Sea of Cortez Liveaboard

Sea of Cortez Liveaboard: Trip Report

[Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.23- OCT.28, 2021, LA PAZ CRUISE

Valentina LA PAZ !!

【Oct23, 2021 Trip Report #1】

23/10/2021
Day 1  Embarking day
17:00 Guest arrival, dive equipment revise after check in to each cabin.
18:30 Introducing crew and general orientation.
Free time at Malecon, walking and dinner.
22:00 Finish embarking all guests.
23:00 Departure

 

24/10/2021
Day 2 La Reina
06:30 Activity start
07:00 Briefing of Valentina safety and diving
08:00 Dive #1
09:40 Breakfast
11:30 Dive #2
13:30 Lunch
15:00 Dive #3
16:30 Snorkeling @ Punta Norte de Isla Cerralvo
19:30 Dinner
We have started the first day with very very strong wind,
did 3 dives around the reef somehow.
Tried snorkel behind the big rock before dinner to look for mantas but unfortunately they didn’t show up.

 

25/10/2021
Day 3 Los Islotes
06:30 Activity start
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Dive #3
17:00 Dive #4(night)
19:30 dinner
Wind was much calm than yesterday, visibility 60ft, water temperture 82F.
The first 2 dives at Los Islotes was very active with super excited Sea Lion babies, swimming around us up and down.
This trip included very special program as 4th dive this day, Night Dive at Los Islotes!
It was windy again at night, surface was bit rough but underwater was very beautiful and enjoyed night sight of Los Islotes which looks very different from what we used to see during daytime.

 

26/10/2021
Day 4 Las Ánimas
06:30 Activity start
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Dive #3
17:00 Dive #4
19:30 Dinner
Las Animas was a blast!! Huge school of hammerhead sharks!! (Sorry, we didn’t bring back any videos😅) it was breathtaking.
First 3 dives was with hammerhead, the last one was with sea lions and Guadalupe fur seals.
It was such a great day to feel potencial of dynamic dive site Las Animas.

 

27/10/2021

Day 5Isla San Francisquito (lobera)
07:00 Activity start
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
Navitage toward Isla Espíritu Santo.
15:00 Dive #3
18:30 Dinner
20:00 Dive #4 (Night dive)
Wind was still strong, we finished San Francisquito quickly and navigated toward Isla Espíritu Santo.
Chose Cardenal and Punta Tintorera for afternoon diving avoiding wind, enjoyed endemic species of Sea of Cortez reef fish.Night dive was awsome, gathered lots of mobulas.

 

28/10/2021

Day 6 FANG Ming & Swanee
07:00 Activity start
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
11:00 Dive #2
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Payment and onboard souvenir shopping
16:30 Arrive to La Paz. Transfer our guests to each hotel.
Two dives on the last day was both wonderful.
Friendly turtle at FANG Ming was waiting there for us,
maybe now it is time to name him 😁
Swanee was with great visibility with warm water
82F.
Lots different kind of fish such as snapper, goatfish, angel fish etc
was all forming a big school and made our last dive on cruise so
gourgeous!!

 

 

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[Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.16- OCT.21, 2021, LA PAZ CRUISE

Valentina LA PAZ !!

【Oct16, 2021 Trip Report #1】

16/10/2021

Day1 Departure day
17:00 Guest arrival, check in to each cabin and dive equipment check.
18:30 General orientation and introducing our crew.
Free time at Malecon, having dinner and night walk of La Paz town.
22:00 Finish embarking
23:00 Departure

 

17/10/2021
Day 2 Isla de Cerralvo ( La Reina)
06:30 Start of activities
07:00 Safety briefing of M/V Valentina and diving
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:00 Dive #3
16:30 Dive #4
19:00 Dinner
Water condition was excellent, visibility 80ft, water temperture 84F.
A luxurious check dive with a giant bait ball of horse mackerel.
Very nice start of our trip!!

