What a day we had. We started the day by arriving at a little island called Las Animas close to San Jose Island. I love this dive spot because of the variety of sea creatures that abound in this place. We did 3 amazing dives here with lots of playful Sea Lions and some Guadalupe Furred Seals. After three dives we picked up anchor and after a 45-minute boat ride, we came across what looked like a pod of Dolphins.
However, when we got close it turned out that it was a big pod of Shortfin Pilot Whales. I have never seen a pod of them this big. I estimate around 50 of them!
One of the things I like about my job as a dive master is to be able to show people wildlife and see their reactions. Today I was able to give the guests a once-in-a-lifetime experience, snorkeling with these wonderful animals. Trying to get them just in the right spot with the RHIB to be able to have the best chance to see the animals up close is super exciting to me.
My goal is to keep track of which direction the sea creatures travel, catch up with them, and try to get the guests in the perfect spot to interact with them. When the guests start cheering after they see wildlife up close, I get a good feeling.
A day that ended on a high note. One more day of diving on this trip. Let’s see…
Doing My Bit for Mother Nature
Today was the last day of diving for this trip. It has been a great trip. We had amazing dives and wonderful guests.
However, something out of the ordinary happened today. We started our first dive of the day at a dive site called La Barra del Mechud, right next to the island of San Francisco. I really like this place because it is a large bar-shaped reef. It is super long. I do not think I have ever been to the end.
We went down and about twenty minutes into the dive I saw something in the distance. I realized quite quickly that it was a small Turtle. When we got a little closer, I saw that it was caught in a rope and was not moving. I thought it was dead. It looked creepy so I thought that I should free it anyway so no other diver would have to see this.
However, when I got closer, I saw the turtle’s eye moving. I could not believe it. The little Tortes was still alive! It looked like it had given up hope until we swam up to it, probably without any strength to keep on fighting but with enough left to wink an eye. I got it untangled right away. The rope was wrapped around its left fin three times.
As soon as I got it off, the Turtle floated up to the surface. It did not look like it was in good shape. But to my surprise once at the surface, it lifted its head out of the water and stayed there for a few breaths just to swim away into the distance on the surface.
When we came up after the dive the guest were very happy that this animal was still alive. We never know what will happen on a dive.
Let’s see what the next trip holds for me.
