Socorro, Socorro, Socorro! This will most certainly be my response the next time a fellow diver asks me where I recommend to go diving. When they ask me how they should get there, my response will no doubt be, Nautilus, all the way.
After roughly 150 dives from Australia, to French Polynesia, to the Caribbean, I can easily say without a doubt that Socorro has brought me at least the Top 3 dives of all my life. We have had the most incredible interactions with Mantas and Dolphins, and I just cannot imagine interactions with mantas and dolphins being better anywhere else in the World. As Pascal, our two-time Nautilus Dive Guide, who is in my opinion one of the best Dive Guides in the World, said, you need to appreciate that the mantas and dolphins are engaging in these experiences because they want to engage with you. This was a great way set the mindset for the trip. It really helped me to approach these interactions as an opportunity to give as much as to take.
As I grabbed for the ladder and pulled myself up, I heard Paulo barely able to contain himself “you literally went on a date with that manta”, as he laughed. I thought to myself – so I was not dreaming. That really did happen, and I was not the only one that noticed just how special it was. I sat on the side of the skiff, permanent grin affixed to my face my mind still 60 ft below, as Deborah popped her head up over the side of the skiff, and as soon as she sees me, I see her laughing as she says, I am telling your wife that you have a girlfriend. Ah yes, and on that note you could say that this was the very best morning of my life, well perhaps with the exception of the day boys were born, but yeah it was at that level for sure, and yeah this was literally the only second morning of diving on the trip. The first time the manta came, I was prepared. I had been listening very carefully when Pascal explained to us how to increase your chances for the very best manta interactions. First, make sure you are not too close to the other divers because the manta is going to want to feel like he has enough space to go where it wants, when it wants.
-Mike