 

18/10/2021
Day 3 Isla Espíritu Santo ( los islotes )
06:30 Start of activities
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Dive #3
17:00 Dive #4
19:30 Dinner
Ocean condition had changed a lot this day, very strong wind from west with strong current, we enjoyed drift diving.
Visibility 60ft, water temperture 82F, felt comfortable underwater.
It was a weekend and lots divers at Los Islotes, everybody were swayed by powerful sealion babies swimming around us 😆😆😆😆

 

19/10/2021
Day 4 Isla las Ánimas
07:00 Start of activities
07:45 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Dive #3
13:30 Lunch
16:30 Dive #4
19:30 Dinner
Excellent visibility of 90ft, water temperture 82F.
Several hammerhead sharks were swimming around but didn’t hit big school.
Guadalupe fur seal is still here, staying with California sea lions.
Many of our guests had never seen Guadalupe fur seals before, interestingly observed the difference from sea lions.

 

20/10/2021

Day 5 Isla san Francisquito (Lobera)
07:00 Start of activities
08:00 Dive #1
09:30 Breakfast
11:00 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
15:30 Dive #3
18:30 Dinner
20:00 Dive #4(Night dive with mobulas)
We had expected huge school of barracudas again but the current was too strong and didn’t le us dive free as usual.
Night dive was a great success! All guest was excited and impressed with thier first experience night diving with mobulas!!

 

21/10/2021

Day 6
07:00 Start of activities
08:00 Dive #1
09:30 Breakfast
11:00 Dive #2
A surprising difference in visibility between the first Fang Ming and the second Swanee Reef.
Not only is the second one was overwhelmingly more clear, but number of fish gathered together was amazing.
It was very nice dive to complete this trip happily.
13:00 Lunch
14:30 Souvenir shopping and payment
16:00 transfer to each hotel after desembarking

 

 

★★★ Guest Comments ★★★

1. Smaller tables would be more comfortable for the dining room(and less cold air conditioner).
2. Need board with pictures & names & titles of crew/staff.
   Hot drinks after dive were great.
3. Need more hangers.
4. Thank you for a great time.
5. All guys on boat serving us were top notch.
6. Picture with name board for all staff.
   Happy hours with bar Divores.
   The boat people & place was fantastic.
7. Not the prettiest boat we’ve been on but the crew is so amazing. They make ap for it. Very attended, thoughtful kind and very safe. Best crew ever.
8. The crew of Valentina seem like one happy family and treated us like we were part of the family. Looking forward to further trips to Socorro and La Paz in the future. Please share our comments on your website!!
9. Had a great time!
10. A little more underwater time.
    Start return at 50+min, not less.
    Awesome crew. EZ logistics. Interesting and unusual dives.
    Thanks for being patient with Loco Gringos.
11. Better ramp to load at port dock.
    More 110 outlet.
12. More wet suit hangers please.
    Great trip – Terrific Destination
    Friendly – Very Helpful crew.
    Loved diving with sea lions.
13. More wetsuit hangers.Loved having a double bed, thanks for the chocolate milkshake.

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[Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.09- OCT.14, 2021, LA PAZ CRUISE

Valentina LA PAZ !!

【Oct09, 2021 Trip Report #1】

09/10/2021

Day 1 Departure day
17:00 Guests arrival, check in to each cabin
18:30 Crew introducing and general orientation
Free time. Walk malecon, have dinner time with margarita at water front restaurant, hang around souvenir shops etc.
22:00 Finish embarking all guests.
22:00 Departure.

 

10/10/2021
Day 2 Isla Espíritu Santo
It was too windy to start at Cerralvo island, we have changed our route starting at Isla Espiritu Santo.
07:00 Start ot activities
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:00 Dive #3
16:30 Dive #4
19:30 Dinner
We have started diving at ship wreck point and pujnta cardinal, avoiding the wind. Current was not bad under water, visibility 30ft, water temperture 82F.
Water was not very clear as we expected but there were plenty of endemic fish of Sea of Cortez around us duirng our check dives.

