I came on watch this morning to beautiful calm seas with a very low swell from the northwest and clear skies. Ocean passages like this are a dream and I’m almost sad at the thought of arriving at San Benedicto Island around dinner time tonight!!
Read MoreThis trip has been one of the lightest on giant mantas that this divemaster can remember. But fortunately (and none too soon!) we had a stellar eleventh hour appearance from three giant, friendly, photogenic mantas at our last dive site, The Boiler, at Isla San Benedicto.
Read MoreUnfortunately, the wind was being a little uncooperative today, and ash from the volcanic island was blowing into the water column, hampering visibility a fair bit. Nevertheless, there were some silvertip shark sightings, and the first day went by smoothly. Also, this trip coincided with a full moon, with a lunar eclipse due in a few days, the nights are beautiful.
Read MoreAt the end of the day, just before coming up from the last dive for fresh baked cookies and champagne mimosas, some of our divers were bid farewell by a large school of hammerhead sharks! Once again, the creatures of Revillagigedos had organized a really nice sendoff for us, practically begging us to return to say hi to them one more time.
Read MoreOn the second dive, the giant mantas made an appearance! We had relocated to a site called The Canyon, where we had numerous sightings of hammerhead sharks, most notably a very large and curious fellow who made several circles about the same cleaning station.
Read MoreAs we ascended to our safety stops, riding in the mild surge, finally there they were! Two mantas, one black, one chevron, stayed with us on the last 5 minutes of our first dive, and every diver was making the most of their air to stay with these wonderful creatures.
Read MoreTo our great fortune, we were greeted almost immediately by a pair of chevron giant manta rays! They stayed with us the entire day, waiting patiently under the Nautilus until we re-entered the water, and graced us with some intimate interaction and eye-to-eye contact. The mantas may have dominated the centre stage at The Canyon, but that’s not to say that other pelagic animals didn’t get their time in the limelight, as we were also treated to a couple of close passes by a school of hammerhead sharks, and had some excellent sightings of a small group of silvertip sharks.
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