Martin - 6-17-2004 at 12:20 AM
Greetings from the UK.
I will be coming out to Baja California in Late October to do some (lots of) scuba diving.
Is this the best time to go?
Where are the best places to dive and also the best places to stay for a moderate budget.
All replies would be most welcome.
Many thanks
David K - 6-17-2004 at 12:33 AM
Hello Martin, welcome to this great forum on Mexico's magic peninsula of Baja (Bah-ha) California!
I hope you get many great answers here. I am not a scuba diver, but will get the ball rolling with a recommendation of Cabo Pulmo (Baja's only living
coral reef and a protected reserve). There are dive shops and places to stay.
I have not been to Cabo Pulmo in 30 years, so it is not the same place I remember! Use your search engine and see what pops up for Cabo Pulmo. I also
recommend going to http://BajaExpo.com and click on the link for 'East Cape' then look for details on Cabo Pulmo. Check other places for lots of details, too.
Late October should be great, and not too chilly in the water, yet.
[Edited on 6-17-2004 by David K]
The best diving in Baja...
Ken Bondy - 6-17-2004 at 09:42 PM
IMHO is at the islands in and to the north of La Paz Bay. They are reachable by day boats and liveaboards based out of La Paz. La Paz is a
delightful city and has all kinds of accommodations. There are several excellent dive operations in La Paz. The east cape, from Cabo San Lucas to
Bahia de Los Muertos to the north, offers some interesting diving on shallow living coral reefs. Cabo Pulmo is one of them, by far the best known and
often incorrectly thought to be the only living coral reef in North America. However there are actually many living coral reefs in the east cape
area, ranging from small patch reefs to what I consider to be the best of the living coral reefs which is about one-half mile off of Punta Pescadero.
I have dived both Pescadero and Pulmo many times and they are both interesting, but Pescadero appears to be larger (no-one, to my knowledge, has ever
mapped it) and in slightly deeper water (generally about 60fsw) and not only offers the typical reef fish and critters, but a better chance for seeing
pelagics like mobulas, yellowfin tuna, and large schools of jack crevalle (toro). Have a great trip,
++Ken++
PS October is, IMHO, the BEST time for diving in the Sea of Cortez.
[Edited on 6-18-2004 by Ken Bondy]
JESSE - 6-17-2004 at 09:44 PM
October is about the best month to visit us, welcome and enjoy our casa.
Actually
jrbaja - 6-17-2004 at 10:19 PM
There are quite a few of them besides "the only living coral reef in wherever" but, I certainly wouldn't reveal their locations on here!
Thanks Gato. I was just about to start some ridiculous rant
[Edited on 6/18/2004 by jrbaja]
bajaloco - 6-18-2004 at 08:46 AM
Martin... Ken is right about La Paz, it is a great place to dive and is very diver friendly. I have had great dives also in Loreto and Cabo San
Lucas. It all depends on how much time you have to be in Baja. Being new to the area, I would probably stay on the cape and rent a car to travel to
the dive sites. I also believe there is a Baja Dive book on the market that might help.
simple.....
capt. mike - 6-18-2004 at 11:47 AM
la paz or pulmo, anything else is 3rd rate.
gonetobaja - 6-19-2004 at 10:41 AM
Islas Encantdas is great if you are looking for expedition style stuff. Out in the middle of nowhere with cool wildlife.
I got to agree with mike though, down south has great diving.
Hey mike how about a 2nd rate rating for me?
GTB
"Ill go feel sorry for myself in paradise..."
gonetobaja - 6-19-2004 at 10:43 AM
We usualy freedive out here though because of the great spearfishing.
GTB
"The nice thing about freediving is the tank fills are free..."
Isla San Pedro
JZ - 6-19-2004 at 01:00 PM
http://www.cruisecortez.com/sanpedro.htm
Tons of places
Tio Rocky - 6-30-2004 at 08:20 AM
Tons of great places to dive in Baja?. I would suggest looking at http://www.bajaevents.com/diving.html ? quit a few places to pick from,,,, budget to fly you down and land you on a deserted beach?
Have fun and find Nimo??
