This act saved the wonderful
natural ecosystem. The naval
base controls the liveaboard
dive boats, recreational fishing
boats and the fishing industry,
even though the resources are
limited and the staff is minimal.
Remoteness from the mainland,
difficulty landing due to the
rough coasts and the absolute
prohibition imposed by the
government all help maintain this
as a unique wildlife reserve.
The ocean floors are volcanic
soil, so there is no thin sand
or suspended mud reducing
visibility. Nevertheless, the
visibility was not great for us
because the abundance of
plankton makes the
water cloudy. But of course, this
brings in the wonderful wildlife.
This is the kingdom of the
magnificent giant oceanic manta,
Manta birostris. Like other manta
destinations, they gather here
to feed and visit regular cleaning
stations. However, the mantas of
San Benedicto offer much, much
more. They are not frightened
by divers and actively seek out
interaction with exhaust bubbles
heading for the surface. I would
not have believed this if I had not
seen it for myself.
We arrived in San Benedicto
Island in the afternoon, in time
for a check-dive, if you could call
it that. Because this dive, apart
from the scarcity of depth and
lack of current, did not flow like
the usual, tedious checkouts.
The bottom is formed from lava
OFF THE GRID
06
flows creating caves and ravines, while towards the
open sea it slopes down to a sandy bottom with many
blocks of rock. The quality and quantity of life we saw
were astonishing: on the very first dive we met whitetip
reef sharks dozing in a cave, rays swimming close to the
sand, green morays, lobsters, triggerfish, Moorish idols
and a fabulous number of other creatures.
The two hotspots in San Benedicto are “El Boiler”
and “El Canyon”, located at opposite sides of the
island. The guides are able to choose the best
spot according to the weather conditions, current
direction and winds. The crew
06 Whitetip reef sharks
are extremely experienced
dozing in a cave
and their guidance means the
07 This adventure is for
dives are as safe and enjoyable
experienced divers only
as possible. These sites’ welldeserved reputation mainly
springs from the interaction between the giant mantas
and the divers. There are many places in the world
that offer manta dives but none is comparable to
what we experienced here. We can confirm without
any doubt that, in the realm of fishes, mantas are the