong, and we greatly enjoyed the lavish fruit platters. For lunch, we saw a variety of excellent soups and bisques, chicken and beef Fajitas, hamburgers, tortillas, rice, beans, guacamole, potato salad, peppers, broiled chicken breast, tostitas, always followed by dessert (ice cream, cake, cookies, candy). For dinner, the chef treated us to Cesar salad, lasagna, cake with chocolate sauce; pulled pork, mashed potatoes, broccoli and flan; roast beef, baked potato, vegetables, chocolate cake; fish dishes (or spaghetti and salad for those of us who considered fish friends, not food); beef fajitas, beans, rice, peppers; Hamburgers with all the condiments, etc. The food was good and plentiful, and prepared and served home-cooking rather than restaurant style. Snacks included fruit platters, crackers, quesadillas, chicken wings, brownies, vegetables, dips, etc. Food was consistently good and plenty. Bar/beverages: The Rocio Del Mar has a self-serve refrigerator in the main deck lounge that was always fully stocked with a variety of beer, soda cans (Coke, Coke Light, Sprite, Fanta, etc.), and bottled water. There were also a few bottles of hard liquor in the lounge (probably leftovers from the prior week's guests). At the sit-down meals, the crew served lemonade, Jamaica, water, soft drinks, and, for dinner, beer and red and white wine. Suitability as a dive boat: The idea of a liveaboard is to make diving as easy as possible. This includes all the logistics of getting to dive sites, prepping gear, and getting in and out of the water as quickly and easily as possible. The Rocio Del Mar succeeds in almost all areas. The covered dive prep area is on the main deck. When we first boarded we noticed that instead of the benches with the tank/BC holders and space underneath used on most dive boats, most of the Rocio's dive stations are stand-up style. Shelving for masks, snorkel and small stuff is overhead; space for fins and boots underneath. Once used to this, we quickly found that donning the BC and tank from a standing position was actually a lot easier than from a sitting position (and our backs thanked us for it!). On the main deck plan below, the dive prep and dive deck areas are marked in green: Hanging space for wetsuits, located midship, is more than adequate and everything dried quickly. There is a large central table for cameras. There's an adequate supply of spare parts, tools, batteries and other necessities. With a full boat (20), space for divers was quite adequate and the stand-up stations worked very well. Dive briefings are all done right on the dive deck. The crew draws maps of the dive site on a white board and uses that to explain the site and the dive plan. Divers are divided into two groups that prepare and depart on the zodiacs staggered by 15 minutes to provide each group space to spread out, each with a dive master. Divers can join the dive master, or they are free to go by themselves. Solo dives are not allowed (though some of our photographer guests did tend to split off). Diving on the Rocio Del Mar can be either directly from the boat or from one of the two inflatables, but for the Midriff island itineraries, all dives were from the inflatables. It is a few steps down from the dive decks onto the large and sturdy dive platform at the stern of the boat. Dive staff is always there to help you put on the fins, check your air, and hand you your camera. The dive platform has two shower heads with (usually) hot water for rinsing off after dives. Below you can see a inflatable being loaded for a dive at Angel Island. Getting into and out of the inflatable is easy (at least in the calm weather we had) due to the Rocio's very low dive deck. Initially it seemed impossible that the two inflatables could hold all the divers with all their gear. Or how one would, upon surfacing from a dive, take off the weight belt/pocket tank/BC in the water and hand it to the pangero for hefting up on the craft. Yet, it all works perfectly. Oh, and getting into the water from the inflatable requires synchronized action: One, two, three! and every second diver falls in backward together; one, two, three, and the remaining divers plunge in. The Rocio's dive policy is a maximum depth of 130 feet. All divers are required to record their starting gas pressure before the dive and then the remaining pressure after. Maximum dive time is 60 minutes. Divers are, of course, expected to do a three minute safety stop at 15 feet. Virtually all of our dives were just about 60 minutes. The two showers on the dive deck (see picture below) came in handy to rinse off salt or warm up (which really wasn't necessary in the great weather we had). Air: The boat has its own compressor system. Tanks are filled by the crew with compressor hose whips right where they are standing in their retainer rings after you take the BC/tank off after a dive. You walk down the ladder and onto the inflatable with your gear on, including tank. Upon returning to the Rocio, the crew will return your gear and tank to your dive station. All tanks are standard 80 cubic-foot aluminum cylinders with US standard Yoke valves. Tanks are in good condition and fills were always 3,000+ psi. Nitrox: About half of the divers used nitrox, though the itinerary really doesn't make it necessary. The Rocio Del Mar offers fills of 32%, which they mix from their onboard oxygen tanks. It is each nitrox diver's responsibility to use the boat's oxygen sensor to check their nitrox, and to record oxygen percentage before each dive. Nitrox for the week costs US$120 per diver. Weights: Lead weights are available onboard in whatever denomination you need. Ditto for weight belts. Rental equipment: On a liveaboard, divers bring their own gear. The Rocio Del Mar, however, does have some spare parts in case someone forgets something or something breaks. Insurance: The Rocio Del Mar requires proof of dive accident insurance. Diving: There is surprisingly little recorded online on Midriff island diving, and that's because the upper part of the Sea of Cortez is refreshingly untouched. So here's the big diving picture as we experienced it: diving the Midriff islands off the Rocio Del Mar is not for total beginners, but it doesn't quite require the level of experience you'll need for, say, Socorro or the Galapagos. On our trip we had a mix of younger and older divers (ranging from 14 to 70), underwater photographers, vacationers, and even a professional breath-hold diver. Experience ranged from 50 dives to many thousands of dives. Getting in and out of the inflatables and handling the occasional current requires a degree of physical fitness, but so does almost any type of diving. So anyone who can handle that will enjoy Midriff island diving and be treated to a wonderful variety of diving that includes pinnacles, walls, rocky slopes, sandy chutes and even caverns. Unlike Socorro with its giant mantas and sharks, the emphasis here is on an enormous variety of macro critters. Overall, those who know California Pacific diving and diving in the Caribbean will find the upper Sea of Cortez splitting the difference. This time, our itinerary (after the news that our schedule would be altered due to an unexpected technical issue) first took us to Angel island, also known as Isla Angel de la Guarda, an uninhabited nature preserve that measures about 360 square miles and rises to 4,300 feet. It possesses a stark beauty and rock outcroppings no less dramatic than anything you might find on some famous Caribbean islands. Here we encountered 78 degree water, making me glad I had decided on bringing my 5-mil wetsuit. Visibility was less than expected and we didn't see all that much on our first one-hour dive at La Muela ("the molar"), a craggy spire poking out of the water that actually looked much like the famed Roca Partida on the Socorro itinerary. Visibility probably was much better than what it appeared, the culprit being trillions of krill, tiny crustaceans that form living clouds underwater. Angel island has some of the most gorgeous scenery I had ever seen, totally breathtaking. The islands in the Sea of Cortez are almost unbelievably remote and untouched. Add to that a stark beauty, stunning natural rock formations, near-geometrical lines and shapes, and underwater scenery as (or more) dramatic and stunning as those in many far more famous locations. At Angel island we also encountered lots of sea lions. Curious pups buzzed around us during dives, occasionally reined in by a large male. And below is a 360 degree panorama from the Rocio's sundeck anchored off Angel Island. Click on it for a much larger version. We then left Angel island and motored