Page 429 - Mexico Diving From the Caribbean to Pacific Isles

Socorro Island Dive Sites

C abo Pearce - is a reef that extends out right place a humpback whale might even
into the prevailing current. There is of- Pease its mighty bulk into your field of vision.
ten a lot of dolphin activity here and a pod unta Tosca - located on the west coast of
Rmay greet your dive tender and entertain you the island and is another site where the

before you even hit the water. Few places in oca O’Neal a.k.a Hammerhead Central chance of long and intimate encounters with
– is a great place for sighting scalloped dolphins is strong. Interacting with these in-

the world offer experiences with dolphins hammerhead sharks that gather in schools telligent marine mammals is something that

like here, which are far from fleeting. The weaving their way into the current. This pre- never gets old. Even if you see them on eve-

dolphins may hang around to see you enter- sents an amazing site and experience when ry dive, they are always most welcome. Oc-

ing the water and dropping down and could you realize that there is not just 1 or 5 or 10 casional underwater encounters with hump-

stay in the area for your whole dive, their but probably more than you can count as you back whales, at the right times of the year.

playful clicks and squeaks dancing through gaze out from the rocky slope in slack-jawed Coming within close range of one of these

your ears, when they are not directly in wonder. There is a plateau at 10 to 12 meters huge mammals is nothing less than stun-

sight. One way to dive this site is to descend where you can spot smaller creatures includ- ning. Tiger sharks, although not the most

and nestle among the rocks, protected from ing lobsters and various little schools of reef common species in this water, are regularly

the strongest of the current. Here you await fish. The plateau gives way to an interesting seen and Punta Tosca is one of the best plac-

the majestic sight of a huge school of scal- cavern which is one of Socorro’s few pho- es for them. Other sharks spotted here in-

loped hammerheads, weaving their way into togenic topographical features. Although clude galapagos sharks, silky sharks and sil-

view. Silky sharks are also not uncommon sometimes called Hammerhead Central, vertip. This dive site is considered one of the

here, particularly later in the day. You have shark lovers also stand a good chance of en- world’s top dive sites for pelagic encounters.

a chance to experience manta rays at Cabo counters with other species such as galapa-

Pearce, and if you are in the right time and gos sharks, grey reef sharks and silky sharks.