Tio Rocky
and Dale's operation
capt. mike - 6-30-2004 at 06:23 PM
is at least in the top 3 i'll bet!!
www.gonetobaja.com
bet right
Tio Rocky - 7-1-2004 at 06:31 AM
You bet right Captain,,,,
Ever check out his trip "side effects"? Pretty funny?.
http://bajaevents.com/sanfelipe/gonetobaja/sideeffects.html
Dude runs some good smack?
6flora6 - 7-1-2004 at 06:03 PM
[Edited on 7-2-2004 by 6flora6]
Diving
gonetobaja - 7-3-2004 at 11:23 AM
I love you guys,
Ill take top 3 placement any day. By the way, Im going to have the guys from world wide fishing guides http://www.worldwidefishingguide.com go out to the islands with me next week july 7-11 on a 3 day islands trip and they are going to film the
whole thing and put it on TV. When I get more details Ill post them and let you guys know when it will be on.
Fox sports west
We are bringing an underwater camera, a real professional one. Its going to be dead tide. Great time to spearfish!
Just got back from two days and it was windy the whole time. We have had alot of wind this year.
I still need to get you guys out to the islands Mike and Tio,
check your tide charts and tell me when you want to go, Dead tide only...
GTB
[Edited on 7-3-2004 by gonetobaja]
Tio Rocky - 7-5-2004 at 09:30 AM
Only if I can bring my obnoxious seadoo?? and you promise not to spear me?. or shoot a potato gun at me??getting me drunk is ok =)
This is Tio just before he goes over.... dumb &^%%$#
Sea DOOOOOOOO
gonetobaja - 7-5-2004 at 01:54 PM
That would be an interesting trio Tio, Maybe one day We could get a bunch of you jetski dudes and do a jetski Island trip. I could bring the extra
fuel in my boat. you would probably have to put your sea do in the back of your truck because the road down here right now is a trailer killer.
I have had trouble logging on, I think my computer needs a new fuel filter or something....
Or an oil change?
I like my spearguns better, much less technikel stuff, Load, aim, shoot.
Dive down and look fer a fish, If ya see em then you take a shot, hopefully ya hit em.
If ya miss, do it over. Thats nice and simple for a guy like me.
Im leaving on wendsday. I already got the jitters. I have never been on TV before and I am very nervous if everything is going to be ok.
If I could only controll the weather and fish Id be ok...
Im gonna try to say "bajanomad.com" during the show and get us shameless plug for the site...
Hey mike you never told me what that aviator/radio handheld thing was that you can talk to airplanes with. Im thinking of getting one.
GTB
"Beer in this part of baja tastes better because of the relative location to the lunar gravitational pull causing optimum carbonation release. This
release in conjuntion with the tilting of the bottle enables the barley and hops to co-mingle with the carbonation release creating a perfect mix of
flavoring and refreshment not possible in any other part of the world. Also the lime helps too..."
Dr. Chugo Pacifico
Head director of carbonation reaserch
Playa Escondida BC
Dale, my bird down for several weeks
capt. mike - 7-5-2004 at 05:41 PM
but when it gets ready plus or minus end of july/ 1st of august we are going to hit your place!
oh, the hand held Av band vhf... quite a story...i need to do a complete write up one day, but the outline goes like this:
flew my then '67 mooney M-20 F with da wife from PHX to Yucatan peninsula dec ' 1990 for a 3 week stupendous vaca, cozumel, isla mujeras, chichen
itza, tulum, the works - 3 weeks man!
coming home was in IFR solid cloud and light rain leaving Minatlatan heading for Brownsfield TX. - filed IFR but expected easy stuff.
Weather got heavier 30 min north, rain much harder, started coming thru the glareshield via the maintenance panel which on the pre "J" models was fore
of the plexiglass glare shield. Long story short....we lost (shorted out) the volt reg, the generator and soon ran the batt to zilch. still in solid
IFR conditions at least 300 miles south of the border we lost all radio and navagational aids, the worst thing period when IFR. and we are in the
soup.
