26 January 2009 Punta Tosca The first group on the first dive was lucky enough to see four different mantas. After that it was rather quiet. Low visibility and annoying currents pushing away from the dive site and the island Visibility around 10 m, water temp +25 Harri Wikberg […]
Read MoreLocation: Due to weather considerations we decided to start the trip off at Roca Partida. A small rock in the middle of the pacific, it is not particularly impressive above the surface aside from the numerous boobies and frigate birds duking it out for their next meal. Beneath the waves though, it offers a very […]
Read MoreOver the two days all of our divers were able to have closer and more intimate interactions with a couple of giant manta rays than anyone imagined. Some divers saw a small school of 10 hammerheads and one lucky group of divers had terrific interaction with a dolphin who played for 5 minutes before taking off rapidly and leaping out of the water. The silvertip and Galapagos sharks were off the northeast end of the rock circling in and out of view. One of the Galapagos sharks looked like it is recovering from a nasty spear wound to the head. He has a large lump with a hole on the top right side of his head and a hole/scar on the bottom left side by his gills. The good news is that we saw him last trip as well and he seems to be recovering nicely.
Read MoreWe saw Silvertip sharks, Galapagos sharks, Silky sharks, Hammerheads and White Tipped Reef sharks. There was a school of jacks at between 60 and 80 feet that stayed off the north point for both the days that we were there. The night of the full moon coincided with our night at Roca Partida which always makes for a spectacular evening on the “moon deck,” especially when combined with the flat seas that we were experiencing. A good omen for the rest of the trip.
Read MoreThe scuba diving at Roca Partida was red hot today. Not sure what else I can say! The seas were calm. Everyone saw giant manta rays (as advertised, we are quite sure that these are the “friendliest” mantas in the world), loads of sharks and large schools of fish with everything set to the music of humpback whales singing in the distance.
Read MoreSten and I divemastered the 3rd dive today and had a lovely time. Lots of fish including great schools of jacks and even a school of triggerfish. Not a lot of giant manta rays though. Super visibility in very blue water. My only disappointment was creeping along the west side of the rock against some localized current, poking my nose around a corner, and going face-to-face with 3 very large silvertip sharks. My disappointment stemmed from realizing that my dive buddies had given up on the current, slid back around the other side of the rock and missed seeing these sharks. The 3 big silvertips were terrific even if nobody else saw them.
Read MoreThe visibility and surface conditions were excellent today, and the sharks were very cooperative, with multiple sightings of silvertip, silky, Galapagos, hammerhead, and of course whitetip reef sharks. And at the end of the second dive, a very lucky group of 5 scuba divers saw a female humpback with a calf swim by at their safety stop! This is an extremely lucky experience, and I think I can speak for the group who saw this when I say that it made their trip and won’t be soon forgotten.
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