 

11/10/2021
Day 3 El bajo – Los Islotes
Wind have calmed down, condition was much better than yesterday, we’ve decided to dive at El Bajo.
07:00 Start of activities
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Dive #3
17:00 Dive #4
19:30 Dinner
The first two dives were at El Bajo. water was very warm with 82F, visiblity 60-90F.
Tons of fish around sea mount but once we get far from there to look for hammerhead, not many fish at deep side. One of our group met dophins but looked like water was too warm to meet hammerhead sharks.
Moved to Los Islotes in the afternoon, had lot of fun playing with sea lions. Babies are so much grown, so tough, strong, fast , felt like no longer can be called ‘babies’.
They are swimming around the divers mockingly 😆

 

12/10/2021
Day 4 La Ánimas
07:00 Activity start
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:00 Dive #3
The way toward Las Animas was pretty much rough because of Hurricane Paulina.
Though diving at Las Animas was worth going there, very high visibility with loooots marine life.
Was great day to show potencial of Sea of Cortez with sea lions, hammerhead sharks, reef fish etc etc-
Visibility 90ft, water temperture 84-86F.
19:00 Dinner

 

13/10/2021

Day 5 Lobera de San Francisquito
07:00 Start of activities
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
15:30 Dive #3
18:30 Dinner
20:00 Dive #4 Nocturno
School of barracuda and jacks at Lobera de SanFrancisquito were waiting for us as we expected! Sea lions were very active, too and we wished to do second dive at same point but wind was getting stronger, needed to move to another dive site to hide from the wind.
The second was at Bahía san Francisquito.
Navigated toward Espíritu Santo island in the afternoon.
Night mobula at night was with bit rough condition but still very cool and nice experience swim with them.

 

 

 

★★★ Guest Comments ★★★

1. Maru is a great dive master!
   Temo is fun and welcoming.
   com gave me the wrong start time.
   Boat need more fish ID books.
2. We had a great time. Thank you.Excellent hospitalities.Rotate dive masters ever day.Better communication, we couldn’t hear the bell some times.
3. Thank you for great trip!!
4. Good trip, Lorenzo very helpful with equipment issues.
   Good briefings, communication during diving different.
5. Lorenzo saved the dive after an O ring failures!!
   Temo great in the dining room.
   Food excellent.

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[Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.02- OCT.08, 2021, LA PAZ CRUISE

Valentina LA PAZ !!

【Oct02, 2021 Trip Report #1】

02/10/2021
17:00 Guest arrival, check in to each cabin
18:30 Crew presentation and general briefing
Free time. Evening town walk and dinner.
22:00 All guest back on board.
23:00 Departure.

 

03/10/2021
Day 2 Isla Cerralvo (La Reina )
06:00 Activity start
07:00 Safty briefing of boat Valentina
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:00 Dive #3
16:30 Dive #4
19:00 Dinner
The first day started with very good ocean condition,
visibility 75F, water temperture 82F.
All four dives were without current, very nice dive with lots fish.
Many differnt type of school of fish made an impressive scene, such as jack, filefish, machete, grunt, etc. Sea Lions jumping into those fish made all divers excited!

 

04/10/2021
Day 3 Isla Espíritu Santo ( El bajo )
Looked like it’s going to be very windy later this week, we changed the route and dove El Bajo today before it gets rough.
07:00 Activity start
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
11:00 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Dive #3
Navigate toward San Jose Island.
19:00 Dinner
Ocean condition was perfect.
Visibility 90ft, water temperture 84F, no curret….. but unfortinately
we were not lucky enough to meet hammerhead sharks 😥
Still, it was good dives with migratory fish swimming around the
blue water. Probably water was too warm for hammerhead.

 

 

 

05/10/2021
Day4 Las Ánimas
06:30 Activity start
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
14:00 Dive #3
16:30 Dive #4
19:00 Dinner
Visibility 45ft, water temperture 82-84F.
First 2dives were so perfect with hammerhead sharks,
dolphin and sea lions.
When we found hammerhead below and dophins over us,
didn´t know which to focus, just being so excited!!
For last 2 dives, we choose shallow point and played a lot
with sea lions and guadalupe fur seal.
All 4 dives were perfect today😊😊

 

 

08/10/2021
Day7 FANG MING / Swanee REEF
07:00 Activity start
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
11:00 Dive #2
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Souvenir shopping and payment
16:00 transfer all guests to each hotel after disembarking.

