Hey All,
My back has been worse for the wear, but overall, TOTALLY worth the pain for the gain
I don't have all the stats, but wanted to let you know the highlights...more to follow when I get home.
Been staying at "La Pinta" hotel. Nice, comfy, but restaurant is slllllooooooooowwwwwww to serve. Beds are good and shower is, too, but the POOL is totally awesome. We have been diving with Dolphin Dive and they have been very accomodating with my back issues and great, thorough DM briefings. I will totally dive with them again!
Date: 9/14, 15, 16/2006
Dive Location: Various around Loreto - Isle de Coronado & Isle Danzante
Buddy(ies):different each time, DM, Cathy S., Gordie, Sandra, Sarah...
Time:morning afternoon and evening, thank you very much
Bottom Time: all except wreck day 1 & 2 about 60 minutes, wreck only 45 minutes
Max Depth: varied...deepest has been 101, shallowest deep was 35'
Vis: in report below...
Wave height: hahahahah - NONE!
Temp at depth: 82 Farenhiet Degrees
was the coldest
Surface Temp: 86, air 90's
Gas mix: all Air
The first dive day, I saw one turtle, that took off pretty fast. Also, I played with Sea Lions in the water inbetween dives. It was pretty cool. I was twisting and turning in snorkel and fins, and barking, of course
A largew group of them jumped into the water with me when I starting rolling around and around. Very cool! The two where pretty nice, vis on the first was in the 45 - 6- ft range. The second was a milky 30ish. The night dive was ok, not too many fish or vertebrates, but I was rewarded with MANY echinoderms - starfish, gulf sun stars, synaptic (sp?) cucumbers, urchins of every kind - about 6 or 7 different species.
On the second day, on the way to the dive site, there were about 40 - 50 common dolphin doing jumps and flips around our boat for our (or maybe their?) entertainment. IT was pretty amazing. One almost landed in our boat. The Captain had to slam on the brakes and quick reverse the boat to keep it out of the bow! On the first dive, we did a wreck and only had about 15 foot of vis. The only really interesting thing about the wreck was the huge amounts of black coral. Oh, and under the roof of the bow, the fish were swimming upside down in the coral, as though the ceiling was really their floor! The second dive had much better vis - but only about 25 - 30ft, and milky green. However, I spotted a frogfish!!!!! No one at the dive shop had ever seen one. I only got a couple of pictures...only one on my camera, as I spent too much time trying to get the others attention, so I missed the great shot, but I have an ok one. The third dive was fun, along a wall. I FINALLY spotted a yellow snot snail on a sulphur sponge...who would've thought that it would take me taking a trip to the Gulf of California to see one? I also got several great pics of anopther really gorgeous and small nudi - pinkish orange body with gills that have pink, purplish, and white bands, with the white at the tips. Other than those finds, there were only the typical fishies
We heard of a hurricane possibly coming this way, but its seems to have shifted and will not be anything more than a storm, if it gets here.
Today, I have only done two dives, so far. I will be doing another one tonight. The first dive was awesome and I spotted AND got great shots of another two nudis. The same as the above (not snotted)and a longer greenish, sort of navanax looking, but with orange and yellow bands al;ong the length of it and a reddish brown gill plume, like on a dorid. The second dive was AMAZING!!!!!! I spotted three turles, and the last allowed me to swim next to it for about three minutes
It was missing one flipper, completely scarred over. This site was so amazing, it was a drift dive and seemed to be the fish main street. Every fish (except Moorish Idols and sharks) from Gotshall's Cortez ID book seemed to be here. Oh, BTW 84 minutes on the first dive and 81 minutes on the second
So later tonight I go on the last night dive
Tomorrow two more day dives, then Tuesday I visit the painted caves and come home. WHEW *wiping sweat off brow (and face and neck and....
)
Laurel