This is a long, long blog too. Hopefully you’ll see why.
In 2020, we were gonna take a ride out to Socorro. But then, this thing called Covid set the world on fire. Getting delayed for three years means little when you think of the big picture. Nonetheless we were so excited not only to finally take this ride, but on a bigger boat and add some more Fin Life passengers. Ultimately, a win-win.
Head down to Cabo San Lucas, get on a beautiful 147-foot boat with 28 other people and 9 excellent crew, and you have the beginnings of an Epic Trip. Sure, we weren’t the mega-rich yacht enthusiasts that like to pull into the harbor to flaunt their financial winkies. What we are, is a group of divers who get off on something far more life-affirming and satisfying. I think a lot of us got that on this trip.
We all arrived in Cabo at different times, most of us the day before, so we took the time to find all 920 farmacias within a short walk of the Hotel Tesoro, on the harbor. I truly believe the pharmacies outnumbered the souvenir vendors two to one, easy. To be clear, Cabo drips money and apparently a huge supply of OTC Viagra and anti-depressants. (See the comment about the yachts.) One of the most expensive places in Mexico we’ve found. Sort of like a hotter, drier Bay Area. It’s still growing like crazy with houses and condos crawling up all the hillsides. Good news though, word on the street is to take the 20-minute cab ride over to San Jose de Cabo and enjoy more for less. Better food, less hustle. I hope it lasts.
All that aside, we had a great day prior to boarding our boat. Some of our group opted for a pre-trip dive the morning before we set sail. The diving was basically described as meh, but everyone was treated to a humpback whale and her baby in the harbor during the surface interval. The baby was breaching over and over. Clearly a Type A in-the-making. Shelli and I opted out of the dive day and were sorry to have missed the whale sideshow. Thank goodness Colleen captured some great video, which made a lovely finale to Shelli’s compilation above.
In the evening, we headed to the dive shop, had our briefing and got shuttled down to the marina to board the Belle Amie. Our awesome crew greeted us with champagne and, after introductions, got us situated so we could head out a few hours later.
The ride to Socorro, or more correctly, the Revillagigedo (Reveeya-hehaydo) Islands is sort of a badge of honor because it is 26 hours of open ocean and can get pretty rough for those of us that get motion sickness. The reason more of us weren’t sick was due to the Belle Amie being so big. The two other boats in the Nautilus fleet are somewhat smaller so more of the passengers end up clutching the railing (or driving the porcelain bus) for the journey out. I was lucky, Shelli not so much. For me, it was a weird feeling to wake up in the open ocean in the morning, continue driving at a good clip for an entire day, and see nothing else aside from some cargo ships on the horizon a couple of times. Our hosts made a great effort to keep us entertained (and fed) during the journey and avoid potential mutiny. The monkey knife fight on the mid-deck at dusk was a huge hit, however.
The Revillagigedo Islands are four islands in the largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in North America. Sitting 270 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas and about 220 miles off the Mexican mainland, the four islands – all volcanic seamounts – sit in strong currents that create huge upwelllings that bring masses of nutrients up from the depths. Those nutrients attract all sorts of open ocean life. What creatures visit and when, depends on the time of the year. Mantas and some of the shark species can be found year round. No whale sharks for us this time, so we’ll just have to go back.
We visited three islands; San Bendicto, Roca Partida (which is barely an island), and Soccoro, the largest. The fourth island, Clarion, is a solid day’s sail further west and is not typically visited.
We arrived at San Benedicto in the very late hours and were awoken by the anchors making a long drop to the seafloor. We woke again at dawn to the barren gray visage of the island under a warm sunny sky. We had parked off the very south end of the island, dominated by a large cinder cone and a lava field that had emptied into a ragged black flat from the base of the cone during its last eruption in 1952. That field added a square mile or so to the island’s landmass. The shape of the cone reminded me of a mini Mt. St. Helens, pre-1980. The sides of the cone were carved with deep moraines in the ash that ran from the rim all the way to the cliffs at the water’s edge. Many times we saw clouds of dust as small rock slides continued to carve the deep features into the mountain. Being a science nerd, I am intrigued by the geology of many of the places we visit and this was no exception. It was spectacular.
