Travels with Tam

Fab Photos Friday: Hyatt Newport Beach in the Fabulous OC

March 17, 2016 By Tam Warner 2 Comments

theoc, travelswithtam, hyatt newport beach — 1 of 3 pools at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach. Sooo relaxing!

Where in the world is Tam? I am currently in “the OC”. THEOC is Orange County, California. The county has Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Orange, Disneyland, and Anaheim within its borders. These are all attractions of one sort or another, so the county is full of incredible vacation spots. I am here for Wanderful’s Women in Travel Summit, which starts officially Friday evening. Arriving last Sunday, I thought I would spend some time enjoying the sights and activities of the OC.

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, a wonderful, iconic Southern California luxury resort. It is at once elegant and casual, luxurious yet authentic. The resort was large, and had several wonderful features. The restaurant, SHOR, is quintessential California cuisine. Delicious! I love eating California style…outside in the cool evening, kept warm by heaters and braziers. Fantastic.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src='data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20489%20652%22%3E%3C/svg%3E' data-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mh179BZR_20" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> — The property was charming at night,.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src='data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20731%20548%22%3E%3C/svg%3E' data-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mh179BZR_20" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> — My desk overlooking a tumbling fountain. The sound lulled me to sleep at night.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src='data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20756%20567%22%3E%3C/svg%3E' data-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mh179BZR_20" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> — The drive up has tremendous appeal at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src='data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20816%20612%22%3E%3C/svg%3E' data-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mh179BZR_20" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> — When it cooled in the evenings, the fires were lit.

Do I recommend the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach? Absolutely. I loved everything about it. The rooms were bright and clean, the balcony was nice in the evenings, the staff was extraordinarily obliging, and the entire atmosphere said, “RELAX. ENJOY.” So I did, and I’m sure you would too!

Diving the Revillagigedo Archipelago: Roca Partida!

March 10, 2016 By Tam Warner 11 Comments

Roca Partida is the most happening place in the islands. Roca Partida is a rock covered with birds and their guana, sticking up in the middle of the ocean. Beneath the sea are mantas, sharks, sharks and mantas. Oh, and dolphins. And fish. It is amazing. Since it is Friday, this will be a photo blog, mostly. Enjoy Roca Partida! The action was so incredible we stayed for 3 days!

diving, roca partida, travels with tam — Roca Partida

Roca Partida is the most happening place in the islands. Roca Partida is a rock covered with birds and their guana, sticking up in the middle of the ocean. — Getting the bubble treatment! Photo by Bob Kaltreider

Hammerheads are so shy! The shoaling Hammerheads were 20-30 feet away, but when you take a photograph, they almost disappear!

diving, travels with tam — Dolphins, thank you Marie-Elizabeth Mali! (go check out her website…amazing!)

Sorry about the lousy quality of some of my photos…very difficult to get good shots in the blue. I’m hoping some of the other divers got better photos of the hammerheads and dolphins than I did. Thanks to Bob Kaltreider and Marie-Elizabeth Mali for sharing.

Diving the Revillagigedoes: Punta Tosca

March 6, 2016 By Tam Warner 30 Comments

socorro, scuba, diving — **Dive Briefing for Punta Tosca**

Punta Tosca is a great dive site on the island of Socorro. It can become quite deep, so one really has to be conscious of depth. Sometimes, when you are playing with a dolphin or a manta, or watching sharks, you can forget your depth and look at your computer and say, “holy shit, I’m at 126 feet!”. That happened to me, of course. It is easy to get distracted. Let me show you some of the more distracting creatures!

San Benedicto, diving, mantas — **Ah, you know how I love eels! This is the Panemic Green Moray.**

**Coming out! There were eels out hunting frequently.**

scuba, diving, socorro — **Another Panemic Green Moray.**

diving was so fantastic. On my next blog...Roca Partida! This adorable puffer is a guinea fowl pufferfish. It is so cute! And shy. Our divemaster, Nacho! C — **Beautiful Silkie Shark! Photo by Bob Kaltreider**

Punta Tosca was a very nice dive site, it had more coral than most of the sites in the Revillagigedoes, so it was more colorful. I enjoy the big animal dives because they are so exciting, but I also love the dives where you get to see other, smaller fish. The Sharpnose puffer is only 3 inches or so long. Most of these fish have Caribbean cousins, and Indian Ocean cousins. Their coloration is different from place to place, thanks to good old Darwinian evolution.

On Day One, we traveled. As I said, it takes 24 hours to get to the islands from Cabo San Lucas. We did a check out dive at 4pm when we arrived at Socorro. A check out dive is exactly what it sounds like: checking your gear, is everything functioning correctly, is your weight right (divers need extra weight to descend since salt water is so buoyant.) We spent days two and three exploring the different dive sites of Socorro. Day Four was spent at San Benedicto. That night we headed for Roca Partida, the dive site everyone is always excited to go to. Roca Partida is famous for big pelagics, lots of sharks. It did not disappoint us on this trip! We spent two and a half days there, the diving was so fantastic. On my next blog…Roca Partida!