down and west, into the Bahia de los Angeles, a coastal bay on the eastern shore of Baja California. The almost fully enclosed bay is part of a biosphere reserve, and we came here to see whale sharks. Whale sharks are filter feeders and the largest living fish on the planet. They can be over 40 feet in length, weigh almost 40 tons, and go back some 60 million years. They pose no danger to divers and snorkelers, and they can be observed as they are slow swimmers. We piled into one of the Rocio's inflatables and a panga by a local operator who knows where to find the whale sharks. We found five or six of them within 15 minutes, then spent two or three hours snorkeling with these magnificent leviathans. An awesome experience! The picture below was shot with one of our GoPro cameras. No sooner did we get back to the Rocio than hundreds of bottlenose dolphins began stampeding around the ship. They were everywhere. We also saw a good number of pilot whales. The Rocio deployed one of its zodiacs so photographers could get a closer look. Next came the small island of Salsipuedes that is part of the San Lorenzo Marine Archipelago National Park. Salsipuedes means "leave if you can" in Spanish, and the island looks indeed rather low and barren and nowhere near as attractive as Angel Island. There are, however, some excellent dive sites here in the form of partially or fully submerged spires. With good visibility, the dramatic, yet surprisingly lush underwater scenery at Salsipuedes would make for perfect dives. Viz was iffy while we were there, but the dives were terrific nonetheless. Some of the dives were shallow enough to use the waterproof cameras we had taken along. Here, Carol is snapping away with a Pentax Optio WG-II. Below is the 360 on the island of Salsipuedes: San Pedro Martir— even smaller than Salsipuedes (about a square mile), San Pedro Martir is in the middle of the Sea of Cortez and the southernmost of the Midriff islands. It is also officially protected as part of the Islas del Golfo de California Reserve and home to Brown and Blue-footed Boobies, sea lions, pelicans and more. Small though it is, San Pedro Martir is quite impressive. For a few years in the late 1800s, the island was used for guano mining, and you can still see some of the terraces built to catch guano. Boobie birds are everywhere. They are clumsy and curious and not shy at all. Problem was, once they landed on a Rocio deck, they couldn't take off again and had to be herded to the back of the boat so they could jump into the water. And below is the 360 degree panorama of San Pedro Martir island and surrounding seas from the top deck. From San Pedro Martir, the Rocio also made an excursion to find sperm whales. Several hours looking for them proved futile, and so the ship returned to San Pedro Martir. Below are the dive sites we visited, including my max depths on each. Sunday, July 8, Angel Island: La Muela (60 feet, 63 minutes, 78F, inflatable in/back) Monday, July 9, Angel Island: La Vela (90 feet, 64 minutes, 73F, inflatable in/back) La Vela (64 feet, 63 minutes, 77F, inflatable in/back) Lolo's Cove (67 feet, 64 minutes, 75F, inflatable in/back) Lolo's Cove night dive (skipped, inflatable in/back) Tuesday, July 10, Baja California: Bahia de los Angeles (whale shark snorkeling) El Pescador (72 feet, 64 minutes, 77F, inflatable in/back) El Pescador night dive (skipped, 77F, inflatable in/back) Wednesday, July 11, Salsipuedes island: Los Cuervos (89 feet, 62 minutes, 76F, inflatable in/back) El Caballo (91 feet, 60 minutes, 77F, inflatable in/back) ?? (40 feet, 63 minutes, 77F, inflatable in/back) Thursday, July 12, San Pedro Martir island: El Arroyo (111 feet, 59 minutes, 79F, inflatable in/back) El Arroyo (51 feet, 63 minutes, 83F, inflatable in/back) Ravijunco (63 feet, 66 minutes, 83F, inflatable in/back) night dive skipped (inflatable) Friday, July 13, San Pedro Martir island: Chayo's Cove (51 feet, 66 minutes, 85F, inflatable in/back) Chayo's Cove (105 feet, 65 minutes, 78F, inflatable in/back) Punta Martir (63 feet, 64 minutes, 85F, inflatable in/back) Note that no two liveaboard trips will likely ever be the same as weather and other conditions may determine where the captain will take the boat. On our July 2012 trip we had great weather with bright sunshine and almost flat water most of the trip, but visibility was less than expected at Angel Island, adequate at Salsipuedes, and finally better at San Pedro Martir, with temperatures varying greatly, and a modified itinerary due to a hardware problem. It still turned out to be a truly memorable week of diving, stunning scenery, and unforgettable encounters. Now here a few informational items about Rocio Del Mar trips. Computers/Internet: There is no internet access on the boat, and even while docked in Puerto Penasco we did not detect any WiFi hotspots that could be used. The Rocio Del Mar has an onboard satellite communication system where you can, at your own cost, make calls or text. By and large, count to be totally offline while onboard (though those with Mexican cellphone service may occasionally have a signal). Cellphones: Unless you make prior arrangement with your cellphone vendor for international coverage, you won't be able to use your phone. As soon as our shuttle made it into Mexico, I received a text from AT&T informing me that I could make calls for US$0.99/minute and could use data at the (outrageous) rate of US$19.97/megabyte. Security: The Puerto Penasco marina is right in town and seemed secure enough. Once underway, the boat's completely safe. There is no need to lock doors or anything. Vendors: There is no dedicated shop onboard the Rocio Del Mar. They normally, however, sell a variety of T-shirts, hats, sweat shirts, etc., but none were on board on our trip. Weather: While generally not quite as exposed as on the open Pacific, the Rocio Del Mar takes you far out into the massive Sea of Cortez. This means that you may or may not encounter weather that can affect diving and conditions. On our trip in July of 2012, we started with hot sun in Puerto Penasco, and it was mostly hot and sunny the entire trip. It was actually a lot hotter than we had expected (usually in the 90s), and the waters were quite calm and often flat the entire trip. We never needed any of the warm top and bottoms we brought. There was, however, currents and surge on several dives. Weather conditions often dictate the itinerary and choice of dive sites when on the Rocio Del Mar. Cost: The per person list price, based on double occupancy, for a Midriff islands dive trip on the Rocio Del Mar is US$2,295 for any of the rooms. There are no fuel surcharges or port fees. The Rocio Del Mar doesn't nickel and dime passengers, with the only extra expense the airport transfers (US$100 per person for the round trip) and $25/person for the national park. And since we drove from and to Phoenix, there is no departure tax. Tips: Rocio Del Mar literature suggests that you're paying a tip of 10-15% of the package list price at the end of the trip. Settling the account is very informal; we simply sat down with Dora after the last night's dinner. The tip goes into a pot which will then be distributed among all crew. As always, if you're particularly pleased with someone, you can tip them separately. Bottom Line: The 110 foot Rocio Del Mar is a liveaboard vessel specifically designed for divers. It offers week-long dive trips to the Midriff islands of the Sea of Cortez out of Puerta Penasca (Rocky Point) July through October, 9-day trips to the Socorro islands November through May out of San Jose del Cabo, and 12-day Explore Baja trips between the two itineraries. Accommodations onboard are extraordinarily spacious and comfortable for liveaboard standards. On our July 2012 Midriff islands trip, we experienced the breathtaking stark beauty of unspoiled islands, explored virtually untouched dive sites, and swam with whale sharks, sea lions and dolphins. Atmosphere is informal, food good and plentiful, crew helpful and competent. You need passable diving skills but don't have to be an expert. Nitrox certification comes in handy, but is not necessary. A wonderfully relaxing, rewarding experience. Contact: www.rociodelmarliveaboard.com, call 602-272-2522, or check the Midriff Rocio Del Mar islands reservation page here. Imagery ©2012 , Map data ©2012 - Terms of Use Map Satellite Hybrid 50 mi 100 km Above is an aerial view of the upper part of the Sea of Cortez, showing the Midriff islands. The Sea of Cortez is between Baja California (left) and the Mexican mainland (right). Use the standard Google Maps controls on the left to zoom in and peruse the islands!

