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.
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.
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.
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!
The photos are gorgeous and peaceful, but also a little on the scary side, at least to me. I love seeing them, though.
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Mantas are SOOOO gentle. So are whale sharks. As for the other sharks they won’t come close enough for a good photo! Glad you like them. Remember, fish are friends!
WOW…. I felt like I was right there with those gorgeous creatures! Thanks for sharing these magnificent photos.
You are so welcome. I don’t know if mantas go through menopause, but they are smart: they only pup once every 2 or 3 years!
Beatiful pix Tam. The Amberjack and Creole shot looks like it should be in Nat Geo.
Have I ever told you how I love you? Haha. Thanks for the compliment!!!
The Mantas are massive–and graceful
N
Yes to both!
OMG. Gorgeous…. but… My breathing became fast and shallow just thinking about diving with sharks. Tam you are one adventurous lady! You have my admiration.
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Thanks, but really, divers do it every day. People have this vision: there is the ocean. It is full of sharks who are just waiting for a tasty human to eat. No, not true. They won’t even come close enough for a really good photo, darn it! You cannot blame them…humans kill 75 to 100 million sharks a year.
Every time I look at your photos, I understand why my son loves to dive. What an amazing world under that water!
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Amazing. It truly is another world. I love it and cannot get enough.
Did you ever consider publishing a book with all of your amazing photos? I think you should. They are incredible! I can look at them over and over again! Thanks so much for always sharing such spectacular beauty with us.
I’ve thought about it…but I don’t consider my photos to be that level of quality. But I like looking at them over and over!
I had never heard of the Revillagigedos Islands but now you have put this destination on my radar! I would LOVE to scuba dive here! I have always wanted to see manta rays and so far have not. The other life here is amazing, too. Envious!!
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It is very exciting diving! Very remote, strong currents, but worth the trip, obviously! My second time there.
Hey Tam! WOW! Great photos and a place that I’ve never even heard o before. Is there anything else to do there besides dive? I’m always on the lookout for new places to visit. ~Kathy
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No, they are volcanic islands and uninhabited except for the small navy presence. Many divers have not heard of them! It is a very exciting place to dive!
I love diving in far flung places through you!
Thanks! The diving is not easy there, that’s for sure! But the animals are worth it.
Incredible diving there! Lots of mantas…not as many as Ecuador, but lots of them!
Wow, those are awesome shots, of the island-rock, the giant mantas and the other fish! You had quite an experience! Kudos!
Amazing photos! And how wondrous to dive with giant mantas! (And to have a whale shark show up as an added bonus? You hit the jackpot!) We’ve snorkeled with manta rays at night off the Big Island of Hawaii – that was a very magical experience. We had previously tried to dive with them at the same spot, where you sit on the bottom shining your flashlight up and wait for the mantas to swim around above you. But we happened to pick the one day in the year the mantas decided not to show up, and so there was no manta diving for us that night! A little disappointing…
I can understand that! We haven’t been to Hawaii. Nice to meet you, I’ll be following your blog. any chance you are headed to WITS?
After looking at and admiring your photos, I could not help but wonder: how old are you? I had been thinking that I was very fit for a boomer, but there is no way that I could follow in your footsteps and go scuba diving in those exotic locations. I suspect that you are a lot younger than 50! 🙂 Bravo!
Ha! You crack me up! I am in my mid-fifties, with a very bad back (4 titanium rods and 8 pedicle screws in the lumbar and sacrum), and psoriatic arthritis. If I can do it, so can you! It can be tough, but where there is a will….
Those are some amazing photos! I did my first dive last year in Fiji and am pondering doing more of it. This looks like a good location for when I get a little more experience. I’ve been snorkeling with whale sharks twice and loved it!
Definitely need some solid experience with currents and such before taking a trip like this. You should dive Cozumel! Beautiful, lots of drift diving (current diving, but you aren’t usually fighting the current). You dive and drift, ascend, and there’s the boat! Easy peasy. I love diving…I could do it every single day and never tire of it.
Hey Tam,
It’s John, your team Nacho dive partner. I enjoyed reading your blog…..brings back great memories…..I can’t wait to do this trip again sometime on the SolmarV! I send your flash drive to Ronnie. Thanks
(Any other trips planned yet?)
Team Nacho! Nice to hear from you! Headed to SoCal tomorrow! Next dive trip Cozumel in May, then Bali, Komodo and AU. Yes, I want to go back to Socorro!