Location: Punta Tosca, Socorro Island, Revillagigedos, Baja California, Mexico
Our second dive day dawned, grey and windy, fortunately our anchorage at Punta Tosca is nicely sheltered and as we were “skiffed” across the dive site the bay was surprisingly smooth and calm. Unfortunately, the calm did not extend below the surface and we dropped into some hard current. Most divers opted to drop into the shallow side of the bay and take the easier dive in more sheltered waters. Those that braved it out in the stiff current in and around our descent line were rewarded by seeing a very large black manta hanging in the current and actively feeding in close proximity to a cruising hammerhead shark. Our remaining 2 dives were spent in and around the bay as the current had not abated. Although we did not see any more mantas, there were a lot of fish on the site. Of course we come here to see the giant mantas and the sharks but we should not forget just how pristine and beautiful these dive are, or how diverse the marine life is here. Divers here commonly miss some amazing sights, large free swimming morays, octopus hunting or engaged in mating rituals, reef fish being groomed and cleaned, to name but a few. Indeed, it is the small cleaner fishes such as the barber fish and the wrasse that account, in no small part to the large numbers of sharks and manta in this area. Not only do these cleaner fish draw in the larger pelagics they also keep them healthy by ridding their skins of parasites. I’d recommend that any serious photographers coming here pack a macro lens and take at least one dive where they slow down and think small. We’ll all appreciate it, you know as soon as you put on the macro lens on the big stuff will turn up ! Buzz
Weather: Low cloud, scattered sunshine, 81 F low surface chop
Water: Water temp 74F visibility 70 feet