Sea of Cortez. June 30th trip by Brooke Jolley

Just four hours south of Phoenix lies the small town of Puerto Penasco, Mexico. In the Marina is a liveaboard like none I have experienced before. I first experienced the uniqueness of this beautiful vessel, dramatic diving and crew that have become like family, in 2009. I stepped on board and was greeted by Dora the explorer herself, along with her husband Lolo, the captain, and crew who I later discovered took such pride in the boat because they were the ones who built it. That experience was so spectacular that I have returned multiple times over the past three years and have thoroughly enjoyed exploring every inch of the Northern Mid Riff Islands as well as the wonders and gentle giants in the Revillagegigo Islands, better known as the Socorro Islands. 

On June 30^th, 2012, I was once again aboard the Rocio Del Mar headed out to the Northern Mid Riff Islands in the Sea of Cortez for the first trip off the season. The boat was full of Arizona locals, many repeat divers such as myself. The weather was beautiful and the seas calm. We began the trip at Angel Island, diving the familiar rock that resembles an angel’s silhouette in a glistening sea. The group was split into 2 groups, our dive master Ray leading the way. The water was warm in the low 80’s and our group spent the majority of time floating over the sand watching the blue spotted jaw fish pop in and out of their holes. Then a giant golden jaw fish was spotted. We hovered over him, photographers snapping pictures and the rest of us excited to see those giant eyes peering up at us. We felt a bit of a current and decided to go for a little drift. Safety sausage deployed and the sound of the zodiac above us we let the current take us where it willed. We surfaced and were ready for a great week of diving.

Another memorable dive was at Lolo’s cove. I have dove these sites often but always find new and interesting creatures that I have never seen in my life. This dive was not to be missed; there was so much to see. I stopped to take photographs of a tube anemone and when I got close I realized this anemone had a friend, a small blue and yellow Lucas shrimp. I love macro photography so this was a treat. 

Finally, I moved on to find a white nudibranch with orange spots and then another one. As I’m diligently trying to get a picture worthy of this little jewel of the sea, I feel a tap on my shoulder. Two huge octopuses are right in front of me, one on the rock the other underneath. I believe we were interrupting something but I continued to take pictures anyway. Another tap on my shoulder, it’s Ray our dive master. He has found a Mexican horn shark and is pointing in the direction, I see a bunch of divers huddled but I’m involved with what I’m doing and don’t make it over to see the shark. No worries, we found another before the dive was through. The whole week was full of horn sharks and turtles more than I’ve experienced here before, large ones and free swimming.

Another of my favorite dives was at Ravijunco. This dive had a bit of a drift. It was a fun ride and so diverse. I saw everything!! Horn sharks, turtles, at least three, free swimming octopus, nudibranchs, free swimming green moray eels. It was a really fun dive the ocean was active and I along with the other Rocio Del Mar guests had front row, first class seats to the show.

Next was Coralitto, the sea lion dive. I will say this dive was the most enjoyable sea lion dive I have experienced. These sea lions were so playful and so were the divers. I watched them both turn and spin and hang upside down. It was one of the most genuine acts of play I’ve ever seen in my entire life above or below the sea. After a good twenty minutes of playing I wondered to the sand. At least one hundred hermit crabs were shifting through the sand on some sort of journey, migration? Where are they going? I look up see tons of garden eels, white ones, swaying in unison. I swim around them being patient and taking photos, as I move into a more foliaged part of the sandy bottom I find more garden eels, brown ones. More picture taking. We finish our dive with more sea lion play and find that the other group had explored right and we had explored left of our zodiac drop off. I was very excited about my garden eels and hermit crabs but they had found a giant pacific sea horse.