The last day was starting with our routine to say hello to
the turtle at Fang Ming and finishing at peaceful Swanee Reef.
Thank you all our guest coming with us and making this
trip so fun and safe! Hope to see you soon 😘😘😘

 

 

★★★ Guest Comments ★★★

1. Thanks Diego, Maria, Lorenzo + crew! Great care of us was taken and beautiful Sea of Cortez.
2. Don’t lose the cook 😊
3. Great service, great crew, great dives, great food!
4. Maybe some hammocks in the shade.
   Crew shirts with the names on it.
   Thank you for this great trip!
5. PADI booking had slow response time. Booked credit card 1 week too early!
   Make more use of sun deck?
6. Great trip. Check-in info from Japan reservation center was wrong(time) but I all worked out ok.
7. Excellent crew. Delicious food. Knowledgeable dive masters. Great guides. Nice boat. Top #1 on everyone. I’d come back again.
8. Less rooms with bunkbed. Lack of places to sit down in the room with bunkbed when bunkbed is not used. Otherwise, very good crew, diving boat and great food!
9. Excellent trip! Thanks to everyone.
10. A great value. Fantastic crew. Will recommend to others.

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[Mexico] Trip Report : SEP.25- OCT.01, 2021, LA PAZ CRUISE

Valentina LA PAZ !!

【Sep25, 2021 Trip Report #1】

25/09/2021

Day 1 Departure day
17:00 guests arrival, embarking and check in to each cabin.
18:30 Crew presentation, general orientation of Valentina.
Free time for dinner and boardwalk at Malecon to enjoy La Paz town.
23:00 Departure from the dock.

 

26/09/2021

Day 2 Isla Cerralvo
06:30 Activity Start
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
11:00 Dive #2
13:00 Dive #3
14:00 Lunch
16:00 Dive #4
19:30 Dinner
23:00 End of activity
Condition at La Reyna was great on this trip! Visibility 60ft, water temperture 82F.
Breathtaking dive around the reef, full of fish with beautiful rock cave. Next to that, a big spectacle of sea lions jumping into a huge mackerel spreads, it was a very good starting day of dive cruise!

 

 

27/09/2021
Day 3 Isla Espíritu Santo ( Los Islotes )
06:30 Activity Start
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Dive #3
14:00 Comida
16:30 Dive #4
23:00 End of activity
The second day we dove at Los Islotes, on of the highligth in Sea of Cortez dive cruise 🤩
Visibility 55F, water temperture 82F.
Sorrounded by massive fish as always, what we made happy was baby sealions are more playful now, they are full of curiosity and ぉlove teasing divers. Papa sea lions are more relaxed and not bothering us anymore.

 

 

29/09/2021
Day 5 Las Ánimas
06:30 Activity Start
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
13:00 Dive #3
14:00 Lunch
16:00 Dive #4
19:30
Las Animas is unexplored dive site far from La Paz base, so even between dive guides there are many people who have never dived here unless they work for dive cruise.
Same as El Bajo yesterday, the condition is good. Visibility 60ft, water temperature 72ºC.
We enjoyed 4 dives at this hidden place, it is difficult to tell which one was the best, probably second dive with hammerhead and sealions together was the one of the best momoment.

 

 

30/09/2021
Day 6 Isla San Francisquito ( Lobera )
07:00 Activity Start
08:00 Dive #1
09:30 Breakfast
11:00 Dive #2
Navigate toward Isla Espíritu Santo
12:30 Lunch
15:00 Dive #3
18:30 Dinner
20:00 Night dive with Mobulas
The first dive at San Francisquito was awsome!
Huge barracuda school was so beautiful, sea lions were
very playful, too.
After the second dive, current got stronger.
Visibility 30ft, water temperture 82F.
The third dive was at Isla Espíritu Santo, dive site called Punta norte de bahía cardenal
Night dive was bit dissapointed, only one mobula showed up. We wonde where have all mobulas we saw last week gone to ???

 

01/10/2021
Day 7 FANG Ming y Swane reef
07:00 Activity Start
07:30 Dive #1
Visibility 30ft, water temperture 82F.
FangMing’s famous guardian turtle was not sitting there, probably was out patrolling.
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
Our last dive of this trip was at Swanee Reef. Beautiful as always, reef covered with lots of fish.
12:30 Lunch
Souvenir shopping time
14:00 payment
15:30 back to marina. Transfer our guests to each hotel.
Thank you to all our guests to end this trip fun and safe　♪

 

 

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[Mexico] Trip Report : SEP.11- SEP.17, 2021, LA PAZ CRUISE

Valentina LA PAZ !!