As you can see from the video, the waiting is the hardest part of strong current and deep diving. Often, you have to grab a rock, and wait for the animals. Sometimes they come, sometimes they don’t. Luck of the draw!

diving, scuba, socorro — **Incredible color! Photo by Bob Kaltreider**

Diving the Revillagigedos: San Benedicto

March 3, 2016 By Tam Warner 30 Comments

I have to say it: San Benedicto is my favorite island in the Revillagigedo. Why is that? Well, for one thing, the island is just so beautiful! The vertical ridges are lava flows turned into stone! It feels like going back in time.

Another reason is because it has my all-time favorite dive site: El Boiler. El Boiler is known for its magnificent marine life. Dolphins, sharks, and manta rays are usually present, and El Boiler is a fantastic place to play with the animals! These islands are unique, nowhere else can one play with Mantas. Not that I know of, anyway.

16 b manta eye — Looking into the eye of a Manta is almost a spiritual experience…there is a communion between diver and manta which resonates in your marrow. When you look them in the eye, you realize that a creature with intelligence is looking back.

Seeing a whale shark was very surprising, a true delight. It is not the season for them, but this young male showed up anyway. I am hoping I have the first ID shot of him so I can name him. The ID on a Whale Shark is directly behind the gills, as shown below. Each Whale Shark has a unique pattern, like a fingerprint. Manta Rays are identified by the markings on their tummies, each Manta has a unique pattern and can be loaded into www.mantamatcher.com.

san benedicto, diving, travels with tam — Manta Female ID shot. She is truly one of a kind!

travels with tam, san benedicto — Amberjack and Creole

When coming up from a dive, we found ourselves in a huge shoal of creolefish. There were fish everywhere, even under the boat. The anchor line sat in the middle of this huge aggregate, and almost every diver was mesmerized by the sight. Sharks began to circle, Amberjacks and Tuna swam through the shoal. It was such an amazing sight, I find it difficult to find the words to describe it. We were all filled with wonder.

We wre mesmerized by the thousands of fish, and the sharks circling.

San Benedicto, diving — Another view of San Benedicto

I will do another post on San Benedicto. There is another dive site there that is astonishing called El Canon. There is so much to share with you!

Diving the Revillagigedo Islands: Socorro

March 2, 2016 By Tam Warner 22 Comments

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.

diving, scuba — A Bicolor Parrot and a Humphead Hogfish, and a Guinea Fowl Puffer

diving — A Forceps Butterflyfish and a Moorish Idol

diving revillagigedo — These sea cucumbers were laying eggs.

scuba diving — Mexican Hogfish. I just love the bump on their head!

My next blog will be on San Benedicto Island…and Manta Rays!

Diving the Revillagigedo Archipelago in Mexico!

February 28, 2016 By Tam Warner 14 Comments

And what are the Revillagigedo Islands, you ask? They consist of four volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, and they are beloved by divers because of the unique ecosystem which exists under the blue waters. Where else in the world can you see dolphins, mantas, sharks, whale sharks, whales and other creatures together in one area? Where else can you actually play with dolphins in the wild? Where else do Manta Rays seek out divers so they can play with their bubbles? And the sharks! White tips, Tigers, Silkies, Galapagos, and Hammerheads together on the same dive site. It is nothing short of miraculous.

I just returned from diving these incredible islands, and I want to share with you the wonder and beauty of these animals. I am planning to write five posts about my incredible experience, both above, and below, the water. I traveled alone, but met up with 21 other divers from around the world. US, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Mexico, England, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, and a British national living in Qatar. It is truly a privilege to spend time with people who come from other backgrounds, other cultures, other places. We are all so different, and at the same time, so alike. I love the differing languages within the English language, “Oh I love your swimming costume”. “I plan to have a bit of a lie in”. “Did you fill your bottle?” Swimming Costume! I just love that for bathing suit! A bit of a lie in is sleeping late. The bottle isn’t booze…it’s the air tank! It makes me smile just to hear the different accents and phrases every day. (The most frequently asked question? “What are the Yanks up to? Donald Trump?!!!!!”)

These people came together for one purpose: to dive the Revillagigedo Islands. Socorro, San Benedicto, Roca Partida, and Clarion Island are the four in the Archipelago, but to my knowledge, Clarion is just too far out to make it worth the trip. The other three have all of the dive spots we visit. This was my second trip to Socorro, and my third trip on the Solmar V. The service, staff and food on the Solmar V is excellent, absolutely superb. The boat needs a bit of updating, though, I must say. The boat is getting a little tired though it is still satisfactory. I don’t think it has changed at all since my August 2010 trip to Guadalupe Island to dive with the Great White Sharks. As I said, though, everything else is wonderful.

Boobies roosted while we stayed at San Benedicto Island.

Cabins on dive boats tend to be small, but my cabin on this trip was the smallest ever! I could barely turn around in it, and did not really try to, but it had ample storage, a bed with more storage, and a combo shower/toilet sink. Divers do not spend much time in their cabins, so they are really just for showering and sleeping.

2016-02-15 15.06.12 — The faucet in the sink becomes your shower wand! Clever and compact!

2016-02-15 15.09.18 — All the floor space in the cabin with the door open!

To be continued! Stay tuned for Part 2, Socorro Island.

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