Dive day 1 of our current dive expedition to the Islas Revillagigedo found us at the rugged and forbidding island of San Benedicto, dominated by its impressive cone of ash formed during its last eruption in 1952/53.
We jumped in for our checkout dive at the south end of the island under beautiful sunny skies and a calm sea.
The local giant mantas must have been lonely with no other boats in the area, as two very friendly mantas appeared quickly and spent most of the dive dancing with our guests. “Best checkout dive ever!” was repeated several times after that dive!
For the afternoon we headed up to another famous manta divesite called the Boiler. A volcanic pinnacle about a half mile off the main island, we’ve had some of our best manta diving at this site. As usual at this time of the year there were multiple humpback whales in the area, including mothers with calves and their male escorts. As we were gearing up for our first afternoon dive we had a special treat, as the distinctively large dorsal fins of a pair of Orcas could be seen cruising slowly by the area.
The dive itself delivered in classic Boiler style, with at least 4 friendly giant pacific mantas around the rock, dancing, playing and interacting with all the guests. Although we didn’t get to see any humpback whales during the dive we did enjoy their songs throughout. As with humans, some are much better singers than others!
Capt Gordon Kipp
Captain's log – Socorro Island – 2 very lonely giant mantas.
