Diving off Socorro Island – An Unforgettable Day
It was an unforgettable day of diving off Socorro Island. As we descended into the clear, warm waters, we were greeted by an abundance of marine life. Schools of colorful fish swam past us and several manta rays appeared gliding gracefully through the water, providing a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
We were also lucky to see a few sharks during our dives, including Galapagos sharks and hammerheads. These magnificent creatures are often misunderstood, but it was fascinating to observe them in their natural habitat. Their presence added an element of excitement to our dive and made the experience even more memorable.
Socorro Island truly lives up to its reputation as a world-class diving destination.
Outstanding service on board
Apart from the amazing underwater experiences, what made the trip memorable was the outstanding service on board. The crew was friendly, knowledgeable, and always available to assist us when required. The team ensured that we had a comfortable and safe diving experience, and their attention to detail made all the difference. Whether it was helping us gear up for our dives or serving delicious meals, the crew went the extra mile to make our trip memorable. Thanks to this outstanding care, all of us had a great time in Socorro.
Rating my Experience so far
As of today, we have finished 11 dives over 3 days on Nautilus Explorer, and I have been more than impressed with what we´ve seen so far!
Here is my impression of the Top 3 sights and experiences:
3. This spot is special especially for bottlenose dolphins! We saw 2 at Cabo Pearce in Socorro while we were doing a safety stop today. Two dolphins swam just above us to say Hi! On the same day, our dive master Pedro alerted us (while we were resting in the living room) that dolphins were following us! We quickly ran to the deck to watch and found several jumping beside the boat and giving us a show! There were lots of exciting screams in our video footage of this moment.
2. It definitely goes to the school of hammerhead sharks that suddenly appeared in front of us in the deep blue during our 3rd dive on our second day at El Canon in San Benedicto. We were hoping to see at least one hammerhead shark, and suddenly, there were about hundreds swimming by us. It was a dream come true!
1. The winning spot goes to all the beautiful, friendly giant mantas that we met in almost every dive so far. They love to swim around us and sometimes come really close as if checking us out and saying Hi. It´s an amazing experience to look into their eyes! You can feel their warmth and friendliness.
Beyond these top 3 sightings, we´ve seen other species of sharks, eels, sting rays, octopus, and very colorful fish all around. And the best part is, we´re only halfway through the trip!
Summing up our Socorro Island Trip
Overall, we heartily agree that it was a truly outstanding trip. We are returning from Socorro Island and it is time to sum up our experiences.
El Canon
We had a lot of fun diving at the cleaning station with all the Galapagos and Silvertip sharks swimming around us when suddenly we saw a manta chevron appear from the west. Spectacular!
The Boiler
It was a special place to interact with the Pacific Giant Manta, Black Mantas, and Chevron Mantas all around the cleaning stations. The highlight here was a very friendly bottlenose dolphin that came to say hello to the divers at the eastern corner of the reef.
Roca Partida
It was an amazing experience. We came across Galapagos sharks and Silvertips in the north and a mix of Bigeye jacks, amberjacks, and a school of cottonmouth jacks in the northwest. In between a huge yellow-fin tuna passed directly in front of us.
Cabo Pearce
With moderate to mild currents, Cabo Pearce was the perfect place to find Chevron Mantas and Black Mantas patrolling the cleaning stations. We saw at least 3 to 4 mantas per dive, which is incredible, plus a bunch of friendly bottlenose dolphins that showed up!
The water temperature was typically 75 F to 77 F and the visibility was around 80 ft / 24 m depending on the sites. The Boiler and Roca Partida, and the last day at El Canon was around 50 Ft / 15 M, but still good enough to have fun with the huge Galapagos sharks within the cleaning stations.
Before starting on the trip, we had seen the clips of Socorro with the Mantas and I must say they were impressive. So, we had come with a lot of expectations but what we encountered on our trip was surreal and far exceeded that. Seeing the magnificent creatures in front of my eyes and actually moving close to us left me excited and amazed.
Everyone is happy!! See you soon!
