Well Melissa is a certified diver as of yesterday. We did our open water thing at Mikes beach with a gazillion other folks. Vis varied from 15' to not your hand in front of your face. The sea of cortez will be a real blessing after that!
We won't have pictures unless we rent a camera or take a photo class, but I'll tell you all about it when we get back.
Bob
Headed for Loreto tomorrow
From an uninformed dunderhead: Where's Loreto?
Dave
"Clearly, you weren't listening to what I'm about to say."
--
Check out my Internet show:
http://www.irvingszoo.com
"Clearly, you weren't listening to what I'm about to say."
--
Check out my Internet show:
http://www.irvingszoo.com
If you're in town, stop by the Dolphin Dive shop and Say howdy to Bruce & Susan for me...
Tell'em Frank Poole wants to know if they're diving, or just pretending to dive... (just joking eh?)
Hava good trip, will look forward to a dive report, never heard about the diving from a PNW diver...
have fun..
Tell'em Frank Poole wants to know if they're diving, or just pretending to dive... (just joking eh?)
Hava good trip, will look forward to a dive report, never heard about the diving from a PNW diver...
have fun..
Frank Poole
ORV-RZR 1k & Hiking
Camping & Shooting(photos)
in the Great Nor’West
http://www.poolesweb.com/
ORV-RZR 1k & Hiking
Camping & Shooting(photos)
in the Great Nor’West
http://www.poolesweb.com/
Re: Headed for Loreto tomorrow
Well we got back last night at about 3 AM, whew! The trip was great! We dove 4 days, three different islands. When we arrived, I stopped in at the dive shop-(actually not a dive shop, they are set up for guiding, not selling gear), introduced myself to Necky who would be our guide, and he began to apologize for the conditions, which were, to him, not good. It turns out that the north wind had been blowing and the visibility was not good. Well, luckily we are from the Northwest and love to dive in murky water, so we booked a trip for the next day. We showed up at the dock at 9 am the next day and got acquainted with the other two people who would be sharing our panga (boat). Bart was from BC and had originally booked the trip to go to Coronado Island to dive in the sea lion colony, and Tai is from Portland Or.. So we got in the water, and after a few issues with weight, (we are used to steel tanks) we got underwater. The vis was probably 20-25ft (for us, great!) and I was immediately struck by the variety of fish, most of which I had never seen. They were gorgeous, especially the King angels, the blue and yellow chromis, and the rainbow wrasse. The terrain was a rocky point with walls dropping to 40-50 ft and large blocks of rock strewn about on a white sand bottom. There were gorgonians, orange cup coral, sea fans and some black coral growing an the rocks, and I was kind 0f preoccupied looking at these when the sea lions discovered us and started to check us out. Cool!
Second dive we used the current to come at the colony from the other side but never made it back to the sea lion colony, but we saw a diamond stingray laying on the bottom that was probably 5' wingtip to wingtip. Then we swam around a point, and Necky made a circle over his head. I looked up and we were surrounded with hundreds of Mexican Barracuda. They were gorgeous! They circled us about 3 times, apparently curious. So cool! This was the first day. It got better, but I've got to get up from the computer. I'll tell you some more later.
Bob
Second dive we used the current to come at the colony from the other side but never made it back to the sea lion colony, but we saw a diamond stingray laying on the bottom that was probably 5' wingtip to wingtip. Then we swam around a point, and Necky made a circle over his head. I looked up and we were surrounded with hundreds of Mexican Barracuda. They were gorgeous! They circled us about 3 times, apparently curious. So cool! This was the first day. It got better, but I've got to get up from the computer. I'll tell you some more later.
Bob
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading - Lao Tzu
Re: Headed for Loreto tomorrow
wow, sounds great, bob! i'm looking forward to the rest of the story. i'm also curious to know how Loreto was aside from the diving...
Re: Headed for Loreto tomorrow
Loreto was awesome. The people were very friendly, communication was no problem. The folks are very patient with all of our gestures, improper pronunciations etc.. My spanish went from absolute zero to at least I am reasonably sure of what I am ordering for lunch.
We found some very special friends- Alberto, who owns the bookstore on Paseo Hidalgo a couple of blocks from the water and a block south of the town square. If you go I would stop in here first. He has books about the history of the area, food, flora and fauna, and recommended several good restaurants which, when we said Alberto sent us, treated us like old friends. Necky (a nickname, his real name is Adrian), was the divemaster we did our diving with, and besides showing us some awesome places underwater, helped us with our spanish, and gave us advice and directions to all the places we wanted to see on our own.
