Socorro
The Archipelago de Revillagigedo (aka Socorro) consists of four islands some 250 miles Southwest of Cabo San Lucas at the Southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California. San Benedicto, Socorro, Roca Partida and Clarion Islands make up the Archipelago.
Boiler dive site at San Benedicto Island is what most slide shows feature. There divers are treated to incredibly friendly Giant Pacific Mantas with wingspans in the 12-20 foot range. These massive rays approach divers closely and swim over them to let divers’ bubbles tickle their bellies. These creatures come so close and look so primordial, that the experience is truly surreal. Dolpihins often welcome divers that get up before sunrise while at night schools of silky sharks often surrounded our boat on our trip. Roca Partida is another highlight spot. It is a rock column that sprouts out of the sea floor in about 200 feet of water. I barely breaks the surface and is covered with white bird guano as it sits some 70 miles from the nearest land. There divers find white tip sharks resting on shelves on the rock column. Galapagos sharks, hunting tuna and jacks patrol the area while feeding, while hammerhead sharks and the occasional whale shark appear in the distance. We saw whale sharks at both San Benedicto Island and Roca Partida. In the winter months, humpback whales are occasional visitors.
I was fortunate to go to Revillagigedo with PhD shark biologist Maurcio Hoyos on Sharkwater named in honor of Rob Stewart on a citizen science trip on the M/Y Sharkwater (see Fins Attached) and my article in Alert Diver http://www.alertdiver.com/Mauricio-Hoyos about Mauricio.
How to get there
Diving is by liveaboard only given the 250-mile distance from Cabo. There are a number of operators to choose from.
Rocio del Mar and Quino El Guardian –Quino is a bit less expensive than many liveaboards to Socorro and has mostly quad rooms (two bunks for four people in most cabins). They offer citizen science trips with shark biologists such as Maurico Hoyos or James ketcham and trips in addition to trips without a citizen science component.
Nautilus operates - Explorer, Belle Amie, Under Sea
MV Valentina, Socorro Aggressor and Vortex are three other options.
