socorro islands Archives | TRAVELS WITH TAM

North American Travel Journalist Association Travel Writer’s Awards 2018 honored this post with an Honorable Mention in the Featured Photo, Illustration, Online Category!

Diving the Revillagigedos Archipelago looks quite different from the tropical waters of the Caribbean or Indonesia. The archipelago is so remote, 250 miles south and east of Cabo San Lucas, and the islands are basically just rocks sticking up out of the ocean. I thought I would give you a look at not only the animals, but the awesome structures that exist underwater. These islands are known as Mexico’s “Galapagos” because of the large pelagic encounters which are due to the open ocean surrounding the islands, which often includes strong currents and choppy conditions. Underwater are rocky outcroppings, boulders and walls. There is not much coral as this is a cooler water destination, ranging from 71 degrees Farenheit to 80 degrees F. This destination can only be dived from a live aboard dive boat. This was my third visit, and I know I’ll go back!

This is Roca Partida, Parted Rock, an incredible dive site for big pelagics and schools of fish.

featured, diving the revillagigedos, roca partida, socorro islands, manta ray, diving with yellow fin tuna — Looking up from 80 feet, you can see the waves breaking upon the sides of Roca Partida. I love looking up!

Andrea took a couple of photos of me photographing a manta! So cool!

A gorgeous Murex: a predatory marine mollusk, the shell of which bears spines and forms a long narrow canal extending downward from the aperture.

One of the coolest sightings was a juvenile male Whale Shark who was circling the rocks. He was around 9 or 10 feet…small for a whale shark.

One of the best things about Roca Partida are the piles of sharks on every ledge! These White Tips don’t need to swim to breathe, so they love to sleep on top of each other! Aren’t they adorable?

Anna, and Jenny our Divemaster, heading up. You cannot ascend close to the rocks or you’ll get badly injured!

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scuba, mexico, adventure travel — The west side of Socorro has “shrubland”.

The island of Socorro is a part of the volcanic Revillagigedo Archipelago, and is inhabited by a small Mexican Navy presence (staff and families) 800 meters from one of the very few fresh water sources on the island. They protect the area from illegal fishing activities and perform rescue operations when needed. Our boat checked in there to register the dive boat’s presence in the area. These islands are located 600km offshore of Mexico, and it takes the Solmar V 24 hours to get to the first island.

Socorro is a shield volcano (not that I completely understand what that means). Divers love these volcanic islands because of the rich underwater life that inhabits them. There is no fishing allowed, and it is always lovely to dive with animals that haven’t been injured by hooks and lines and nets. As far as I know, there is no other place in the world where you can actually interact with dolphins and mantas in the wild. They are the ones who begin the interactions.

Cabo Pearce, a dive site off of Socorro, was the first place we decided to dive. Our daily schedule went like this:

615a Manolo, one of the staff, wakes us up by calling out “breakfast time!”

630a Breakfast…whatever you desire! Pancakes, French toast, eggs, bacon, yogurt….well, you get the idea!

720a Get suited up and gear ready

745a Dive briefing. What is a dive briefing? The dive master goes over the dive site, tells you where the formations are, what the currents are like, and where, on the site, you are likely to find certain animals. These dive masters are out here for most of the year, and they know these islands and dive sites.

8a in the water! There were 3 groups, and the groups rotate as in who goes in first, second, third. After the first dive, hot chocolate was served and it is delicious. I looked forward to it every day.

1020a Dive!

12 or 1p Lunch…always a soup first. Divers are always hungry.

around 130 or 2p Dive! Then a snack. A different snack daily, from sushi to salami!

around 330 or 4p Dive!

Dinner at 7p. I barely made it until 830p and my eyes were drooping. Four dives a day in strong current is tiring, I can tell you. As the trip goes on you handle it better, but the first few days for me are always exhausting. I was Diver 9.

Taking photos in this location is a completely different experience from taking photos in the Caribbean, where the backgrounds are very colorful with coral. There is not much coral here, it is mostly rock, but there are advantages to that. Coral Reefs can seem like deserts when compared to the number of fish in the Revillagigedoes. I started out not using a strobe, and took photos by adjusting my White Balance underwater. The photos have a sort of “soft” or “cloudy” look, I think.