Travelogue Mexico - Revillagigedos Archipelago (San Benedicto, Socorro and Roca Partida)
in February 2018
Again we went on the long way to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. After the cancellation of the dive safari because of the Hurricane
'Blanca' in summer 2015, we finally wanted to know: Are there really the most trusting dolphins and manta rays in the Pacific
Revillagigedos archipelago, are they really so "friendly" and do we have more luck with the conditions this time?
To start with the important, yeah, yeah yeah - the underwater world was phenomenal and the 'inhabitants' of San Benedicto,
Socorro and Roca Partida showed themselves from their best side (somehow we were always in the "right" group). However,
there were a few unpleasant surprises, our luggage didn't show up due to the late landing in Mexico City (but was delivered
on the same evening - good that we had planned an overnight stay in San Jose del Cabo). On the tour with the Nautilus Explorer
it turned out that due to a "broken bolt" at one of the two engines we could only drive with half power, which turned out to
be very uncomfortable especially on the return trip. The Check Dive at the dive site El Canon in front of San Benedicto diced
the pre-arranged dive groups "Sharks","Mantas" and "Dolfins" quite confused, unusual currents, buoyancy and some more
technical problems caused an unbelievable chaos during the ascent, the supposed diving accident turned out to be more harmless than feared.
At some point everything had settled in and the adventure could begin. The longed-for cleaning station for hammerhead sharks
at the canyon was unfortunately not occupied and so we changed the next day to the famous dive site "Boiler", where we had our
first encounters with the "friendly" Giant Oceanic Manta Rays (manta bisostris). The friendly behaviour of the manta rays
towards the divers in Socorro is probably unique, the animals love to approach the divers up to a distance of 1 meter, make
eye contact and get massaged by the air bubbles on their belly.
Already at the end of the 2nd day of diving, the several hours crossing to Roca Partida began; this is an uninhabited rocky
island in the eastern Pacific Ocean and at the same time the smallest of the Revillagigedo Islands belonging to Mexico. It is
located at a good 800 km from the Mexican coast and about 107 km west of Socorro, the largest island in this archipelago. Due
to its exposed location, diving on the Roca Partida (broken rock) is very special, where the shark society of the large marine
life meets when passing through, the island serves as a feeding place, resting place and cleaning station.
The relatively small dive site is home to up to 10 different shark species, we could see the Hammerhead shark, Silk shark,
Whitetip reef shark, Galapagos shark and Tiger shark. At least in part we were the only boat on the Roca Partida and could do up to 4 dives per day.
From February to April humpback whales visit the islands on their way to Behring Sea. We were able to find several animals,
including a mother with her calf, but always at a respectful distance.
But not only the manta rays - also the dolphins in the Revillagigedos archipelago love the interactivity with the divers.
Particularly during the morning dives at the islands of Socorro and San Benedicto there were dives again and again, during
which the bottlenose dolphins offered the guests and divers a show of superlatives when they suddenly came to visit from the
blue of the Pacific to play with the divers - and to be petted. You couldn't refuse them (and wouldn't normally do it anyway),
but you were harassed and groped by the dolphins until you had no choice but to touch the miraculous sea creatures. Thereby one
was quickly lured unnoticed into the depths beyond the 30-metre mark again and again.....
At the Boiler (San Benedicto) one could not decide to observe or photograph dolphins, hammerhead sharks or manta rays.
The underwater landscape was typically volcanic, similar to Galapagos and Cocos, sparsely overgrown with stony corals and shells,
partly with interesting formations. Visibility was quite good, there were sometimes strange currents, swell, washing machine - diving
was sometimes very demanding, although the currents on the surface were usually even rougher during the ascent. At the Roca Partida
there were large schools of macarels, hunting tunas and, not to forget, the white tip sharks, which laid in packs at the different rock-formations.
On Socorro Island there were comparatively fewer fish, but here we had the most interesting encounters with Bottlenose dolphins.
The water temperature has been between 23° and 25°C throughout the trip.
A few more words about the ship 'Nautilus Explorer': It was a good choice, we were able to upgrade to the Emerald Suite at short
notice, but the cabins on the lower deck were also quite spacious and well equipped. A big praise to the chef and his team, the
food was great and always sufficient, the service unique. Our guides Rodolfo, Yann, Pato, Maya and Jessy did a great job; we also
enjoyed the evening lectures about sharks, manta rays, dolphins and much more.
We would recommend the Nautilus fleet at any time and hope that the underwater paradise of the Revillagigedos Archipelago will
continue to be protected and preserved far out in the Pacific Ocean. The long journey there was really worthwhile. On this way
we would like to greet our diving buddies Gabriela, Christian, Dunja, Tomas and Katia. And of course the other fellow travellers,
it was a quite harmonious time with you! Maybe we meet again....
