How come that Mexico is so fascinating? Just good geographic position near the equator? The history? Having access to two different oceans? I have loved visiting Yucatan in the Caribbean and the pacific side doesn’t disappoint either.
Socorro, or Revillagigedo to be precise, is an island group pretty much in the middle of nowhere with excellent diving. That is, if you’re (like me) into the big stuff. If you want macro, go someplace else – well, to be honest I wouldn’t really know (don’t have time to look for smaller stuff when a manta comes swooping in 😁).
Socorro is the name of the biggest island in the archipelago, and the easiest to pronounce. Thus chosen for marketing.
Anyhow, still a COVID pandemic around, so travelling there didn’t go as planned. Steffi and me wanted to fly via San Francisco but Americans wouldn’t let us in if we had spent last 14 days in Europe. So, flying via Cancun instead and getting in some more bull shark diving ☺️.
Made our way to Cabo San Lucas via Mexico City on the very day the liveaboard departed. Sounded really smart in theory – no bothersome single hotel night before the trip – turned out to be a nightmarish long day. Could have seen that one coming. We were also probably lucky that our luggage arrived in time.
Liveaboard (Nautilus – Belle Amie) was excellent, fantastic crew, beautiful ship and the diving absolutely worth the long trip. Saw lots of different sharks, including silkies, oceanic and reef white tips, silver tips, hammerheads and tiger sharks. On most of the dives you had several different kinds around you.
Also, the mantas. Just amazing.
The oceanic manta can have a wingspan of up to 7m and is thus quite a lot bigger than its cousin the reef manta. Just impressive. And they react to you too. Clearly intelligent, they sometimes take time to inspect every diver and they also seem very interested if you try to imitate their language (sign language for which they use their cephalic fins – curling or uncurling and opening them). No idea what I said to them but they seemed more confused than offended. There are two main color variations- the chevron manta and the black manta (see pictures below).
Also had a couple of dolphins stopping by on occasion. Now, they are made out to be such nice animals but I honestly think they are laughing at the divers. Showing off their skills, safely staying out of camera-reach, and making fun of the clumsy divers bold enough to enter their realm. I’m sure they are having a blast.
Naturally, there are lots of smaller fish, too. Not that I could name them, but they are plentiful. You get beautiful schools and some very nice flock behavior when a hunter comes in. They also make for some nice backgrounds.
The diving itself can be quite challenging with all the surge pushing you around. Some current too, but that was manageable. Probably not a relaxing place for beginner divers, though. Oh, and I was super comfortable in my dry suit – just to let you know 😜.
Anyway, here are some of the pictures I took:
