I run a small diveshop here in Loreto, Blue Nation. By the way thanks so much for all the kind comments posted here. It means a lot.
I've been away deom the boards for a long while, guess is time to dive in again!
My opinion could be kinda biased of course, so I'll try to be as much informative as I can.
There is 3 shops in town, included ours those are Dolphin Dive, Sea and Land and Blue Nation. I'd dare to say we lean more towards more specialized service and more specialized equipment, dives and diversity of offer.
Sea of Cortez diving is veeery different from the Caribbean in general. In a nutshell, you will find way more biodiversity and biomass here than in your average Caribbean dive. This also apply for the different seasons, that entirely change the species you can see (check the image here below and the end of the post). Macro is quite incredible, and the seasonal big life can be astonishing, like the schools of mobulas or whales.
In the other hand, water conditions can be more challenging, in particular during winter and spring, where water temp drops quite a lot, and wind, waves and currents can make boat rides, and dive conditions more advanced.
We don't get much hard coral here, but we do ridiculously lush soft coral forests, like black coral, which are normally deepish. To me, those are so so much worth visiting.
Last but no least, the nature in Baja is wild and dramatic, everything feels pristine and remote and this appeals to a lot of more adventurous type of divers. We also try to run exploration trips where we document some of the uncharted seamounts or UW features around here, and some are outworldly.
Jim is right on this. Many fisherman would rent their panga (local boats) to you at the marina, and this can be an option for independent divers BUT please, hear my advice first: bear in mind that the vast majority of the boats there are smaller, non-dive adapted boats, which only one engine, short range, and zero dive safety equipment. Most of the captains there won't have basic emergency and CPR training, no knowledge of the dive sites and of course, no dive guides. Is worth noting too, that as per Marine Park regulations,
diving without a guide is forbidden, for safety and conservation reasons. If you are still gonna do it, please make sure that the basics are covered, as
there is no hyperbaric chamber in Loreto.
Bob, good to see your pictures here, at this point, you are really the dive embassador of this place!!
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