1/23/17
We left Marina Palmira today and set sail for the
islands. This morning’s weather report forcasts windy weather starting
Wednesday and lasting for about a week. So, we chose a cove anchorage on Isla
Espiritu Santa, Raza Bay which has some protection from the north wind.
1/24/17
We assembled the hooka and all the dive equipment in the
dinghy and dove along Isla Gallo.
It was
a great dive! We saw a bullseye stingray hiding in the sand. When Rob pointed him out, he took off and
sped away as only stingrays can! Zillions and zillions of tiny baby fishes were
hanging in the water making the water feel thick! I had never before encountered Cortez
Angelfish 12 to 14 inches tall and long with their yellow and blue bodies, but
we saw some wonderful pairs and groups of them during this dive. They are somewhat curious and one was
swimming close to my face for at least 5 minutes of the dive! Rob says their faces remind him of monkeys. We
saw Yellowtail Surgeonfish, Convict Tangs, Balloonfish, Guineafowl Puffers, and
many more that I couldn’t identify.
Here is a video that shows the tiny baby fish
1/25/17 – 1/29/17
Too windy to dive so we stayed anchored and enjoyed our
picturesque bay. I spotted two green turtles swimming just under the surface of
the water. And on another occasion, Rob saw a turtle. We wondered whether they might be headed for
the mangroves and sand at the end of the bay to lay their eggs?
1/30/17
The windy conditions finally calmed down and turned ideal,
so we dove the north point of Raza bay today.
It was a gorgeous dive with Cortez Angels, two huge Giant Hawkfishes, Yellow
Snapper, schools of juvenile Yellowtails, Amberjacks, Giant Damselfish, even a
couple of Groupers! Our maximum depth was 40 feet and the dive lasted 55
minutes. On the rocks we saw two crabs as we got back into the dinghy. The red crab was as big as Rob’s hand and was
winking at us. The gray crab was as large as my hand and running away sideways
up the rock.
1/31/17
Today is Jessica’s birthday. Happy birthday Jessica!
We moved from Raza
Bay on Isla Espiritu Santo to El Cardoncito on Isla Partida because there is a
reef close by at the south of the bay we want to dive tomorrow. It’s a bit
windier here than the super clam Raza Bay we left this morning. But the anchorage is stunningly beautiful and
rugged with salmon and pink rock walls and a small white sand beach.
2/1/17
We had fantastic dive,
50 minutes with a maximum depth of 48 feet, on the rocky reef lying just below
the water line or peeking up when it’s low tide. We started on the sunny south
side and went around the entire reef. We
saw zillions of infant fish again. The visibility is not great due to how many
tiny, almost transparent, babies are packed into the water here! Typical damsel
fish are small (about the size of your toe) and bright electric blue. Despite their small size, they are extremely
territorial and will stare you down if you look at their space. In addition to
these, there is a species here, the Giant Damsel (big as a finger) and
beautiful electric blue and yellow! We saw both today.
2/2/17
We dove the north end
of our small bay today. It was another
great dive, 55 minutes maximum depth of 44 feet. We saw Cortez Angelfish in
better light. Their faces are blue-grey
with thick blue frowning lips and serious bad-boy expressions! Rob asked, “Why
are they called Angelfish? They look more like devils!”
rob finds the coral fascinating
lots of starfish
starfish had something under it
starfish on a shellfish
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