visibility: is good, more or less 30 feet,
water temperature: is nice too, 74º on the surface,
currents: the wind is moving us around a bit, but not too much,
surface conditions: waves are as good as non existing...
So this winter is mild, not too much wind, good visibility, nice and warm water, but no rays. So, if the rays are not in Cabo Pulmo, what does a snorkel tour than have to offer? The mobulas were THE attraction in other winters.
Well, we went diving and snorkeling regularly and we sure do miss the rays.
The amount of whales we see though, is enormous. The playing calves, breaching, while the mothers are slapping their fins on the water surface, asking for our attention. And here she goes again, up, high out of the water, splashing back and we are enjoying the show sooo much and we are sooo close...
But we haven't got all day, we have to go see some fish. In Mermaid beach we stop and anchor the boat. The water is nice and calm in this protected bay and it is the 'baby-room' of the reef: lots of life, but almost all very young. Juveniles have more color and more guts, so don't swim away from you. Look a huge bumphead parrotfish, lots of butterfly fish, surgeons and king angels, lot to see, but there is more to look for.
We're off, around the corner to the sea lion colony. More playful mammals waiting for us there, showing off their swimming skills, turning in all directions, going fast chasing each other or just lazy 'hanging loose' in the water. We're trying to keep up, but feel a bit clumsy, compared with their moves, but great fun...
Leaving the colony, we are suddenly surounded by hundreds of dolphins, coming from nowhere, going everywhere and as far as you can see. Some accompany us, playing with the waves of our boat. Swimming effortless, like torpedos, gracious, beautiful animals and again, mammals.
The captain is slowly heading north, some miles and we see a 'patch' in the water; just a different color, water moving different... We check it out, maybe it is..., but no, it is a huge school of pompano's. We continue; a bit further the water is again moving in a strange way, now it is the 'slipstream' of a whale, yet another one! We stay around a bit, see them jump and toss and turn a bit, but then move on again, towards open sea, further north. We're close to Los Morros, and here we find what we are looking for! Slowly we go in the water, no splashing, not making noise to not scare them away. It needs a bit of paddling against the wind to reach the center of the school; fish everywhere, hundreds, no thousands, what...? A trilion of jacks, lots and lots, from the bottom to the surface. Layer after layer, circling, all in the same direction, until they change... Every fish, as on command, turn and swim the other direction, clockwise and they turn again anti-clockwise, with us, losing all notice of time...
In coming back to the beach (what? Are we already 2 hours out?) we make a last stop on a shellow reef; las Navajas, 15 to 30 feet deep, and with the lack of current, waves and the good visibility, simply a must. Big coral heads, big schools of porkfish and grunts, of grouper and more parrotfish and a reef shark, and another one, and... SHARK !!! But, aren't they dangerous? Shouldn't we run back to the boat? Or can we stay a bit longer, for they seem totally uninterested in us, this shallow, how beautiful!
Oh, we have to go? But they are not dangerous, the guide said... What? Oh, it's almost 1 PM, wowww, over 2.5 hours snorkeling, how time flies...
Still a pity, no rays...
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