Trip report:
We flew direct from ATL to SJD (4-hours) and used Sealine Cabo Transfers to get to Cabo San Lucas (45 minutes). Getting through San Jose Del Cabo airport was a breeze. The worst part was waiting for our bags to come out on the carousel. We breezed through immigration and got a green light at customs, so we walked right through all of that too. After a speed-walk through the gauntlet of time-share sales people, we met our driver right outside the doors. The drive to SeeCreatures in Cabo San Lucas was scenic, comfortable, and uneventful. The car dropped us off at the front door of the shop.
After dropping our bags off, signing the paperwork and showing our c-cards, we had a few hours to kill so we strolled around and got some vegan tacos and saw the sights.
It was a 2-hour bus ride with the rest of the guests from SeeCreatues to the ship which was docked up in La Paz. Southern Baja is gorgeous and there were lots of sights to see along the way.
Our trip was aboard the Belle Ami. The ship was very nice. We stayed in the “Dofini” room, one of the deluxe staterooms up on the wheelhouse deck. We had large windows that gave a great view. The bathroom was quite large and spacious. The only problem was that there was a leak, probably from the shower, that left a wet spot in the carpet near the door. Beyond that though everything was awesome. I want to call out the food specifically. We are vegan, and Chef Julio did a phenomenal job making meals for us that were both delicious and met our plant-based protein needs.
The dive deck is…interesting. The dive deck itself is huge, but there are (I think) 4 huge camera tables (one used exclusively by the crew), and 3 double-sided benches for the tanks. This made it super cramped trying to get ready for the dives. We found it easiest to get suited up on the middle deck where the wetsuits hang, then wait out of the way for the other groups to get geared up and on the skiffs. Then we’d get on the benches to get geared up and do a buddy check.
All diving is from the skiffs. We were divided up into 3 groups and we rotated around which group got to splash first. The first group would get on the skiffs, splash, then they’d come back and pick up the next group.
The dive crew is beyond great. Every briefing was thorough and well explained, with secondary individual group briefings as well. Every dive is with a guide, but I don’t think you need to stick with the guide. We did, and had no complaints. Dives are limited to 60 mins and they asked us to be at our safety stops with 700psi.
Next post, I’ll discuss the diving itself.
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