Today was a special day!!
We arrived at Roca Partida in the early morning to humpback whales around the little island. Now, I’ve seen humpback whales before, but in my 25 years of diving, it was the very first time I actually saw one underwater. Every trip to Socorro and Revillagigedo is pretty much guaranteed to show us something good, something beautiful, something that makes you want to do every single dive, that makes me want to guide and work here. Sometimes it might be the playful mantas or maybe the sharks, but today we got to share a snorkel with a mother humpback and baby whale. After the first dive of the day, the whales came by the boat and took a couple of good enticing breaths. With just snorkeling gear on, we got in the water and much to our amazement, they stayed around. The mother just floated about 40ft below the surface and the baby would nuzzle up to her or dive, doing loops around her mothers mouth. Then first the baby and then the mother would come up for a breath just meters from were we were floating and go back down to their quiet play. This lasted maybe 15 minutes but for every one of us there the memory will last a lifetime and any words, even any image or video would ever do justice to an experience like this!
Peter Schalkwijk
Divemaster
How can I put into words what I’ve experienced this last week aboard the Nautilus Explorer! It started at “The Canyons”, can you say MANTA, MANTA, MANTA, MANTA, they were everywhere! Dancing with each other, four of them at one point, below, above, to the left and the right, they weren’t just interacting, they were playing with us. From there only getting better by the minute – Humpback whales singing and breaching by the boat (All thanks to BOB), my very first dolphin encounter at Roca Partida and did I happen to mention THE SHARKS: Silkies, Silver tips, White tips, Galapagos, and then of course those INCREDIBLE HAMMERHEAD SHARKS!!!!!! What an amazing animal, my favorite moment was seeing fifty to seventy of them at Peter’s (DM) spot at “The Canyons”. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for one amazing ocean adventure filled with phenomenal world class diving, incredible sunsets, great stories, fantastic friends, and a WONDERFUL CREW that just made it even more SPECIAL. Dr.Dieter J. Moya.
Wow! What else can I say! Unbelievable Giant Manta interactions….today, 3 at one time coming to visit each diver individually as if to come by and introduce themselves to us giving each diver a up close and personal interaction and taking the time to pose for pictures. Yesterday not only did we have sharks but a Humpback whale mother, calf and escort in water encounter snorkel in blue water! Unfortunately our diving is done for the week but not to worry, we have left plenty for the next guests when then visit this magical part of the world’s ocean next week and many more after that! Special thanks to the crew of the Nautilus Explorer for a wonderful week and my fellow shipmates that made this a very special time. And, I have to add an apology to Dr. D for not taking a picture of him with the mantas but I think he was always overloading on Nitrogen playing with the Hammerheads :-). Terri Huber
Best day of the trip. Large groups of inquisitive hammerheads, interactive mantas – even a lone silky to keep us company during the safety stop on our last dive. Great trip, great boat, great crew. Highly recommended. – Reuben
It is hard to know where to start…we have seen it all in just a matter of a few short days. They talk about the friendly mantas of the Socorros but you have to experience it for yourself! Not just a quick swim-by but multiple dives with multiple giant mantas. Big animals are the norm here not the exception. What would you like to see? Sharks, mantas, dolphins, whale sharks and humpback whales. I was very happy to take one, I mean a couple for the team, when they said Whales all you heard was a splash and I was off swimming as fast as possible. I had the rare chance to see a mother and calf resting just beneath the surface and then see three whales later in the trip. This has been a very special dive vacation for me. I am very fortunate to have met an incredible group of fellow adventures and also a fantastic crew. Did someone say whales?…….splash.
Bob Scarzafava
Snorkeling with humpback whales, schooling hammerheads and playful dolphins….and that was all before lunch time! – Kevin
In my 25 years of diving, it was the very first time I actually saw a humpback whale underwater –>> thank you from the bottom of my heart for one amazing ocean adventure. – Guest blog – Jan. 30/10