I suppose that this being a dive trip, I should at least talk about the diving. Truly one of the most incredibly unique trips we’ve had. We could use the standard adjectives like awesome and epic, but we prefer terms like life-changing and mind-blowing. Getting to swim and interact with giant mantas and dolphins. Cruising amongst multiple shark species, tuna, and schools of jacks. Seeing Humpback whales above and below. We felt especially privileged to be diving in such a remote and pristine environment. So pristine, that more than once, I drifted into schools of fish that barely acknowledged my presence. Reminded me of a high school dance. But I digress.
We got in four dives the first day and set the routine for pretty much the whole trip. Wake up, go get a continental breakfast, then it was “Divers, Divers, Divers! Meet on the top deck for your dive briefing!” We were split into 4 groups of divers and headed out to the dive sites about 10 to 15 minutes apart. When we got back, we were treated to hot drinks and hot breakfast with eggs to order. You relaxed for an hour and then it was “Divers, Divers, Divers!” and we went for the second dive. We would come back and get a hot lunch. Relax for an hour. “Divers, Divers, Divers!” Briefing number three followed by the next dive. If there was a fourth dive and you opted in, you would get back to cocktail hour and a fantastic dinner. If you opted out, cocktail hour started early. 🙂 You could even get an Irished-up hot cocoa as you climbed off the skiff. We were so pampered! The food was consistently excellent, thanks to our amazing chef Gerardo and his assistant Rafa. As we dined, we were catered to by Alicia and Osa, our incredible galley hosts, who were also spectacular bartenders. Thanks for the generous pours, Osa! 🙂
Our first day of diving had some of us trying to dial in our weight and work with the upwellings and downwellings in the current at sites called Fondeadero and El Canon. That was an adventure all by itself without getting distracted by the critters. The next day we moved around the island a bit to do three to four dives on a site called The Boiler. So much to see here. We were treated to mantas, a plethora of sharks, and some of us even heard whalesong. It was a special treat when a few curious dolphins came close to check us out. We heeded warnings not to follow them, as they apparently enjoy playfully engaging divers as they slowly descend. Next thing you know, you’ve dropped 40 feet and your dive computer is yelling at you; hence the nickname “murder dolphins.” 😉
As divers, we always get the, “Aren’t you afraid of sharks?” question. Very few of the sharks had even a passing interest in the divers in their midst. Our last dive on day two had us encountering Whitetip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks, Silvertip sharks, Silky sharks and even a few Scalloped Hammerheads. We soon discovered Hammerheads are extremely skittish and avoid people like the plague.
The truth of it is, most sharks could give two shits about us, unless you’re bleeding profusely or look like a crippled seal. Yes, we always have respect for the predators we dive with, but we’re not Siegfried and Roy down there. We’re not doing stupid tricks with them and we give them space and respect. If you see me jump in the water with a chair and a whip, I deserve whatever I get. For the record – I always rooted for the tigers. 😉
On day three, we parked off the tiny, rocky islet called Roca Partida (split rock). It’s a volcanic pinnacle of unknown age that comes up near vertically from the seafloor. Measuring roughly 330 feet by 26 feet at the surface, it juts up a bit over 100 hundred feet above the surface at its highest. Underwater is spectacular. We found ledges all around the island that had as many as 20 whitetips sleeping on top of each other during the day. Amazing to watch huge lobsters crawl over the whitetips, with plenty of fish swimming about. Scary scary sharks… not. Off the shoulders of the island are big schools of different types of jacks hanging in the current. Huge Yellowfin tuna and Wahoo completed the Tuna-stravaganza we got to experience. We had some flybys by mantas, sharks of the Galapagos, Silky, and Silvertip variety and the occasional hammerhead. Shelli and I opted for three dives that day. On two of them, we managed a full circumnavigation of the island. Not as easy as you think thanks to fickle currents and your dive guide’s whims. But those that stuck it out for the fourth dive of the day enjoyed more great encounters. Trust me. They told us.
