Humpback whales are showing up in force, and providing constant entertainment. I think we must start a “breach count” to keep track of how many times we see these giants clear out of the water. Though we have not yet had any underwater sightings, any dive is enhanced with the majestic songs of the humpback whale.
Read MoreFinally we went to a new site on the north east side of San Benedicto and found some interesting rock formations with lots of reef life and what appeared to be a moray eel the colour of a Clarion Angelfish. Definitely a place for further investigation. On the run home we came up with a list of possible names for the newly explored sites including Whale Sound, Booby Prize, The Act of Waiting on a Rock and Watching Barnacles although none have been adopted at this time. Maybe a few more dives on the sites will bring out the personality of the sites and the names will become obvious.
Read MoreTypically, we do not see whale sharks once the water cools off during December since they prefer warmer waters however, with a warm current coming through this 20-25 foot animal provided much excitement and photographic opportunities as it swam within feet of the divers on their safety stop. Then, just so that there was no fighting amongst the guests, the whale shark stayed around for dive 4 so that almost everyone got to see it.
Read MoreThen off to Socorro to check in with the Mexican navy and dive Punta Tosca with the manta, tiger and hammerhead sharks on dive day 2 followed by Cabo Pearce on dive day 3. Our first dive at Cabo Pearce had great visibility and almost no current. It was a relaxing dive with a few sightings of dolphins and sharks off the outer point along with a group of Barberfish patiently waiting for something to clean. At times they even moved over to the scuba divers to see if they needed a clean.
Read MoreThe upside of this cooling is that the larger oceanic sharks start appearing. We saw a group of 6 silvertip sharks and 4 galapagos sharks patrolling “fish alley” where the large schools of jacks and bonitos hang out. There seems to be a hierarchy in the shark world whereby silkys are displaced by galapagos which in turn are displaced by silvertips.
Read MoreTalking about big critters, we did the whale shark snorkeling again and had 5 of them. Everyone saw them. But this time they where not staying and feeding at the surface but resting their tails on the sandy bottom like last time. And in just in 30 feet of water, a young Humpback whale came by!!
Read MoreThe thrill of the day was when a humpback whale came down the middle of Browning Pass just as we were wrapping up a dive at Snowfall. A couple of divers with “code yellows” made the heroic decision to “hold on” and let us drift down the pass and observe the humpback. We were all “blown away” (pun intended) when the humpy surfaced 20ft away from the skiff after a 6 – 8 minute dive. Emily and Charlie were on the skiff with me and it was awesome to see their excitement. Having the kids onboard has made this an especially and exceptionally enjoyable trip for me.
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