Wife dug out the ICOM a - 22 hand held which i bought specifically as a back up when i got my instrument ticket, we relayed to San angelo FSS via
tampico and they sent a U.S. customs Citation to find us and lead us to VFR conditions which were to be found only at Del Rio TX, we made it with
about 15 min fuel left. was 3 hours after we lost all electrical in the plane. with out that radio i would have had to turn towards the gulf and
slowly simply descend to the water, or until vis got ok, which ever came 1st. then follow the coast as best i could. we didn't carry a raft then.
the jet took a picture of us when we got into the clear, the pilots sent it to me with a short letter. it hangs on my office wall to remind me that
life is at best a gamble to be taken seriously at all times.
Beer & Fish
Tio Rocky - 7-6-2004 at 01:00 PM
Hey Dr. Chugo Pacifico,
I may use that on my site if it's ok.... but of course I would be Dr. Chugo Corona...
About the seadoo thing,,,, I'm putting together a new site called Baja Taco Tours (www.bajatacotours.com) ... just started it.... it's going to be taco tours, tequila tours, atv & fishing tours "with" Tio Rocky in Ensenada,,,, I
have Greg Row, 5X Baja 500 and 3X Baja 1000 Champion hooked up to do the ATV part... maybe we should do a watercraft tour??? Spend the night in Ens
getting all ^%$#@*& up then truck over to your side of Baja for a couple of days.... could be good for both of us....
Tio
gonetobaja - 7-6-2004 at 09:40 PM
Im in for any baja related stuff...
By the way Dr. Pacifico is a real dude, I was talking to him...
Im serious...
GTB
gonetobaja - 7-6-2004 at 09:45 PM
Mike,
That is a freaky story, and you guys wonder why the only thing I put in the air is my truck.
I think I will invest in the Sat phone before the AV band radio.
By the way, I have no Idea what IFR is but it sounds like "Cant see sh#t" weather in which case I vote that they change the letters to CSS weather.
And people say Im nuts because I freedive the islands...
GTB
daveB - 7-6-2004 at 10:16 PM
Wow, Martin, you have a plethora of choices now sugested, like where to go which was your original query, and it has extended nicely to (nearly)
include what kind of bait to use on your spears. My sugestion is to just bring a camera and a wide appreciation of, and a sense of protection for, the
flora and fauna that is both below and above the tide lines. That thirst comes naturally if you've been diving if I remember those days in the dim
past when I did, and that applies anywhere in the world, right?
Dale
capt. mike - 7-7-2004 at 07:49 AM
yes, get a sat phone - it is the best insurance. IFR is instrument flight rules, and yes they are valid when you CSS.
othertimes the rules are for VFR which means visual flight rules, or Can see chit.!
an av band handheld is really only good for pilots in a plane or as a grouund base station at uncontrolled fields. i use mine on the ground at
Serenidad to talk to arriving pilotos and give them the field conditions. it's big fun.
Diving
Capt. George - 7-7-2004 at 01:37 PM
I usually do most of my diving at home, wherever that might be........
Love is a wonderful thing.........Capt. George
I don't think they were referring to
jrbaja - 7-7-2004 at 02:01 PM
Muff, George.
elizabeth - 8-5-2004 at 07:20 AM
Back to the original question! Loreto is a great dive spot (despite the suggestion that it is 3rd rate). For instance, we just did 15 dives in 15
different spots between July 10 and July 17. Visibility was great. We had dolphins come down to check us out at 60'...we saw mating rays, a grouper
the size of a vw bug...a school of mantas playing above us...many times we were totally surrounded by enormous schools of fish...there is a beautiful
yellow polyp black coral forest...and on and on. It is true that the only hard coral reef is at Cabo Pulmo, but there are small hard coral heads
around Loreto and elsewhere, but hard corals are not the only thing to see when diving. There is an enormous variety of soft corals to see, and the
sea life, both little and big is spectacular. There are some books. One is Diving Baja California by Susan Speck who is one of the owners of the
Dolphin Dive Shop in Loreto. This is a great shop. The divemaster, Rafael Murillo is from Loreto and really knows the places to go. We like it so
much that this was the fourth time we have gone to Loreto for diving.