【Sep11, 2021 Trip Report #1】

Sep11, 2021
Day 1 Embarking day
17:00 Guest arrival, check in to each cabin.
18:30 Introducing our crew and general orientation of M/V Valentina .
Free time at Malecon to enjoy La Paz town.
23:00 Departure

 

Sep12, 2021
Day 2 Isla Cerralvo
06:30 Start of activities
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
11:00 Dive #2
13:00 Dive #3
14:00 Lunch
16:00 Dive #4
19:30 Dinner
23:00 End of activities
Our first day started with very strong current. Water temperture 82F, visibility 60mts. Check dive in current surrounded by sea lions and school of fish.

 

Sep13, 2021
Day 3 Isla Espíritu Santo ( Los Islotes )
06:30 Start of activities
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
12:30 Dive #3
14:00 Lunch
16:30 Dive #4
19:00 Dinner
23:00 End of activities
Visibility 30-45ft, water temperture 82F, had great dives at Los Islotes with a lot of reef life as usual, also found this year born sea lion babies have started play with divers, so much fun!!! Interacting with sea lion pups make all divers feel relaxing, everybody finished with big smile.

 

Sep14, 2021
Day4 Las Ánimas
06:30 Start of activities
07:30 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
10:30 Dive #2
13:00 Dive #3
14:00 Lunch
16:00 Dive #4
19:30 Dinner

Las Animas was awsome as well as previous trip!
Visibility 60ft, water temperture 82F. All four dives were so cool with thousands of fish but the best of the best was the second dive with hammerhead shark. Las Animas is the dive site only can be reached with dive cruise, you should come and join us!!!

 

 

Sep16, 2021
Day 6 El bajo
07:00 activity start
08:00 Dive #1
09:00 Breakfast
11:00 Dive #2
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Dive #3
15:30 Dive #4
19:30 Dinner
Ocean condition was not bad, we were expecting encounter hammer head sharks at El Bajo but unfortinately we missed them.
Visibility 60ft, water temperture 82F without thermocline.
The fourth dive was at El Bajito.
There was some curret, we decided to do macro dive which is not very popular in La Paz.
Beautiful gobies, nudibranch, octopus was around the rocks, it was good change of pace to switch our eyes from wide mode to macro mode, we enjoyed a lot.

 

 

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[Mexico] Trip Report : AUG.21- AUG.26, 2021, LA PAZ CRUISE

Valentina LA PAZ !!

【Aug21, 2021 Trip Report #1】

 

Another hurricane was getting closer before this trip, we had been worring but finished it without any problem. It seems Valentina is very lucky this season.

Here we go the report #1 !!

 

【Day 1 Guest arrival day】

21/AUG/21

17:00 Guest arrival, guided to each cabin

17:30 dive equipment preparation

18:30 General orientation and introducing our crew

Free time at Malecon, enjoying Mexican town walk and dinner.

23:00 Everyone on board, Valentina leaving the marina.

 

【Day 2 Isla Espíritu Santo】

22/AUG/21

06:30 start of activities

07:00 Orientation of safety and diving on Valentina

08:00 Dive #1 Punta Lobos

Visibility 60fts, water temperture 74F.

First check dive was with little current.

09:00 Breakfast

11:00 Dive #2

Seguimos con las mismas condiciones buena visibilidad y temperatura del agua. Buceo con mucha vida arrecifal.

13:00 Dive #3 Swane REEF

Buceo con interacción con Lobos marinos, nudibranquius, gran cantidad de cardúmenes de peces. Buceo divertido.

14:00 Lunch

16:30 Dive #4 FANG MING

Seguimos con buenas condiciones, en este buceo la atracción principal fueron las tortugas que llegan a limpiarse en el barco, además de la gran cantidad de peces.

Muy buen día de buceo.

19:30 Dinner

 

 

【Aug21, 2021 Trip Report #2】

 

 

【Day 3  Isla San Francisquito y Espíritu Santo】

23/AUG/21

07:00 activity start

08:00 Dive #1 Lobera de San Francisquito

09:00 Breakfast

10:30 Dive #2

12:30 Lunch

14:30 Dive #3 El Bajito

18:30 Dinner

20:30 Dive #4 Nocturno con mobulas

First 2 dives at San Francisquito was super fun with lots sea lions.

Visibility 60ft, water temperture 72F.

The third one at El Bajito was with strong current, both visibility and water temperture had dropped.

