I recently visited the Revillagigedo Islands - a group of four islands in the Pacific Ocean, 350 miles south of Baja California - with the intention of experiencing some of the magic these islands have to offer. It was the peak of bait ball season, the time of year that some of the best pelagic activity is expected for these islands; notorious for year-round shark and manta action. Expectations were high.
Getting there
The only way to visit the Socorro Islands is via liveaboard. Getting to Socorro Island is a bit of a trek, but well worth the effort. It begins with a flight to Los Cabos on the Mexican peninsula of Baja California, before a 26 hour sail via liveaboard to the islands around Socorro.
The first day was spent acclimatising to the rolling vessel, preparing our kit in the generously spacious 'wet area' and being briefed on how we would be spending the next nine days; teased by all the wonderful things we were going to see.
The diving
The first day we dived 'The Boiler' at San Benedicto. Three times. The visibility was fairly bad on the first dive due to the volcanic silt being whipped up by a recent hurricane, however, The Boiler did not disappoint. Not only did we see a giant manta on every dive, we saw multiple on most and had some of the most amazing interactions with the majestic beasts that I have ever experienced. White tip reef sharks, giant lobster; even dolphins were in abundance around this giant cleaning station pinnacle.
We reached Socorro Island having done some truly amazing dives, encountering giant mantas, white tip reef sharks and dolphins along the way. The great diving continued and we had much better visibility at 'The Point', a honeycomb lava tube running from high on the mainland far out to sea. Again, the currents were strong and we clawed with the very tips of our fingers, like Spiderman, at various points of the dives.
One late-evening we snorkelled with silkies
After throwing a few fish heads from the stern-platform and with the yacht's floodlights focused on the surface, the silky sharks arrived. In numbers. We donned wetsuits, masks and fins and with a camera and torch I hopped into the shark-infested darkness. Maybe slightly dramatic, but essentially that's what was happening and there was a real rush as they inquisitively bumped into you from all angles.
The following morning we reached Roca Partida, the third and smallest island of the main trio: essentially a tiny rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. That first early-morning dive was one of my most magical dives to date. A pod of dolphins chased us to the site. They followed us as we backwards-rolled from the RIB and descended. The sun was beaming through the crystal-clear ocean, radiating off this Cathedral-like rock, bringing everything into perfect focus. Wahoo whizzed by in the blue, yellow-fin accompanying and white tip reef sharks were out patrolling in large packs. A few silky and Galapagos sharks were keeping watch slightly further into the blue.
It is always a delight watching a manta miraculously glide past you, stroking the ripping swell with its wings, cautiously checking you out. These giant mantas are celebrities and recently featured on the BBC's shark series, filmed at this dive site and visited by numerous marine biologists and philanthropists. They enjoy bubbles being purged from divers' regulators, dispersing parasites on their bellies, for their entourage to eat. They are very comfortable with gentle interaction and enjoy playing out in the blue… needless to say our safety stops were generally spent playing with the mantas!
Stay tuned for part II when we reach Socorro Island for Spiderman-esque manoeuvres, snorkelling with Silkies and diving with whale sharks.
The diving got better and better
It was an amazing moment rolling off the RIB to find a 55ft juvenile whale shark about 25m below the surface. Another highlight was the moment we swam away from the reef into the blue at depth and found ourselves surrounded by hundreds of schooling hammerheads.
A quick word on the accommodation
The Nautilus Belle Amie itself is an extremely spacious and well run liveaboard. The crew are very friendly and helpful and nothing is too much trouble. The food onboard never stopped flowing and was varied and delicious. When we discovered a hurricane had formed and was heading our way, the captain and crew made perfect decisions and luckily we didn't have to miss out on any diving.
An adventure to Socorro is truly that
Socorro promises and delivers. We were among some of the unfortunate cruises due to the fact that we were between two rather large storms at the very end of the Socorro season. Despite this, I experienced some of the most exciting diving to date and was very impressed with the crew and ship for their ability to handle anything Mother Nature threw their way. I can only imagine that when conditions are only slightly better, let alone at their best, the islands of Socorro are some of the most exhilarating places to dive on Earth.
