We arrived at Isla Tortuga with a good overnight crossing. We did our first dive on the north side away from the little waves. We dropped the group off in 30ft of water and had lots of snappers greeting us. Water temp at 30ft was 77˚F, and when we headed to the deeper area we saw a green turtle, and a mobula. Everyone was so focused on that one that cruised by us that we didn’t notice the other 4 right away! There was a little current to the north so we went with it just to see a batch of groupers about 30-40 just facing the current. It was a really good dive, everyone enjoyed it. On the second dive the current had changed direction so we went to the east side to drift dive and we encountered a piece of old net. While following it we saw it had 6 huge slipper lobsters tangled in it! Everyone that was with our group started to take out their baby knives and Rambo knives to set the lobsters free. We finished with that part of the net, and then looked ahead and saw it had 10 more tangled! We freed them as well and then brought all the pieces of net back on to the boat. I thanked all the divers that participated, and they were happy to have done it. On the way back we cruised beside the island and there were so many pelicans, I’ve never seen that amount in any place! I believe that there must be a lot of food around to feed all of these huge birds! Now we are looking to head up north to Isla San Pedro. I love that place, lots of good diving there! I will keep you all posted how it goes.
–DM Juan
There couldn’t be a better name for this island, we had sea turtles on every dive. Isla Pelicano (Pelican) could be also a name for this island, with lots of very timid pelicans. Underwater the action was very good on the first two dives, we had sea turtles, a couple mobula rays, plus 2 Banded Guitar fish. All the Cortez angelfish make this place very enjoyable. There were also lots of juvenile groupers, two with golden faces. We are excited to keep moving north to see what else can we find. We will send a report tomorrow!
–DM Joel
A great day with three dives — turtles and mobula rays at every dive, perfect.
Lots of fish, more than I could identify, and so many different species of starfish, with lovely seaweed growing over the rocks. Great to see an ecosystem with such a mix of wildlife, from small fry up to large adults! We did our bit, cutting several slipper lobsters out of abandoned nets so they live to swim many more days. The pelicans on the island are a great sight, adults and juveniles, just fledgelings. Beautiful rock structures can see the layers – a geologist would love it.
The crew are great, making this a wonderful trip, with lots of happy people here tonight enjoying Mexican food and looking at pictures and video of some great dives.
–Guest Maire B.
