sapphire
Contributor
Hola! OHDiver and I have just returned from an excellent (if too short) trip to Cabo San Lucas, in Baja California Sur, Mexico! I had not been to Cabo in about 7 years, and I was pleasantly surprised that the diving seemed a little better in the way of fish life... it could be the time of year, though I don't know.
We used Amigos Del Mar as our dive op. I had used them in the past but they now have a new owner, Kevin. He is a really nice guy. Divemasters we met were a married couple, Julio and Victoria, both nice folks as well. Diving was approximately $66 per day for nearby sites (2 tanks), $75 the day we went "across the Bay". I did not check Kevin's prices for Cabo Pulmo or Gordo Banks.
We stayed at the Pueblo Bonito (blanco), where I have a timeshare. I love the resort, and it is certainly more laid back than its noisy neighbor, the Melia. It is right on beautiful Medano Beach, across from Land's End. You can watch the sun rise over the ocean from your room (if you get up early enough!) From the Pueblo Bonito it is a $10 dollar (one way) cab ride to the dive shop at the marina, $6 to downtown. The food at the resort is excellent so we only went into town for dinner twice, to two of my past favorites, Pancho's and Mocambo.
Diving
The first day we did the "local" sites, meaning a 5 minute boat trip from the dock. We dove Pelican Rock and Land's End. Water temps were about 73 degrees, with significant thermaclines in spots... We found the 2 resident Whitetip Reef Sharks at about 65 feet, saw TONS of yellowtail surgeonfish, pompano, goatfish, sgt majors, barberfish, scissortail damsels. Also lots of other nice fish, moorish idols, king angelfish, parrotfish, guineafowl puffers, scrawled filefish, fanged blenny ( a personal favorite ) and many kinds of damsels. I saw a few bullseye stingrays and a cool gray speckled moray which I believe to be an "argus moray". I liked the giant hawkfish - beautiful! The only downside of these sites are the nasty biting flies during the surface interval!
The second day we dove off the Hotel Twin Dolphin for the first dive, and a place they called "Whale Head Point" for the second dive. Water temp warmed to 75! Lots of the same fish, but a little healthier underwater landscape, probably due to less boat traffic. I did see my first Zebra Moray but he was not posing for photos!
The last day we went back to Pelican Rock in search of frogfish and seahorses. We (I say we, but it was our eagle-eyed DM, Julio) found two frogfish right near each other, but failed to see any seahorses. I did see the HUGEST bumphead parrotfish I have ever seen, plus an octopus, scorpionfish and several green morays. And the last dive was the most fun, because we were with 3 sea lions as they were fishing. I took some still photos and a little "movie" of this, it was so interesting to watch the school trying to defend itself from the three seasoned predators... its really hard to describe!
All in all a nice trip, and I had fun getting used to my digital camera. I am ALMOST ready to invest in a strobe. It would have made a difference in several of the shots
Karen, its your turn to add anything I forgot! Happy diving and Happy New Year, everyone!
We used Amigos Del Mar as our dive op. I had used them in the past but they now have a new owner, Kevin. He is a really nice guy. Divemasters we met were a married couple, Julio and Victoria, both nice folks as well. Diving was approximately $66 per day for nearby sites (2 tanks), $75 the day we went "across the Bay". I did not check Kevin's prices for Cabo Pulmo or Gordo Banks.
We stayed at the Pueblo Bonito (blanco), where I have a timeshare. I love the resort, and it is certainly more laid back than its noisy neighbor, the Melia. It is right on beautiful Medano Beach, across from Land's End. You can watch the sun rise over the ocean from your room (if you get up early enough!) From the Pueblo Bonito it is a $10 dollar (one way) cab ride to the dive shop at the marina, $6 to downtown. The food at the resort is excellent so we only went into town for dinner twice, to two of my past favorites, Pancho's and Mocambo.
Diving
The first day we did the "local" sites, meaning a 5 minute boat trip from the dock. We dove Pelican Rock and Land's End. Water temps were about 73 degrees, with significant thermaclines in spots... We found the 2 resident Whitetip Reef Sharks at about 65 feet, saw TONS of yellowtail surgeonfish, pompano, goatfish, sgt majors, barberfish, scissortail damsels. Also lots of other nice fish, moorish idols, king angelfish, parrotfish, guineafowl puffers, scrawled filefish, fanged blenny ( a personal favorite ) and many kinds of damsels. I saw a few bullseye stingrays and a cool gray speckled moray which I believe to be an "argus moray". I liked the giant hawkfish - beautiful! The only downside of these sites are the nasty biting flies during the surface interval!
The second day we dove off the Hotel Twin Dolphin for the first dive, and a place they called "Whale Head Point" for the second dive. Water temp warmed to 75! Lots of the same fish, but a little healthier underwater landscape, probably due to less boat traffic. I did see my first Zebra Moray but he was not posing for photos!
The last day we went back to Pelican Rock in search of frogfish and seahorses. We (I say we, but it was our eagle-eyed DM, Julio) found two frogfish right near each other, but failed to see any seahorses. I did see the HUGEST bumphead parrotfish I have ever seen, plus an octopus, scorpionfish and several green morays. And the last dive was the most fun, because we were with 3 sea lions as they were fishing. I took some still photos and a little "movie" of this, it was so interesting to watch the school trying to defend itself from the three seasoned predators... its really hard to describe!
All in all a nice trip, and I had fun getting used to my digital camera. I am ALMOST ready to invest in a strobe. It would have made a difference in several of the shots
Karen, its your turn to add anything I forgot! Happy diving and Happy New Year, everyone!
