How many Manta’s did I see at the Boiler is an unfair question. The amount of excitement cannot be described in the number of manta’s but in the grace and beauty of these animals as they spin and dance right in front of you. As I giant Stride into the water, a pinnacle of rock with layers that remind you of stacked concrete slabs rise from the depths of the ocean creating this amazing site called the boiler, with beautiful Jacks, White Tips, Galapagos sharks, lobsters, eels and mantas who all call this home. It is a tough decision to decide if you are going to plunge down to the depths of the the pinnacle to search out the rumored hammer heads and sleeping sharks; or do you stay at a mid level and wait for the Manta’s to appear from the blue? If you are an over zealous American that is overly excited to see everything, you will do as I did and swoop to the depths and find more creatures and life then you ever thought was possibles and then start circum-navigating around the Pinnacle riding the currents and up currents, I make almost my first full trip around and out in the distance I see my first Manta of the morning, gliding across the ocean, like a ballerina. Soon there are 3 and 4 other mantas playing an orchestrated came of cat and mouse, reminding me of a scene from the movie top gun with all the fighter jets flying thru the air, barely missing each other. I am completely memorized of these beautiful animals leaving me awe struck and waiting for the perfect moment to photograph the one that has caught my eye, and out of nowhere another one has snuck up behind me and swoops down right over my head, creating an up and close personal encounter. Once again you seem to not count the manta’s but start counting your blessings for just having the opportunity to be present for such an incredible show.
………As we woke to sunshine and the Mexican Navy you just know its going to be a special day. Today was like a roller coaster, Literally. As we drop down the descent line, I see diver after diver flying like manta rays without the grace, from one side of the submerged wall to the other and back again with the swell. You need to keep a good sense of humor and enjoy the little things on all the dives. I decided to drop deeper and avoid the swell at 34 feet, and go to a comfortable 85 feet and work my way out to find the elusive hammer head. The Dive Masters had mentioned that we need to hide behind the rocks to find the hammers. In my most dive ninja attitude I scurried and hopped from rock to rock at 120 feet looking for the perfect place to set up and wait for the hammer. I see a perfect U shaped rock pile right at the edge of the blue water, and slowly make my way over there being ever só careful not to scare anything off, right as I get to the “perfect” hammer viewing area a 6-7 foot Moray eel had diffrent plans for my choice of spots, graciously I moved on. As my deco time quickly ticked away, I was forced to retreat back to some shallower depths, and play with the Manta’s. As this is the 3rd day of playing with Manta’s you almost feel like you can become one with the manta if you search long enough.
The second dive produced oceanic white tips and one amazing pelagic that was off in the distance. I am not sure if it was a marlin or a sail fish, but it was fast and sleek like a bullet, such beauty flying thru the water. On the third dive we ran alongside one of the steepest sheer granite walls I have ever seen, it seemed to keep going and going for as far as the eye could see. It was just about dusk and the sharks were hunting, it was inspiring to watch them shoot from the depths after their prey, it reminded me of the famous Cascious Clay line- Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. As always we were grazed by a younger manta, maybe 8 feet across that would mimic everything you did. When I spotted her she was a ways off in the distance and I was concerned that she would not come in close enough for a photo. I have learned that even if they are farther away then an ideal distance that if I still take a photo and my stropes have a bright flash it seems to attract their attention and they always seem to come over and strike a pose for us. Just plain Grateful to have this opportunity and experience, and só blessed to share it with such a great ship of personalities and cultures from all over the world.
P.S. The peanut butter chocolate chip cookies by Katie are Amazing!!!!!
The amount of excitement cannot be described in the number of manta's but in the grace and beauty of these animals as they spin and dance right in front of you.
