Check out this slideshow of guest and crew pictures from our trip to the Sea of Cortez in early November 2007
Read MoreCheck out this slideshow of guest and crew pictures from our trip to the Sea of Cortez in early November 2007
Read MoreMy last dive today was even more special. We were hanging off the north end of Roca Partida in the shallows with 10 or so divers below us and their bubbles streaming to the surface. The positioning of the divers was such that the bubbles looked like vertical curtains with a passageway between them. I was busy admiring this when a giant manta swooped in beside me and flew straight down the alleyway, twisting and turning around the veil of bubbles. It was beautiful. And then he turned around and did the whole thing over again leaving no question in my mind that this intelligent animal was clearly and deliberately playing in the divers’ bubbles.
Read MoreTwo whale sharks. One was the size of a bus! 45 – 50 feet long and a little brother of maybe 21 feet. We also got visitedby giant manta rays. It was a good start and we had the whale sharks around the rock for the rest of the day. We also saw whitetip reef sharks of course but just a few Galapagos and silvertip sharks – likely because of the relatively warm water?! A good day. At night with no moon we were surrounded by about a 50 silky sharks chasing flying fish in the floodlights of the Nautilus Explorer.
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 MoreWe saw five whale sharks at El Mogote and our two local pangas were busy dropping off and picking up our divers. A 6 metre whale shark stopped to feed and positioned itself vertically in the water, completely indifferent to our snorkellers. This provided a great opportunity for photos and videos. Pelicans reportedly dive bombed the bait fish that the whale shark was feeding on and thousands of the fish ended up hiding in the exhaust bubbles from the underwater main engine exhaust of the Nautilus.
Read MoreNone of us are ever going to forget the 1/2 million booby birds (and their incredibly cute chicks) that we saw, the 5 million bright orange land crabs, the amazing number of moray eels and their bizarre behaviour, the thick “clouds” of black and big-eye jacks, heavy schools of black triggerfish and rainbow runners, the endemic iridescent blue Clipperton angelfish and the coconut groves, white sand beaches and beautiful setting.
Read MoreI have to report that we haven’t seen many sharks yet. Three hammerheads and a couple of silvertips today and that was it – OH WAIT!! We also saw a nice 25ft whale shark swim by this morning!! We often see whale sharks at Roca Partida (Socorro Island) in November and December, and then they disappear when the water cools down as the cool waters of the California current push southward. The water temperature at Clipperton Island is presently 82˚F and I’m wondering whether the Socorro whale sharks head down this way to stay in nice balmy water?? Hmmm.
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