After a persuasive talk with our dive master Mayo, we convince him to take use on a twilight dive. We are headed out to find the sea horse. Mayo leads us to the spot where his group had found the sea horse. He shows me a little pile of strategically placed rocks. He had marked the spot, I guess I’m not so persuasive, he had known we would want to go looking for the rare and hard to find sea horse. We looked and looked and looked, finally fifteen to twenty minutes into our search one of our group had found the horse about 10 feet down closer to the sandy bottom. Lots more time for pictures, we finished out our dive as the sun set. We turned on our flashlights and swam around watching a large green moray eel swimming under us in and out of the rocks hunting for dinner. We turned off our lights and enjoyed a glowing bioluminescent light show as we waved our hands through the water. Once onboard our fellow divers had eaten and were enjoying beverages as we cleaned up and headed down for dinner. This boat knows how to accommodate its guests.

Not all of the excitement seen on the Rocio Del Mar takes place under water. We had several whale and dolphin sightings. Some of which we grabbed our mask snorkel and fins and hopped in the zodiacs to take pictures, watch them jump and flip, swimming through the wakes of our Zodiacs. One night after dinner when the moon was high, half of our group out on a night dive the rest watching fish gather at the stern of the boat attracted by the large light beaming down on the water, we saw gathering and feeding “El Diablo”, the Humboldt squid. These squid were approximately three feet in length, flashing as they jetted in all directions feeding on the small silver fish.

We had several more exciting dive days, full of delicious food, new friends and amazing diving adventures but the Rocio Del Mar always has another surprise up her sleeve. We had our rooftop carne asada dinner under the stars and consolidated our fast friendships with drinks and dancing, jokes and lively banter. A wonderful time was had by all. It was our last day at Sea, and we had no idea how wonderful a day it would be. The groups were split in two, one headed out diving, the other to the Whale Sharks. “Vamos abuscar ballena”, the crew had made attempts to teach me some Spanish. “Let’s go find the Whales”. Ballena Tiburon, yes we found them. We found several of them. One the largest I have ever seen at least 25 feet long, missing a portion out of the top of this tail fin. We snorkeled with this whale shark and another smaller fifteen foot whale shark at the same time. To be surrounded by Whale sharks is truly surreal. We swam and swam, in and out of the boats, finding another and another, a baby about eight feet, ohh he was fast! Our zodiac captain and I are in the boat while the others are swimming when he spots a mobula ray swimming along the surface. Excited I hop into the water and I see wings flapping and splashing as I startled him with my excited entrance into the water. Following Jorge’s directions I finally find the mobula ray. He is swimming below me in graceful circles and then as I finally stopped swimming and was just admiring the beauty and grace of this peaceful creature he turns and swims directly upward toward me, close enough to look me in the eye and then swims deep into the abyss and out of sight. This was two hours I know will be remembered by all that were lucky enough to experience it.

January 20-28, 2012

Greetings! My name is Christina and I am the newest addition to the Rocio del Mar Liveaboard family.  Dora thought it’d be a good idea to experience one of the trips offered through the Rocio del Mar.  I felt honored by this offer and eagerly accepted. 

Diving in the low temperatures of the Pacific Ocean would pose a challenge to my limited scuba diving background.  Up until this point, I’ve only dove in the warm waters of Southeast Asia wearing nothing more than my bikini!  I have done wreak diving, cave diving and have explored many colorful vibrant reefs with minimal sea life.  So far I’ve been satisfied as a diver, minus the fact that I’ve never seen a shark; which is of high interest to me and happens to be on my bucket list.  After a quick Google search I was convinced there would be sharks on the trip, however I had no idea what was in store for me. 

Next thing I knew, I was in Cabo ready to embark on one of the greatest adventures of my life.  Dora and I spent nearly two whole days buying food, drinks and supplies for the coming nine days at sea; we even made an extra stop to pick up homemade tortillas.  Fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and specialty cuts of beef, chicken and fish were carefully stored in the industrial size refrigerator and freezer.  The crew (that I would become so fond of), and I examined the cabins one last time for anything out of place before patiently – yet anxiously waiting for our guests to arrive. 

As expected, all 18 guests were successfully checked in on board, settled in and ready to go.  The diversity of the group ranged from dive masters/instructors from all over the world, head of a HR department, retired research astronaut, screen writer, business owners, sales directors, French chefs, students, IT engineers, tour manager and underwater film makers.  There was Oliver, Richard, Hans, Theresa, Mermaid, Yuko, Xiao, Jessica, Cathy, Kirk and Yishu from China; Jon and Kike from Spain, Thierry from France, Alex from Belgium, Elizabeth from Mexico, and Casey, Dave and myself from the United States.  We ran through the night and for the entirety of the next day where we anchored at San Benedicto Island. 

We woke up at 6AM to a school of playful dolphins welcoming us into the crystal clear blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. The energy was high with diver’s excitement in the brisk morning breeze.  As the sun rose, we suited up quickly and begin our first dive at The Boiler with dolphins circling around us during our descent, posing for photos!  There were thousands of huge red and blue lobsters tucked away all crammed into a long crevice between two boulders.  Immediately we were accompanied by a school of sleek white tip sharks that gave me a whole new sense of appreciation for the beautiful beast.  I was bursting inside with excitement and trying to keep my regulator in my mouth while the sharks slowly cut through the water until out of site.  To top it all off, during the last seconds of our safety stop a gorgeous manta ray of about a 20 foot wing span glided right past us!!! 

At the second dive location, El Canon we fixed our eyes and cameras on hammerhead sharks.  I was mesmerized while holding onto to a rock resisting the current.  Of course, I’ve always known that Hammerheads exist, but to actually see them only five feet away was a special moment that I will cherish forever.  At El Canon, we also saw a twelve foot Galapagos shark hunting close to the reef.  On our way back to the boat, we witnessed a manta ray jump out of the water and back flip into the air – diving ever so gracefully back into the water.

The next day we woke up at Roca Partida, the smallest of the Revillagigedo Islands and a breeding spot for many seabirds.  The island’s remoteness provides a sense of mystery as Roca Partida rose starkly from the wild surface of the deep blue ocean.  Steep walls plunge into the water spotted with several small caves where baby white tipsharks sleep all huddled together.  As we swam farther away from the rock, we saw a school of Hammerheads and silver tip sharks.  The large schools of wahoo and yellow jacks spread long and wide making it impossible to not glide right through and observe the hundreds of fish swimming by.  At our safety stop, we saw giant tuna right below our feet. I had no idea a tuna could get that big!  Once in the panga we saw a bird on top of a sea turtle.  The turtle was old, but wise looking.  I wondered to myself where it was possibly going, all alone is the middle of the endless ocean?