Day four brought us to the big tamale – Socorro. By far the largest island, it also has the only appreciable vegetation – grasses and some shrubs – and on one tiny end, some palm trees planted on the naval base that protects this massive MPA. Aside from chasing off poachers, the Mexican mariners intercept drug boats and like to board dive boats with shiny M16’s. For mandatory inspections. During cocktail hour. Knowing our group and our filter issues, that’s ballsy as hell. I’m not sure who should have been more worried. Fortunately, everyone walked away unscathed.
It’s a toss-up as to what island was better diving, Roca or Socorro, but Socorro certainly completed most of the checklist. The most manta encounters by a long shot. We still saw sharks on every dive, which we consider the signs of a healthy ecosystem, but the manta flybys were cathartic, to say the least. Often close enough to touch. But we didn’t.
We spent two days off Socorro, first diving a spot called Punta Tosca and then a place called Aquario. My friend Perry pointed out that there is hardly a dive destination out there that doesn’t have a site called Aquarium. I wonder who comes up with these names? Oh wait.
On Aquario, We had one of our shallowest dives, which allowed us to spend extra time on a reef with an amazing variety of life. We had done so many deep dives already, that cruising around in waters at 40 – 60 feet was pretty relaxing. We found more octos, and would you believe it? Whitetip reef sharks! I’d never seen purple conch shells before and it was interesting they were only around one spot. We also spotted a big tiger shark cruising far off. And that was just fine for all of us.
The last day we spent on an amazing site called Cabo Pierce. It’s a long, rocky spine that juts off Socorro into the water getting ever deeper as it goes. Currents are strong and our guides did their best to keep us out of the worst of it. Those currents also make this a prime spot for seeing mantas. Over four dives, we had several amazing encounters.
Mantas have the largest and most developed brains (compared to body weight) of all fish. Known to be very social, inquisitive and have strong cognitive abilities. It has been surmised that they use their cephalic lobes – the paddles they use to guide food into their gaping maws – to communicate. You watch them move the lobes around, not only to feed, but also seemingly at random. That would be the communication part. Then, when they’re ready to cruise, they roll them up into points. On a few dives, I saw two of our guides using open-arm gestures with their hands moving around to attract passing mantas to swim closer. Until I tried it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. I made an open-arm gesture with my hands out and I had one not only veer toward me, but also stop right above me so I could blow out my bubbles underneath her (they apparently love that). Amazingly, she came back for another pass. I truly believe she would have loved for me to smack the giant remora off her belly. Without a doubt, the coolest marine encounter I’ve had, by a long shot. Life changing? You bet your ass.
On our third dive, or was it our second? We saw the whale. Shelli and I and a couple of others just happened to be looking around for another manta, when we spotted a big black shape about 50 feet away. We were on one side of the rocky spine, she was on the other. It quickly became apparent that this was a Humpback whale with those huge grey flippers. Here in an instant and gone in the murk, just as fast. Thankfully Shelli and JohnVoss® managed to get pictures and a little video so our very jealous fellow divers would not think we were full of shit. At least, not about that. Later analysis of the pictures showed a small set of flukes sticking up on the other side of her. This was the momma and her calf we had seen from the boat a couple hours earlier. I can’t think of any new adjectives. Oh wait. Scrumtrelescent. You’re welcome.
Our journey home was a lot like our trip out. Leave in the evening, try to sleep as our ship plowed through the waves. Wake up, eat, hang out, eat some more, hang out some more, until cocktail hour struck. Then we ate some more, now with cocktails. We rolled into the evening, ate some more, had a few more cocktails, and after finally tiring of laughing and joking and laughing… we had our last night of glorious, glorious sleep.
Early morning found us slowly pulling into Cabo. While we were away, the Uber-rich had a changing of the guard, with many new super-yachts having pulled into the slips. We got to see some of the coolest stuff with some of the nicest people. For Shelli and I, we found our riches in the waters off Socorro. The yacht-dwellers have no idea what they missed.