The night dive with mobulas was not bad but numbers of mobulas was not as much as we expected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

【Aug21, 2021 Trip Report #5】

 

【Day 6 Cabo Pulmo】

26/AUG/21

06:30 start of activity

07:30 Dive #1

Manos Reef o El Cien

Water temperture was surprising high, 76F at surface and visibility 60ft. At the bottom, temperture and visibility was lower but encounter bull shark was very exiting start of the day.

09:00 Breakfast

11:00 Dive #2　el BAJO

Moved to another dive site ‘El Bajo’ . The condition had changed a lot from our first dive, second one was with water temperture 72F, visibility 75F.

Beside lots school of fish, coral was very healthy and beautiful, we enjoyed rich variety of Cabo Pulmo diving.

13:00 Dive #3

This was with great tornado of jack fish. Everyone was so excited to be surrounded by countless jacks, very satisfied, couldn’t get any better.

14:30 Lunch

Navigate to La Rivera.

17:30 Guest desembarking and end of the trip.

18:30 The vessel head back toward La Paz with crew.

 

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[Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.09- 15, 2019, Discover Baja Vol.4

[#Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.09- 15, 2019, Discover #Baja Vol.4

Day 5, we went for snorkeling with Whale Sharks in the morning. The visibility wasn’t great but the ocean was very calm. We could observe the Whale Shark, which swam very slowly. Because of the new regulation, it takes more time to snorkel compare to before. However, the procedure gives both Whale Sharks and human beings less stress with the limited number of the people snorkeling at a time. I like it. The 1st dive of the day was at Swanee Reef. The water temperature was 26 deg.C. The visibility was 10-15 meters. It was so beautiful that the numerous of Mexican Goatfish and Indo-Pacific Sergeant were covering around the reef. It was small but we found a little school of Bigeye Scads. The 2nd dive of the day was at San Rafaelito. The water temperature was 25-26 deg.C. The visibility was 20-25 meters. The visibility was fantastic! And the Barracudas’ river was streaming in front of us. There were some Sea Lions sleeping on the surface. I witnessed that they also drooling just like us! It was a perfect conclusion of “Sea of Cortez” of the season! Thank you all for joining us and also for making this trip amazing. Hope to see you all again!

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[Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.09- 15, 2019, Discover Baja Vol.3

[#Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.09- 15, 2019, Discover #Baja Vol.3

Day 4, we dove the first two dives of the day at El Bajo. The water temperature was 25-26 deg.C. The visibility was 10-15 meters. The last dive at El Bajo for this season. It was very hard to search for Hammerhead Sharks. It was very cloudy in the water. They might have moved to some other areas since we have not heard of Hammerhead around here recently. We could not see them but we saw Jacks instead! The 3rd dive was at Los Islotes. The water temperature was 25-26 deg.C. The visibility was 15-18 meters. We came to say bye to Sea Lions. There was somehow no other divers in the area where we dove. We exclusively played with Sea Lions for entire 50 minutes in the area. Hooray! To be continued…

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[Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.09- 15, 2019, Discover Baja Vol.2

[#Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.09- 15, 2019, Discover #Baja Vol.2

There is a restriction in Cabo Pulmo that limits the number of the dives we can have with only two dives per day. Day 2, we had one check dive, at Los Frailes, out of the restricted area for the guests who joined from the second day. The water temperature was 27 deg.C. The visibility was 15-18 meters. We had a relaxing dive with searching Blennies, Nudibranches, Moray Eels and Lobsters.  The 2nd dive of the day was at El Cien. And the 3rd dive was at Los Morros. Day 3, we dove the first 3 dives at Los Islotes. The water temperature was 25-26 deg.C. The visibility was 12-15 meters. The Sea Lions were super friendly! I could see that they expanded their comfort zone wide open! And the daddy Sea Lions have started warning against young males not to mess with their families. I really felt the end of the season here. The 4th dive was at Punta Fun Baja for the night Mobulas. The water temperature was 25-26 deg.C. The visibility was great. Since the Mobulas went around over and over, we almost got tired of them! My personal favorite was the little squid about 5 mm I found. To be continued…

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[Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.09- 15, 2019, Discover Baja Vol.1

[#Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.09- 15, 2019, Discover #Baja Vol.1