That night we celebrated the Chinese New Year on board.  We were told that in China, the New Year is spent with family preparing food.  Our Chinese guests together (as a family) prepared handmade traditional dumplings from scratch and stuffed with squash, onion and fried egg.  The shape of the dumpling symbolizes the ancient Chinese currency and is made on the New Year to bring prosperity for the coming year.  The dumplings were then boiled, not fried, and served to everyone with soy sauce, garlic chili sauce and spicy pork.  It was also one of our guest’s birthday in which a single extra-long noodle is cooked and served in a bowl with two eggs; representing 100 years of good health.  Dora brought out the champagne making it a proper celebration and welcoming for the Year of the Dragon. 

The next morning we found ourselves at Cabo Pierce, a lava flow that’s spilled thousands of years ago into the ocean and created a long, narrow ridge that falls to about 120 feet.  I was so excited to see the promised Pacific manta rays that I barely ate anything for breakfast.  It was almost instantly once we had descended into the strong current that the mantas appeared above our heads.  I was literally in awe by the size and grace of the manta that I didn’t even realize that my mask was filling with water until I felt the burning of the sea salt!  The mantas come here to be cleaned by the neon orange clarion angelfish.  One of the most spectacular moments was when a group of dolphins curiously and playfully surrounded us and the mantas, twirling and spinning all around us.  The visibility was great, which meant that you had a clear view of everything happening. 

One of the last dives on the trip was an exploration dive around the North end of the Socorro Island.  The terrain was absolutely incredible.  It consisted of large, flat and oblong boulders.  There was a lot to look at: yellow and black moorish idols, trumpet fish, sand rays, octopus’, nudibranches, trigger fish, colorful rainbow fish and balloon fish. 

This pretty much brings me to the end of the trip.  I can’t say enough about how astonished I was by the vast variety of sea life I saw during every single dive.  There wasn’t a dive where it lacked in a school of sharks, manta rays or dolphins.  People from all over the world come here to see the big stuff and that is exactly what you will get if you dive in this area.  The Socorro Islands are not easy to get to, making the diving experience a rare and magical experience that not many people can say they have experienced.  When we weren’t diving, we were in the pangas with crew members that drove us closer to the breaching Humpback whales to get a better look and that priceless photo that your family and friends won’t believe you took.  By the time we were back in Cabo, everyone had shared and exchanged photos, videos and contact info.  It was hard saying goodbye.  The dive masters and crew members were all so helpful and knowledgeable of the dive sites.  We were all spoiled by the gourmet assortment of delicious meals that were prepared by the wonderful chef on board.  Some people you know you will see again, and some never again.  Yet, we will always have our memories together on the beautiful Rocio del Mar that was hand built with love by the captain and his crew so that they could share the treasures of the sea with divers who want to become explorers.  

New Years Eve 2012 DIVING THE SOCORRO ISLANDS

I can’t imagine a better way to bring in the New Year.   I would have to say that the theme for this trip was friends for life.  Our guests were Jean and Ray from California,Irina and Alex from Russia, Betty and Bryan from Arizona. Sara and Kilian from Spain,Chris and Ellen from Canada.  Ailyn, Rodrigo and Pedro from Mexico, Jaime from Florida,Yuki and Yuichiro from Japan and Lily, Tiffany, Jennifer and Jessica from New York.

Everyone clicked, and by the endless conversation and laughter throughout the boat you would think that everyone knew each other for years instead of just meeting when they boarded. 

The sea life was phenomenal.  It was as if the ocean knew it was the beginning of something new.  We encountered beautiful mantas.  One in particular keep coming back and would come straight to me.  We were kindred spirits.  We were also consistently visited by dolphins.  We had a humpback whale appear at San Benedicto.  It stayed most of the day and we snorkeled with it.  They usually don’t start to show up until the end of February.  What a gift!! Plenty of sharks at Roca Partida.  

We tried out the new 21 foot zodiac that Santa sent us all the way from the Canadian-Washington border.  Wow!  We had 15 divers plus captain and still had room to do some dancing.  We love it!

New Years dinner was fantastic.  I had brought a case of champagne.  Alex and Irina also brought a couple of bottles.  Gerardo prepared the most delicious prime rib plus something yummy for our vegetarian guests.  It was a delicious dinner with a heartwarming atmosphere.

The weather was calm the entire trip.  Nothing better than smooth seas.  Water temperatures were a bit colder than last year.  Warmest was 77 and coldest was 73.  I pulled out all the hooded vests on board and passed them around.

This was a very difficult trip to see come to an end.  After lots of hugs and drying teary eyes, the crew stood quietly and watched until the shuttle disappeared.  It was hard to shake off the bitter sweet feeling of farewell.  We hope to have you back on board again very soon.  It’s always great to see our friends once again.

The Crew of Rocio del Mar;

Capt. Lolo, Dora, Everardo, Rey, Gerardo, Jorge and Julio.

What our clients have to say about the Socorros and Rocio del Mar

This time, I want to take this opportunity to share with you some of our clients testimonials.  I think that you should hear it from them, what a good time they had and what an amazing adventure it is to dive at the Socorro Islands.

Rocio Del Mar Nov 11, 2011  From Warren Sims @ Scuba Travel Ventures

The Rocio Del Mar is a beautiful boat in the Sea of Cortez that also has a trip to the Revillagigedos Archipelago, also known as the “Socorro Islands”. I have known of this boat for a couple of years and always wanted to do a live-a-board on it. Well that time has arrived and Barb and I were as ready as we were going to get. Neither of us has had a vacation in a while and we were really ready to get wet and now that time has come. Ready or not, Rocio Del Mar, we were on our way!

Finally we arrived to the docks where the Rocia Del Mar was docked. In front of it was a giant yacht with a helicopter on it. Of course I knew this was not our boat but it is ok to wish. But there in its entire splendor was the Rocio Del Mar. She was beautiful. It was soothing to see the dark hull with the name on its bow. The crew was there to assist us immediately and we were greeted by the ship’s Captain, Rey. We then met Claudio and he helped us get our gear ready. The ship has a great prep area for diving. The tanks are high so that you only have to back into them standing up. What a great way to put on and take off your BCD with the tank. We were given specific station numbers, mine was 13 and Barbs was 14. Right next to each other and there was plenty of space to put away your fins, mask, and other diving necessities.

