briefing is an
important part
of diving from
Solmar V
12 The dive
Believe me, we spent several hours a day in the
warm waters of San Benedicto and the mantas never
missed our appointment. Sometimes one came
alone, like a vanguard; sometimes one was the first
of a group of five or six; sometimes the visibility was
extraordinary and we could see the squad coming all
together; another time the plankton was so dense
that the visibility was six metres and we became
aware of them with surprise and enjoyed the view of
these gentle giants feeding with their mouths wide
open. These sites are not only an idyllic location for
the mantas who love the hydro massages, but also
has a white belly
specifically to
confuse predators
11 The manta
09 Lobsters
crammed into
a crack on a
colourful wall
day of the trip a
huge whale shark
drifted in
10 On the last
enjoying a diver’s
exhaust bubbles
against its belly
08 A manta
OFF THE GRID
for the divers who are enchanted by the power and the
magnetism of these wonderful creatures.
If you are interested in other animals too, don’t
worry. You can choose to defer this experience to the
end of some exciting deep dives. It certainly makes an
unusual decompression stop. We swam with dolphins,
tuna, schools of jackfish and barracuda, but, of course,
this was eclipsed by the big predators. Schools of
hammerheads, whitetip sharks, Galápagos sharks, silky
sharks and, on the last dive of the trip, a huge whale
shark drifted in. The water column was filled with
swarming creolefish and amberjacks. Near the rocks
and volcanic walls there were many reef fish, including
Moorish idols, green morays, yellowtail surgeonfishes,
Clarion angelfish and pufferfish.
With calm sea conditions we could make the
95-kilometre trip from San Benedicto to Roca Partida.
This is a rocky peak split into two columns, strangely
resembling the head of a manta, just 35 metres above
the surface and totally covered by bird guano. It affords
zero protection from bad weather but underwater can
08
be a real hotspot. We kept one
eye on the sheer rock wall with its
wealth of reef creatures, another
on the blue water for schools
of fish, and a third checking for
anything big coming in. Crevices
along the wall provided homes
for moray eels, which stretched
out full length since there are no
holes for them to hide in. Below
30 metres we found a school of
hammerhead sharks patrolling
the circular wall. Groups of four
to six whitetip sharks slept,
resting on the terraces eroded
in the volcanic rocks, while grey
reef sharks wafted peacefully in
strong currents.
This destination is decidedly off
the grid. Although decompression
diving is strongly discouraged, the
09