vseasport - 3-7-2009 at 09:29 AM
I often get asked what makes me return for another season when there are so many other great places to dive. Various factors combine to make up my
answer so I shall attempt to explain. Having hailed from the UK let me say that waking up to blue sunny skies every morning plays a big part in my
overall wellbeing. Add to that the possibility of a phone call from your boss on your first full day back in the country telling you to look out the
front door and check out the seven Humpback Whales breaching just off shore in front of the dive shop and you might just begin to get the picture.
Knowing my liking for staying warm, some have wondered how I manage in the colder months yet for me this is possibly my favourite time. When the water
is colder, the nutrients cloud the water bringing in more fish and when I say more, I mean MORE!! Being enveloped in a blanket of fish does tend to
have a warming effect on me, with so much to see maybe the brain can't cope with everything to be thinking about so being cold never comes into play.
Now water temps are in the mid to high 60's (Fahrenheit) but believe me, the water does warm up fast from May onwards climbing up to the mid 80's
within weeks and even sans wetsuit we are still roasty toasty.
Australia has pristine corals and all sorts of colours are on display in the clear warm waters but I never saw fish in the same numbers as to what I
can see here on any given day. The Seychelles are renowned for great diversity but still I have to say that it couldn't compete with the wonderful Sea
of Cortez. Here we see large Pelagics on EVERY dive!! Leopard Groupers, Hammerheads, Tiger Sharks, Manta Rays and Whale Sharks can and have all been
seen on a regular basis and yet still we get surprises thrown at us. Thailand was warm and relaxed and it enjoys a great reputation hence the masses
of divers heading there each year but it still doesn't hold a candle to what is on offer in Cabo Pulmo Marine Park. Here we can dive in groups of
three or four without encountering any other divers....not so in Thailand! How about the Mediterranean then?........the Med's Dead Baby........not for
me! I would be lucky to see more than a handful of fish on a dive there yet here I am guaranteed huge schools of Yellow Snapper, Grunts, and best of
all the marauding hordes of Big Eyed Jacks that bombard the senses from all angles as they attempt to assimilate you into their collective. How about
the macro life on offer then, surely something must be lacking here? Well think again, with a keen eye all sorts of colourful Nudibranchs can be found
on all of our dive sites along with Pipefish and even Sea Horses although admittedly these are a rare occurrence. If all that doesn't float your boat
then I'm not sure what will but it sure does it for me! I should also mention, prior to coming here I'd never settled in one dive destination for more
than 18 months, yet here I am back for my third year with a view to staying even longer......what more can I say?!