The Diving

The diving was some of the best diving I have ever experienced. The crew made it very easy to get ready so that you could enjoy your dives even more. We were able to see 4 whale sharks that gave us quite a show, dolphins, mating dolphins, octopus, mating octopus, hammer heads, white tip and silver tip sharks, galapogos sharks, eels, manta rays, and much more. We were very lucky to see these incredible species while on scuba. We had professional photographers, videographers, and they were able to capture these majestic animals.

The set up for your gear was the best I have ever experienced. There was a nice camera table, air hoses, and nitrox analyzers. Diving is very easy from the Rocio Del Mar.

 I want to thank everyone from the Rocio Del Mar. I had a wonderful time and highly recommend this live-a-board. I cannot wait to be on it soon in the Sea of Cortez!

This below is from Elaine Kwee Blog @ Dive Voluntourism.

So, this boat I was on, Rocio del Mar, took off from Baja Sur, Mexico, with a cabin list of dive agents, diveshop owners, dive instructors, tech diver-expedition leaders and an underwater shootout winner. My room buddy technically wasn't a pro, if you defined a pro as one who makes a living out of diving. But she's dived the Artic twice, the Antartica once, takes an occasional Icelandic dip with ne'er a shrug, and her local liveaboard diving - y'know, like Cairns for me, Phuket for you - is diving in lulls between North Sea storms.

Our boatload of pros, and my dive buddies, underwater digital artiste Tom Radio and Vickie, the ice-bunny
So they mostly averaged thousands of dives. But they were all still as slackjawed as I was with the diving at the Revillagegedos Archipelego. If you can't pronounce it like the Mexican crew, you say "Socorros".
The liveaboards that go to the Socorros Islands start their season around November and end about April. The Socorros is way out - 24 hours motoring from Cabo San Lucas. The local diveshops operating out of Cabo can't bring you out. A liveaboard is the deal, and there are only a handful that do it.
Big critters traverse that part of the Pacific. Manta season was in full swing in November when I got there, and later in the season, whales go by. Most of the diving takes place off desolate rocks - The Boiler and Roca Perdita both pinnacled out of the fathoms with walls that gave underwater vertigo. Which is what makes the diving spectacular.

The Boiler and Roca Perdita
Actually, the one dud day of diving we had was at Socorros Island itself. Brooding grey rainclouds and surgy conditions made vis pretty awful in the morning dive. The navy then boarded our boat for "paperwork" and after an enforced surface interval of 5 hours, our afternoon dive was pretty murky.
But The Boiler! Roca Perdita! I uploaded the video on the website home page. All that was at The Boiler. Roca Perdita was a different kettle of fish, literally. It was fish soup.

....Shark City..

And the dolphins were there too...

Ask a boatload of pros who have dived everywhere in the world whether they've ever played with dolphins underwater, and they all say no. Don't get me wrong, we see them chasing the prow of boats and they are all real puppy friendly UNTIL you hurry on those fins and jump in. They're gone. The only time I ever saw a pod while diving (Maldives), it was still on the surface. Our dive leader got so excited he forgot about "ascend no faster than 18 meters a minute". Still, from below, I could see he risked DCS for a merest, fleeting encounter with dolphin foam. The ones in Mexico actually sought you out and hung around you during the dive. Maybe they were casing us out for a date. Having watched my footage on dolphins mating, I Youtubed dolphin porn and....they do like group sex. Especially in aquariums, with granny and junior gaping on.
Back to the mantas. The remoras hanging out with the giants were, themselves, pretty gigantic.


They also cause gigantic scabs on the poor manta. My buddy Tom Radio's fantabuloustic camera captured the sores that even Tom himself didn't see when he was up close.


Relive these memories, watch the video clip on the home page. Be glad I didn't set the music to Hotel California.

From Fred Remers---Socorro Liveaboard on the Rocio Del Mar Dec. 7, 2011.               

The Rocio Del Mar (Mist of the Sea) is a beautiful and well equipped custom built boat designed by divers. Upon boarding, it was immediately apparent that the owners; Captain Lolo and Dora Sandoval, run a tight ship focusing on the safety, comfort, and well-being of their customers.

Every diver was issued a submersible GPS device (Nautilus Lifeline) which could be used to hail the boat in an emergency situation. The device was also capable of summoning the Mexican navy, and in a dire emergency, the US Coast Guard. This was a very nice thing to have considering the swift currents and challenging dive conditions encountered in the Revillagigedos Archipelago (Socorro Islands). This was well above and beyond my expectations of any dive boat.

The Crew was amazing. I’m not good with names so I wont name anyone specifically because I don’t want to leave anyone out. These folks worked very hard to make everyone’s vacation easy and enjoyable. During the day, they worked the dive operations and/or cleaning the boat, and at meal times they worked the kitchen/dining room etc. They also assisted with luggage and anything else they could find to do to help you with.

The Food was very well prepared and plentiful. Each day started out with a continental breakfast before the first dive. Then after the first dive, we ate another breakfast usually consisting of eggs prepared to order or oatmeal, french toast or pancakes, along with the usual breakfast fixings. Then after a couple more dives with snacks in between, we had a late lunch, and then another dive before dinner. Lunches and dinners varied from American to Mexican cuisine. The food was very tasty and well presented. As you can see, we were very well fed.

The diving was absolutely incredible. There were some currents and upwelling to deal with but it was well worth the effort. I did 19 out of 21 dives.

The highlights for me were the Manta Rays. We had so many encounters that I couldn‘t keep track of them anymore. It was absolutely an amazing experience to swim so close to them. At one point I was ascending and a manta was descending and we met in the middle. I put my hand out to avoid a collision and rubbed my hand down most of the length of her underside as she swam by. It was an incredible experience. If felt like slimy burlap. She quivered a little and swam on. According to one of the behavioral experts on the boat, she enjoyed the experience as much as I did.

There were also dolphins, sharks, and many other species of fish, some indigenous to the area. As far as shark species, we saw White tips, Grey Tips, Galapagos, Silky, Hammerheads. Others on the boat also encountered Tigers and there was even a Whale shark encounter.

The dives at San Benedicto and Socorro were made from the boat. Those at Roca Partida were made from inflatables. On all dives, there were two inflatables on the water at all times to pick up divers so if the current changed, or you just didn’t want to swim back to the boat, an inflatable would come by and pick you up.

We were very fortunate regarding the company on the boat. Unbeknown to us, many of the other passengers where very experienced and well-known photo and video experts. It was truly a learning experience and an honor to be with people of that caliber. They were all down to earth. It was very enjoyable to hear them tell stories of their experiences.

