TRAVELSPECIAL
Life ’ s a lottery
We entered the water , at first to a sandy void ; then the pulsing form of the school materialised . Thousands of trevally , moving in unison to create a silver tornado the size of a house .
Then , the school parted as a torpedoshape propelled through the fish . It was a bottlenose dolphin , seemingly more intent on showing-off than hunting . For a while it stopped and drifted upright , seemingly transfixed by the fish ; or then again , perhaps it too was simply admiring them .
On the last day , I finally got to dive with the bull sharks . Wearied by my cajoling , the centre manager invited me to pick the dive site lottery ticket at the park office . I chose a slip of paper that bore the word ‘ Esperanza ’, which meant nothing to me . However , the fact that the manager then grabbed me in a triumphant embrace suggested we had a ticket to the wreck where the sharks were currently hanging out .
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Aerial view of Cabo Pulmo
Thanks to the winds , the fine substrate of the wreck site had fuzzed up the water column , so visibility was a murky 10 metres . We picked our way through the debris field of an old cargo ship wreck , where schools of snapper loomed in and out of view . I saw a big grouper turn white , signalling its arrival at a cleaning station , then the unmistakable forms of bull sharks emerged .
Once the big bad of shark myth , bull sharks are known for their bulk and singlemindedness . For 40 minutes we kept watch as the sharks flickered in and out of the haze , a deliciously eerie conclusion to the trip .
On the way back to land , a migratory humpback whale serenaded our departure with a series of spectacular leaps , the final one just 20 metres from our panga . The guest and crew were jubilant , but I was mindful of the effects of 30 metric tons of whale on a wooden boat and six humans . Time to go home ... Vamonos !
Essentials
Getting there : The author flew to La Paz with Air France , via Paris and Mexico City ; After a taxi transfer to Cabo Pulmo , he returned from Cabo San Lucas Airport , returning to London Heathrow via Los Angeles . Numerous routes are possible – factor in about £ 1,000 for return flights , and keep an eye on skyscanner . net for bargains .
When to go : La Paz has two distinct seasons , with cool water from 15 December to 15 June and warm water from 15 July to 15 November . The sea lion colony at Los Islotes is diveable year-round , but the marine park is restricted during the mating season , from 1 June to 30 August . La Paz Bay is visited by whale sharks from October to May . Late April to mid-July is breeding time for mobula rays , which mass in their thousands . The best time to visit Cabo Pulmo is October / November .
Dive Centre : The Cortez Club in La Paz offers a range of packages depending on the time of year . A two-dive boat excursion is $ 165 USD (£ 130 ), while a full day with three dives is $ 199 (£ 157 ), prices are subject to a 16 % sales tax . For full details , check out the Cortez Club website , cortezclub . com For Cabo Pulmo , we recommend Cabo Pulmo Divers , cabopulmodivers . com
Eats and treats : La Paz is replete with restaurants to suit all tastes . Steaks , fish and vegan meals are all catered for . Check out James Curtiss ’ Italian influenced waterfront restaurant , SeaSide , right next to the Cortez Club .
Where to stay : Hotel Catedral hotelcatedrallapaz . mx is relaxed , friendly and reasonably priced . If you want to stay out of town near the dive centre , Hotel La Concha is a bit frayed , but competitively priced , laconcha . com At Cabo Pulmo , try bungalowscabopulmo . com or Cabanas Alicia , which can be booked via hotels . com or Google .
Tour operator : Dive Worldwide has 10-day tours of La Paz and Baja from £ 2,895 per person , diveworldwide . com
Further reading : The Sea Lions of Los Islotes by local dive centre owner Luke Inman is well worth a read . It ’ s published by Dived-up Publications , and widely available online .