The mission in town is the center of the town. It was built in 1697, establishing Loreto as the first capital of the Californias. There is a cobble stone square in front of the government building/town hall, where the local kindergarten kids put on a show of traditional dance one day. It was great to see these kids in their colorful costumes. Heading west from this square is a cobble street with merchants lining it selling artwork and the like. We looked at all of the wares and on our last day selected a couple of the best examples of what we found. At the north end of this street is a supermarket called El Pescador, which is the largest in town and where we bought most of our food. Food is very inexpensive in the market, and slightly less expensive than here in the US in the restaurants.
We dove with Cormorant dive center, I think this is cobadi in spanish, when folks in town asked me who I was going with, the word cormorant only brought quizzical looks. There are others in town, who I have heard good things about, but these guys definitely bent over backwards to insure our comfort and safety. Necky dove with us on every dive, and used his knowledge to show us the interesting sights. Towards the middle of our stay the wind came up and was interfering with our diving, they cancelled one day, and I was worried we might not get out for quite a while, so I suggested that we start early before the wind came up. They agreed to do this, and we went out and made the best dive of the trip. When we surfaced, we found that the wind had stiffened, and Necky got everyone in the boat and told us we had to go in. It was disappointing but a good decision, we had six miles of open water to cross to get back to the marina. One guy on the boat was chumming before we got back.
We rented a house to live in for our stay. It was a new house in an area that has mostly well to do americans. It was nice, but I think if I did it again I would stay in a hotel or rent a place closer to town. Telephones are different down there. Our cell phones didn't work for the most part, although our provider told us they would before we left, the signals were not compatible in this area. If you're a ways out of town you may need a taxi. One day I just asked someone driving by, and he called his brother in law who had a taxi. He was there in five minutes! We also rented mountain bikes for 15 dollars a day, which were fine, unless we had diving gear to transport. The town is perfect for bikes, drivers are considerate, although you have to be careful until you understand the way people drive there. I don't know if they have a minimum age down there but I saw kids driving that were no more than 12.
Necky tells me that the absolute best diving is in september. That is also when it is unbearably hot! I think that the best time might be october when it is cooling a bit or just plan on staying in the 80+ degree water. At this time of year the temp of the water is generally 65 degrees, although this year they are experiencing record cold water temps at 61 degrees. I wore my 7mil, but did not need gloves.
Side trips we made were to the Bahia de Magdalena to see the gray whales and their calves. This was an adventure in itself. The locals told us it was a two hour drive. This is only if you DRIVE LIKE THE LOCALS, which would be ill advised on your first trip. the roads are a little narrower and have NO shoulder. If you drop a tire off the road at 60mph, it's going to be ugly. Anyway, we were a little late getting there and got a little lost finding the dock where the Pangero's meet tourists who want to go see the whales. So we went to the Policia station, and asked a non english speaking officer to help. I knew how to say ballena(whale), and asked for Manuel Simmental(who we were supposed to meet for our trip). The officer motioned for us to follow him, and gave us an escort to the dock! There are ethical issues, with whale watching that I don't really like, but this was the trip that was most important to my sis-in-law. so I held my tongue, and went along to see how it is. The whales are there, and the pangeros get you pretty close to them, not so close that the whales would be injured, but I think that they (the whales) were trying to evade us. I enjoyed seeing them, but this trip reinforced my issues with whale watching and I don't think I would do this again.
Another trip was the the mission san javier, in the mountains 12 miles from Loreto. This is a two hour drive. It is all gravel roads sometimes switching back on the side of very steep country, but it is very scenic, and you pass some cave paintings, and interesting features along the way. Once in San Javier there is a small village, with a school, a restaurant, and a small hotel. We didn't find anyone who spoke english here, but we did this towards the end of our trip and were able to muddle through. During the tour of the mission, we were even able to sort of follow what our patient, spanish speaking guide was telling us.
For me the highlight of this trip was the diving, but I would not hesitate totake a non-diving trip here. There is much to do, but the best thing is to experience the people. They are some of the friendliest I have found anywhere.
Bob
We found some very special friends- Alberto, who owns the bookstore on Paseo Hidalgo a couple of blocks from the water and a block south of the town square. If you go I would stop in here first. He has books about the history of the area, food, flora and fauna, and recommended several good restaurants which, when we said Alberto sent us, treated us like old friends. Necky (a nickname, his real name is Adrian), was the divemaster we did our diving with, and besides showing us some awesome places underwater, helped us with our spanish, and gave us advice and directions to all the places we wanted to see on our own.
