Punta Tosca never fails to amaze me with its bountiful encounters with sea animals, the emerald green vegetation, and the waves crashing over the cliffs. Dive at Punta Tosca in the Socorro Islands and be assured of seeing a wide variety of sea creatures. It is as if this place brings good luck and incredible sights to anyone who dives below the surface of the azure blue seas.
A Memorable Dive and An Incredible Dolphin Encounter
Our dives today at Punta Tosca were nothing short of fantastic. Every dive had something special waiting for us and we seized the opportunities with both hands. There was not a minute of boredom in waiting for the animals to appear, they were all over us all the time. And what can I say about the friendly dolphins – being within handshaking distance of them is what dreams are made of.
We hit gold on our first dive at Punta Tosca and I had one of the best encounters with dolphins in my life. We jumped close to the cleaning station and were waiting for mantas when I started hearing them – the familiar whistle of the dolphins. It was a windy day with lots of waves (even in the bay) and their singing floated clearly to us. I could hear the dolphins and the skiffs driving around us trying to call their attention and I could feel it in my bones that they were coming and they did!
In the beginning, very briefly they passed us by, a group of 8 adults with juvenile bottlenose dolphins. I believe they came to check on us. A few minutes later the 4 adults returned and the magic happened. One of them came straight to me, looked me in the eye, and touched my hand with its nose. It then positioned the body in a vertical position guiding me where it wanted to be rubbed.
The confidence of that animal in me gave me a lot of food for thought. It had trusted me and I too trusted it. It is difficult to explain how you can establish a close bond with an unknown creature in a few seconds but it happens. These 4 dolphins stayed with the group for 15 minutes, looking us in the eyes, playing with us, and leaving a message of faith.
What makes Revillagigedo such a special place is not only the biodiversity and megafauna we can encounter on these islands but also the interactions with the animals.
The Excitement Goes On
I love the layout of the bay at Punta Tosca formed by lava fingers, the reefs on top of those, and the platoon reef. These are some of the most unbelievable topographies that I have ever seen and this is what I tell my guests all the time, my love and reverence for this place.
Returning to the dive session, we decided to go to the western finger, my favorite dive point. Divemaster Pascal was driving the skiff and wisely decided to drop us on top of the “Y” shape that is in the middle of the rocky formation.
As is normal, when “they” come to visit, the first thing that I can hear as I hit the water is high-pitched singing. Sometimes I do not trust my senses and think that might be regulator stages whistling, but not this time: “they” were there again. Two dolphins were just underneath the group, swimming around in circles, really close, at arm’s length, magical and joyful. It is so hard to describe the feeling when the ocean welcomes you with this kind of gift.
Our good luck continued as soon after the dolphins left, we were face-to-face in the outer part of the finger with two enormous female chevron mantas and a tiger shark that sneaked passed us, allowing only a glimpse of itself.
Lesson From Punta Tosca – Never Give Up
An important lesson that Punta Tosca has taught me is to never give up the search for sea animals and to be patient.
On the last dive of the day, we decided to try a new navigation and dove between the two fingers around the reef. For over 35 minutes there was nothing and just as we were about to give up, the ocean gave us a crucial message – never give up on a dive!
And soon we were rewarded with a bounty as from out of the blue, two hammerheads approached the group very close. Then, following my gut feeling, I decided to cruise to a rock. I cannot explain why I did it but there is something in the density of the water, the temperature, the current that guides me to wait in a specific place there. Three minutes later, a black manta came by. We continued waiting and again from nowhere a huge tiger shark passed by us at eye contact distance.
What a great way to finish another amazing day at Punta Tosca, a paradise on Earth.