Hola! We ended our last “Sea of Cortez” trip for this season successfully. It became so special! And I will report the reasons why, here, little by little. Without further ado, here is the report.  Day 1, the 1st dive was at Pelican Rock. The water temperature was 27 deg.C. The visibility was 15-18 meters. This spot has a sudden drop of from the sand area. We can swim around the big rock which sticks out even from the surface. Finding Hawaiian Ladyfish and Mexican Goatfish at the shore, Lobsters, Scorpionfish and big male Sea Lions near the rocks was fun!  The 2nd dive was at Lands End. The water temperature was 26 deg.C. The visibility was 10-12 meters.  This point also has a huge rock area for us to go around. And what I should mention is that this site is on the border between the Pacific ocean and the sea of Cortez. We found a Flatfish which camouflaged himself to the rock behind it.  It was too good that we could not tell where he is even in the picture! The 3rd dive was at North Wall. The water temperature was 27 deg.C. The visibility was 8-12 meters. We made the dive very relaxing one. The Sea Fan in between the rocks were so beautiful. Some of the group found Sea Horse! It was very exciting day! To be continued…

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[Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover Baja Vol.5

[#Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover #Baja Vol.5

Day 5, we were om Cabo Pulmo! It was way beyond fantastic!! The 1st dive was at El Cien aiming for Bull Sharks! The water temperature was 27-28 deg.C. The visibility was 20-25 meters. I couldn’t remember how many of them we encountered with. Many! They would come to us if we weren’t moving. The 2nd dive was at Los Morros aiming for a big school of Bigeye Trevallies. The water temperature was 27-28 deg.C. The visibility was 20-25 meters. As we were on search we found a school of Cownose Rays. Then, of course, a gigantic tornado of Bigeye Trevallies!!! It was such a wonderful diving experience!

Thank you all for joining us and also for making this trip fantastic! Hope to see you all again!

 

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[Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover Baja Vol.4

[#Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover #Baja Vol.4

Day 4, it’s been a while since the last time we were here to dive at La Reina. Finally that day, La Reina was available! We spent the first 3 dives of the day there because guess what? A Whale Shark appeared!!!!! Hooray! The water temperature was 25-26 deg.C. The visibility was 15-18 meters. It was fantastic that the pictures taken was photobombed by Sea Lions! It is only able to happen in here, La Reina. Of course, the beautiful yellow Hawaiian Ladyfish and Barracudas were seen as well. Besides, many kinds of Moray Eels were found there. The 4th dive was at La Reinita. The water temperature was 26 deg.C. The visibility was 5-8 meters. I like it here to dive. However, it was a bummer that there was a strong current and milky cloudy water. Normally we could see the Pompanos shimmering near the surface but not that day. But the beautiful Orangecup Coral blooming in the time of sunset impressed us instead. To be continued…

 

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[Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover Baja Vol.3

[#Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover #Baja Vol.3

Day 3, we were at El Bajo and spent for the first 3 dives of the day. The water temperature was 25-26 deg.C. The visibility was 10-12 meters. We found a few of Hammerhead Sharks wandering. We stayed and waited for a while at the same area hoping for them to come back. And actually they did! However, a group of strange divers appeared suddenly and they chased the Hammerhead Sharks. That was a bad idea to chase them here. We knew that Hammerhead Sharks would never come back if we chase them. Surely they swam away and didn’t come back. Oh, bummer! It seemed that they were trying to tag the Hammerhead for a study. The 4th dive of the day was at Punta Fun Baja for night Mobulas. The water temperature was 26 deg.C. It was fabulous! The visibility was great! Many Mobulas appeared!! To be continued…

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[Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover Baja Vol.2

[#Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover #Baja Vol.2

Day 2, the water temperature dropped down suddenly. I felt chilly in the water. All the 4 dives of the day were held at Los Islotes.  The water temperature was 25-26 deg.C. The visibility was 15-18 meters. We could have a play-date with the baby Sea Lions very much! We also went out for the search of Giant Jawfish. There were a Giant Jawfish and two Finespotted Jawfish living very close to each other. It was a nice spot to take pictures. Besides, we lucked out for finding a Barracudas’ river streaming right next to the Jawfish. To be continued…

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[Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover Baja Vol.1