The mission in town is the center of the town. It was built in 1697, establishing Loreto as the first capital of the Californias. There is a cobble stone square in front of the government building/town hall, where the local kindergarten kids put on a show of traditional dance one day. It was great to see these kids in their colorful costumes. Heading west from this square is a cobble street with merchants lining it selling artwork and the like. We looked at all of the wares and on our last day selected a couple of the best examples of what we found. At the north end of this street is a supermarket called El Pescador, which is the largest in town and where we bought most of our food. Food is very inexpensive in the market, and slightly less expensive than here in the US in the restaurants.
We dove with Cormorant dive center, I think this is cobadi in spanish, when folks in town asked me who I was going with, the word cormorant only brought quizzical looks. There are others in town, who I have heard good things about, but these guys definitely bent over backwards to insure our comfort and safety. Necky dove with us on every dive, and used his knowledge to show us the interesting sights. Towards the middle of our stay the wind came up and was interfering with our diving, they cancelled one day, and I was worried we might not get out for quite a while, so I suggested that we start early before the wind came up. They agreed to do this, and we went out and made the best dive of the trip. When we surfaced, we found that the wind had stiffened, and Necky got everyone in the boat and told us we had to go in. It was disappointing but a good decision, we had six miles of open water to cross to get back to the marina. One guy on the boat was chumming before we got back.
We rented a house to live in for our stay. It was a new house in an area that has mostly well to do americans. It was nice, but I think if I did it again I would stay in a hotel or rent a place closer to town. Telephones are different down there. Our cell phones didn't work for the most part, although our provider told us they would before we left, the signals were not compatible in this area. If you're a ways out of town you may need a taxi. One day I just asked someone driving by, and he called his brother in law who had a taxi. He was there in five minutes! We also rented mountain bikes for 15 dollars a day, which were fine, unless we had diving gear to transport. The town is perfect for bikes, drivers are considerate, although you have to be careful until you understand the way people drive there. I don't know if they have a minimum age down there but I saw kids driving that were no more than 12.
Necky tells me that the absolute best diving is in september. That is also when it is unbearably hot! I think that the best time might be october when it is cooling a bit or just plan on staying in the 80+ degree water. At this time of year the temp of the water is generally 65 degrees, although this year they are experiencing record cold water temps at 61 degrees. I wore my 7mil, but did not need gloves.
Side trips we made were to the Bahia de Magdalena to see the gray whales and their calves. This was an adventure in itself. The locals told us it was a two hour drive. This is only if you DRIVE LIKE THE LOCALS, which would be ill advised on your first trip. the roads are a little narrower and have NO shoulder. If you drop a tire off the road at 60mph, it's going to be ugly. Anyway, we were a little late getting there and got a little lost finding the dock where the Pangero's meet tourists who want to go see the whales. So we went to the Policia station, and asked a non english speaking officer to help. I knew how to say ballena(whale), and asked for Manuel Simmental(who we were supposed to meet for our trip). The officer motioned for us to follow him, and gave us an escort to the dock! There are ethical issues, with whale watching that I don't really like, but this was the trip that was most important to my sis-in-law. so I held my tongue, and went along to see how it is. The whales are there, and the pangeros get you pretty close to them, not so close that the whales would be injured, but I think that they (the whales) were trying to evade us. I enjoyed seeing them, but this trip reinforced my issues with whale watching and I don't think I would do this again.
Another trip was the the mission san javier, in the mountains 12 miles from Loreto. This is a two hour drive. It is all gravel roads sometimes switching back on the side of very steep country, but it is very scenic, and you pass some cave paintings, and interesting features along the way. Once in San Javier there is a small village, with a school, a restaurant, and a small hotel. We didn't find anyone who spoke english here, but we did this towards the end of our trip and were able to muddle through. During the tour of the mission, we were even able to sort of follow what our patient, spanish speaking guide was telling us.
For me the highlight of this trip was the diving, but I would not hesitate totake a non-diving trip here. There is much to do, but the best thing is to experience the people. They are some of the friendliest I have found anywhere.
Bob
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading - Lao Tzu
Re: Headed for Loreto tomorrow
thank you so much, bob!
i will have to bump Loreto up the list after hearing such great things about it. do you have any pictures to share as well?
i will have to bump Loreto up the list after hearing such great things about it. do you have any pictures to share as well?
Re: Headed for Loreto tomorrow
No, no photos. We just purchased two almost full sets of dive gear, so there will be a recovery period before we can afford camera equipment. I would have loved to get some pictures of the sea lions, they were so curious, and would come and make eye contact maybe 2-3 feet away, video would have been great-they are so graceful.
Bob
Bob
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading - Lao Tzu