Overall this was the best dive trip I’ve ever been on and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for large pelagic encounters. The photo opportunities are endless. Here are about 300 of my favorites:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1002318...dsDecember2011

Thank you all for your kind words. 

The Rocio del Mar Crew. 

Explore Baja!

Wow, what a spectacular season!!  I'm sorry about the lapse in entries, I know I missed several weeks but living out at sea and trips going out Saturday to Saturday, it is easy to live in the moment and let details slip by. For this I apologize and I will try to do better. I promise... but don't guarantee :)

I would like to share Bob's recount of events of our Explore Baja trip, enjoy!!!

We had wonderful and fun-filled voyage this year for our relocation trip from Puerto Peñasco to San Jose Cabo Oct 29th to Nov 9^th to begin our season at the Socorro Islands.  We, the crew of the Rocio del Mar, were honored to be able to provide 12 days of sunshine, 25 dives, three town visits, and 31 delicious full meals to our 22 happy and joyful passengers.  Our divers ranged in age from 18 to 81 and all were very experienced and advanced divers who thoroughly enjoyed the trip as much as we enjoyed serving them.  The heart of our boat is the crew and our respect and dedication in ensuring that all passengers receive the service, care, and concern that we show to all who grace our decks during our trips to is always our goal. Six of our divers were repeat guests with us and we deeply appreciated their choosing us for their vacation time again.  We thank all those on the trip as we enjoyed your companionship, great cheer, laughter, and your expressed enjoyment of the beautiful Sea of Cortez.

Now to the diving.  Bob and Arturo led our dive operations for the trip and we were especially grateful to have Arturo, a marine biologist and dive instructor with us.  His knowledge and experience added to the experience by enriching our knowledge of the wildlife that calls the Sea of Cortez home.  Our dive spots included the Island of Angel de la Guarda checkout dive on Angel Rock where visibility approached 50’ followed by a second dive on the pinnacle of La Vela.  Visibility was good on both dives and some saw turtles on Angel Rock and all saw the sea lions on La Vela which were playful…at least those on the southeast side.  The North side wall was still impressive with the yellow-polyped black coral and the morays along the west side. Temperatures were a bit cool here and we hit 65 degrees at depth…average for this time of year late in the diving season for the Northern Sea of Cortez.

We also dove on Andrea’s Eagle, La Cueva, and Vivoras.  We found a giant jaw fish at Andrea’s Eagle and fed him a little of our chef’s (Geraldo’s) fish supply.  He blew it out like they do sometimes…guess he didn’t care for the soleJ the highlight though was the 1” long, banana-yellow juvenile jaw fish that had built his very own den and acted just like the adults by peeking out of his den and sliding back down when approached---cute!  Vivoras gave us an opportunity to observe an octopus out in the open which we all enjoyed.  With visibility fair, we completed our last dive at Vivoros and headed for San Pedro Martir.

We did four dives there:  Ravijunco, Xareni’s Pinnacle, Cormorant, and the southeast side of island at San Pedro Martir.  Visibility was dramatically better and approached 80 feet.  At Ravijunco we saw a 2-meter long Pacific angel fish…a first! They are occasionally found in the Sea of Cortez but it was a rare find and a beautiful animal for our photographers’ delight.  Xareni’s Pinnacle was as beautiful as ever and diving on it at mid-day provided for good lighting all around.  Juvenile hawkfish were in abundance up top and the schools of Creole fish were thick and active as well as the Cortez king angel schools. Cormorant provided its usual sea lion encounters and additional schools of angel fish and Creole fish along with two hawkbill turtles. We did a night dive on the southeast corner of the island and entered the large cave there.  That turned out to be exciting as the dominant male sea lion became very aggressive as we entered it.  Can’t imagine why he didn’t appreciate 6 divers shining dive lights in his eyes…he charged and bumped our dive leader pulling his safety sausage off his reel.  The dive leader reported that when he went to leave the cave, all he saw was fast stroking fin tips of the rapidly exiting group…well…they said they wanted a thrilling night dive and we do aim to please our diversJ While here, divers also toured the sea lion colonies by panga and had an opportunity to see the stone walls built in the 1800’s for guano storage that was used for fertilizer back then.

During the night we departed San Pedro Martir for Tortuga (Turtle) Island where we made two dives on the Punta Sur and Tortuga Suroeste.  Interesting rock formations abound here and we enjoyed the warming waters and better visibility as we moved further south on our trip.  That windy afternoon we arrived at Santa Rosalia for our first shore excursions and to replenish water and food supplies.  Docking was difficult in the high winds but thanks to Lolo’s expertise, Everado’s use of the panga as a tug boat, and Aurelio, Jorge, Tito, and Julio’s working of the mooring lines, we successfully docked.  Our first stop, in Santa Rosalia, fell on the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead where families honor their deceased relatives with remembrances of the things in life they enjoyed.  Home activities include positioning of altars with pictures, items the passed love ones liked, and lit candles as well as the preparation of special meals, BBQs, and cemetery visits.  The culture of the Mexican people is very family-oriented and respectful of passed love ones.  We were able to enjoy some of the special breads made specifically for the day of remembrance.  Santa Rosalia is well-known for the having the finest bread in Mexico, if not the world, and we brought many loaves onboard and enjoyed the aroma and delicious taste of it for days onboard.  Most of the divers grabbed some pizza and beer at a local restaurant after touring the town a bit.

We set out the next morning for a full day of cruising to Loreto and our second shore excursion arriving near sunset.  The magenta, orange, rose, blue, and purple of the sunlight-illuminated clouds made for an extraordinary sunset panorama and some great photographs.  Loreto is quite picturesque with its attractive waterfront and swaying palm trees.  Our passengers enjoyed an evening on the town and had fine meals and drink.  All returned---very happy and animated…perhaps they indulged in some fine tequila, but we won’t tell moreJ.  

The next day as we continued towards our destination of San Jose del Cabo, we dove on the dive spots of Cabeza De Mono and Punta Lobos off Coronado and Loreto, enjoying the water temperatures now entering the 80’s.  Balloon fish were everywhere and schools of jacks and barracudas off in the blue made for very enjoyable dives on these spots but greater adventures waited so we motored off for the island of Las Animas.