[#Mexico] Trip Report : NOV.02- 08, 2019, Discover #Baja Vol.1

Hola! The last trip was very diverse in the guests’ nationalities! Our guests were all over the world as USA, England, Germany, Netherlands, Lebanon, Spain and Japan. It was very interesting to hear all different languages on the M/V Valentina. Without further ado, here is the trip report.   The 1st dive was at Punta Lobos. The water temperature was 26-27 deg.C. The visibility was 8-12 meters. Once it used to be well known as a Sea Lion point. We have not seen them around this area lately. However, that day wasn’t the case. A very friendly Sea Lion followed us all the time for 40 minutes!  So cute! The 2nd dive was at Swanee Reef. he water temperature was 26-27 deg.C. The visibility was 12-15 meters. It was very tranquil-o! We could observe many of Cortez Garden Eels and Signal Blennies in the sand area. After the dive, we tried the snorkeling with Whale Sharks. We made it successfully to see various size of them. To be continued…

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[Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.26- NOV.1, 2019, Sea of Cortez Vol.5

[#Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.26- NOV.1, 2019, Sea of #Cortez Vol.5

Day 5, it was such a strong wind even the marina was closed.  We were forced to reduce the number of the dives from 3 dives to 2. The 1st dive was at La Mano, which had mellower wind condition. The water temperature was 26-27 deg.C. The visibility was 8-10 meters. This point has a forest of black corals with optic orange in the deeper side. I felt like I was in the Harry Potter’s world! We also found about a dozen of Mobula rays but no all of us to see because of the bad visibility. The 2nd dive of the day was at Fang Ming. The water temperature was 27 deg.C. The visibility was 8-10 meters. This is one of my favorite dive points. The Fang Ming is the old Chinese ship, which has old squatting style of toilet!  This trip was held in a harder condition with the strong wind. I really thank you all for joining us and also for understanding our safety first operation. Hope to see you all again!

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[Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.26- NOV.1, 2019, Sea of Cortez Vol.4

[#Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.26- NOV.1, 2019, Sea of #Cortez Vol.4

Day 4, all the three dives were done at El Bajo. The water temperature was 27 deg.C. The visibility was 10-15 meters. Apparently calm but there was a super strong current. It was hard to stay even at the hot spot.  However, we found a big school of Hammerhead Sharks at the deep side for the 1st dive of the day. It was better if they were swimming not that deep though. We had some beginner divers and their group stayed at the top of the reef. They got luck to see a couple of Sea Lions there! To be continued…

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[Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.26- NOV.1, 2019, Sea of Cortez Vol.3

[#Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.26- NOV.1, 2019, Sea of #Cortez Vol.3

Day 3, the 1st and the 2nd dives were at Lobera de San Francisquito.  The water temperature was 26-27 deg.C. The visibility was 10-15 meters.  We started the dive with searching Barracudas for the 1st dive but quickly gave it up because of a strong current. We moved to a calmer current area and enjoyed macros. By the time we had the 2nd dive the current situation got mach better for us to do the Barracuda river and we successfully made it! It was such a long one. Yay! The 3rd dive was at Punta Tintorera. The water temperature was 27 deg.C. The visibility was 8-10 meters.  We found a condo of the Signal Blennies!  Total 6 of them reside there! It was still hard for us to take nice pictures of them since the current was strong and it was very sandy as well. The 4th dive was at Punta Fun Baja as a night Mobulas! The water temperature was 27 deg.C. It was sooooooo impressive. Total 60-70 Mobulas gathered up in no time. They made their tornado in front of the light. It was such a exciting sight to see. To be continued…

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[Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.26- NOV.1, 2019, Sea of Cortez Vol.2

[#Mexico] Trip Report : OCT.26- NOV.1, 2019, Sea of #Cortez Vol.2

Day 2, . all the 4 dive were held at Los Islotes.  The water temperature was 26-27 deg.C. The visibility was 10-15 meters. Time flies! Especially on the Sea Lion babies growth!  I didn’t see any fear on their face any more to go out. I have already started missing their cute soft bites,,,  By the way, I finally spotted the Jawfish relocated and wanted very much for a while. It seemed like the Giant Jawfish and Finespotted Jawfish started sharing their habitat. Besides, we could see the Mobulas’ jump, which was hardly seen this time of the year, on the surface! Yay! To be continued…