The diving was great. We snorkeled with whale sharks in a whale shark preserve, snorkeled with short-fin pilot whales, dove with some hammerheads, and had some incredible interactions with California sea lions. It was interesting to see the changes in the water and the life over the course of the trip. The water in the north end was green, colder (5-mil suits) with poorer viz (around 30-50 ft) while in the south the water was blue, above 80F and viz was on the order of 100 ft. Large seahorses, argus morays, and more nudibranchs in the north, zebra morays, parrot fish, and Moorish idols in the south. The sea lions were especially fun, mimicking divers, grabbing fins, and playing with our hair (at least those who have hair). One kept going into a cave, grabbing a shell, bringing it out and dropping it in front of us, then returning to the cave to do it again. On a couple dives we had at least a dozen sea lions constantly swarming in front of us for about 20 minutes (we left, they didn't). We are now looking to book the boat again for a trip to the Socorros. Now I have to wait until February for our trip to the Philippines and Palau. It will be hard to live up to the Sea of Cortez trip - it was just very satisfying.
A few pics from the trip
- Argus Moray.
- Saw a bunch of these guys - a bit shy, Blue and Yellow Chromis
- Spanish Shawl.
- Short Fin Pilot Whale, taken from the panga. Could not catch these guys swimming with my camera.
