Just returned from an amazing trip to Socorro (Archipelago Revillagigedo)
Myself and 19 others boarded the Rocio Del Mar on Tuesday, Feb. 19. We endured a long and rough crossing (normally this takes about 30 hours, due to the conditions – it took us about 36 hours). Needless to say, once we reached our first stop, San Benedicto – we were ready to be in a calm anchorage and ready to dive!
San Benedicto offered great manta action, hammerheads and the calls of humpback whales off in the distance. One of the groups got the first taste of humpbacks that day – and was able to jump in and snorkel for a few short minutes with 2 adults and 1 baby.
Our next stop was Socorro Island, the largest of the 3 islands we visited. Socorro also satiated our needs for mantas and sharks. Not to mention the beautiful reed fish found in these waters – puffers in large numbers, schools of scrawled file fish and butterfly fish, numerous giant green moray eels and of course huge lobsters! My favorite memory of Socorro was the 5 dolphins that visited us about halfway through our dive on Rocas O’Neal – what fun to swim with these remarkable creatures for a few minutes!
The third island we visited was Rocas Partida, a funny looking rock what sticks out of the sea in the middle of nowhere. This is the spot I think will live in everyone’s memory banks. Not only is there great shark action around this rock (white tips, silver tips, silkies, Galapagos and hammerheads in plentiful numbers), this is the spot where all of us had numerous chances to snorkel and even dive with humpback whales! There was one group in particular, 2 adults and 1 baby that just allowed us all plenty of time for photos, videos, and mind etching moments none of us will ever forget.
After 2 days of some of the best diving most of us will ever have, it was back to San Benedicto for our 4 last dives. We did dive the famous “boiler” which offered an outstanding bait ball, along with a manta and again, one group of humpbacks, but due to rough surface conditions, we had to head around to the other side. We finished our diving with hammerheads and another great dive with dolphins. My last safety stop of my last dive was a long one, as a giant manta decided to join us at 15 feet for those last 5 minutes.
What a great trip! We had a remarkable crew, an impressive group of divers and fantastic diving for all! Jane Steinbrecher – Group Leader