We did three dives on Las Animas and oh what a beautiful place to dive!  Visibility was 100 feet and our first dives were on the pinnacles to the east of the island which allowed us to go below 100 feet and stay warm at 84 degrees and view the classic underwater topography in our search of hammerheads, turtles, and a large variety of marine animals.  We found no sharks, unfortunately but we did have a spectacular dive in poking around all the crevices and swim-throughs finding nudibranchs, turtles, barracudas, and loads of fish.  On our second and third dives, we concentrated on the east and north side of the island entering the large cavern on the northeast side.  Huge cathedral ceilings and spaces made for fascinating diving here.  There were other caverns along the east side of the island as well.  The walls of Las Animas are adorned with orange and yellow buttercup corals and in the darker areas they were fully open making for incredible displays of color.  Las Animas was pretty much tied for first place as our favorite dive spot of the relocation trip.  During the evening hours we engaged in our traditional Mexican BBQ on the top deck under the stars.  Geraldo’s cooking was again superb.  It was a great clear evening with no wind whatsoever so Dora’s candles didn’t need to be re-lit at allJ.

The following day we went to Espiritu Santo and had a great dive on El Bajo, a sea summit that provided again for fascinating diving around the topography combined with 84 degree water and 100 feet of visibility.  The summit is visually intriguing being surrounded by white sand and the big blue all round.  Barracudas circled, jacks and yellow tails cruised by with schools of grunts thrown into the mix. We thoroughly enjoyed the spot as much or more than Las Animas.  However, we needed to get moving so we again motored south and dove next on the wreck of the Fang Ming.  Here we found a real treat!  On the forward part of the superstructure and later on the bow, we found a resting hawksbill turtle that was not at all afraid of us.  We were able to swim right next to it as it sleepily watched us by sticking his neck out—literally and sort of rolling his eyes at what must have been an interesting scene.  He acted like he wanted to be petted---so we did, and he enjoyed it, rolling his neck side to side so we could rub his head and his neck.  The scene reminded one of a cat looking for affection and a kind pet down.  Amazing sometimes what our underwater friends do that remind us of other animals we live with day in and day out.  But this was a real treat and all who saw it appreciated the experience.  The purposely sunk Fang Ming is a good dive as wrecks go with some penetration possible as long as you were careful to not fin up the slit too much.  Schools of jacks, chubs, and Porgies cruised by the couple of groupers we saw inside the ship--a fun shallow dive.

Next did a night dive on the tiny pinnacle of La Reynita off the island of Cerralvo.  Great night dive!  Lobsters, caverns, swim-throughs, buttercup corals in full bloom in the moon light with balloon fish scattered throughout the site made for great panoply of color and wildlife together in the sea.  We had fun exploring all the nooks and grannies of this site while appreciating the walls and divers backlit by our dive lights and the moonlight.  Watching shadows coming around the corners of the walls here was surreal as black turned to blue followed by a burst of yellow-orange off the illuminated buttercup corals as divers made their way around the pinnacle.  These were sights that will last a lifetime for those of us who were so privileged to have witnessed them.

During the evening we departed for Cabo Pulmo, the renowned Mexican national underwater park and preserve.  We did two dives on Loss Morros and El Bajo with Beatrice, a local and very knowledgeable divemaster, who led us across the reefs and through the coral for some great photo opportunities. Schooling jacks in the 84 degree water…no need for a wetsuit here, so some of us just wore board shorts and swim shirts as we floated through the light to moderate current over the reef and white sands watching the wonderful displays of marine life unfold before us.  The schooling jacks were impressive.  Especially on the ones we saw during our safety stop at El Bajo.  Wonderful to see the quantity of fish here.  We also did another night dive on Los Frailes where we viewed the incredible red and white zebra flatworms stretched out to their full length as they contracted from the light from our dive lights.  We also saw ribbon jellyfish in mid-water as well as other jellies happily floating by us in the blue framed against the blue-ish-black surface filled with white-night moonlight.

The last day of diving we dove over the Gordo Banks to see the schooling jacks.  A very deep dive to recreational limits, The Banks provided all with a challenging profile and challenging currents.   Most exciting of all was our water exit!  The wind had come up during the dive and we surfaced to 5-6 foot waves causing the stern of the Rocio del Mar to pitch up and down and to be awash in the waves.  Our panga captains were right on top of the situation though and provided our divers the option of doffing their equipment at the panga and free swimming to the stern for water exits.  This worked out well and despite the challenging seas and winds, all divers were recovered with no issues.  We enjoyed the thrill of the sea and the different challenges this dive presented while staying safe and responsible in the process.  For our final dive of the trip, we dove off Punta Gorda where a reef and sand afforded us the opportunity to once again hit the water in board shorts and leisurely cover the reef.  We found puffer fish, blennies, shellfish, some jacks, and an assortment of nundibranchs…another warm dive in great visibility and a pleasant dive experience for our last dive before porting in San Jose Del Cabo.

Our trip concluded in San Jose Del Cabo that day and most divers took advantage of being in port and dined on-shore for the evening and immersing themselves in the local pleasantries.   Our trip was a complete success for all those we had the pleasure of sharing the 12 days with and we richly enjoyed the conversations, companionship, good cheer, food, and diving experiences with them.

 Our thanks to Xareni & Beto for their professionalism, friendship and gathering their group of divers from Mexico City to include ever laughing Julian; gracious, generous, and good-natured Manuel,  happy and tanned Juan Carlos (special thanks for performing waiter duties in Santa RosaliaJ); Miguel for his engaging smile and good humor; Roberto for engaging conversations; Cesar for his huge physical presence and courtesy to us all; Rodolfo for his wild hair and WWF wrestling appearances on the dive deck; Jorge for his soft spoken appreciation of what we do day-in and day-out and his diving skills; Julio for his steady dive preparedness and laughter; Rocio’s wonderful grace, smile and constant smile; Ignacio for his diving skills and courtesy to all; Salvador for his superb diving, safety consciousness, and smiles; Jose for the joy of life he showed everyday; Herbert for his conversations, courtesy, and information on culture; Fabrizzio for just plain being fun to be around; Alberto or his amazing physical strength and endurance while re-boarding the pangas without a ladder and his superb diving prowess at age 81!; and Jose Apiz for his laughter and cheer.  Thanks to David from Valley Forge and Terry from Sonoma,  for their informative and entertaining stories of their life-long diving adventures---we learned from you both; and lastly Fernando, our multiple repeat guest from Venezuela, for your zaniness, great sense of humor, strength and diving excitement.  I was a true pleasure to spend the time with you all.  Guests for 12 days—friends for a lifetime.