Location: Las Animas, Sea of Cortez, Baja California Sur
Comments: Captain Dave reports that they arrived at Las Animas (Sea of Cortez) early in the morning to find a fisherman in bright orange rain gear jigging for fish off a rock (note from Mike – bright orange rain gear on a scorching hot calm day without a cloud in the sky?!?). Our guests requested a hike on the island before their first dive and had a great time. They found baby pelicans, different species of cactus, lizards, frigate birds, other tropical birds and the ever-present booby birds.
The island is a granite slab rising up out of the deep water trench that runs through the Sea of Cortez. Las Animas used to teem with hammerhead and silky sharks in the old days but sadly those times are gone. Our divers had two great dives and saw lots of sea fans, horn sharks, guitarfish, stingrays and yellowfin tuna. Dave went looking for a blue whale that had been spotted nearby and instead, found a huge school of thousands of mobula rays on the surface, jumping and flapping their wings (pectoral fins) and leaping up to 6 feet out of the water!
Weather: Clear skies, no wind, calm seas, flat water, air temperature 84°F by mid-morning
Water: Water temperature 70°F, visibility of 40 feet.
