Mexico: Diving in La Paz

“Baja California”… there are names that generate dreams and fantasies…

Here we are for a few days in La Paz, Mexico.

“Aquarium of the world” for Cousteau, “Pearl of Nature” for Steinbeck or “Galapagos of the Northern Hemisphere” for others, Baja California is in the opinion of all a gem still unknown today.

Located on the coast of the Gulf of California, two hours drive north of Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, capital of Baja California Sur, directly overlooks the Sea of ​​Cortez. It is a world famous spot for encounters with sea lions, whales, hammerhead sharks and whale sharks ... not to mention giant squid ...

The Espiritu Santo archipelago

Whether you want to dive, snorkel, kayak or camp… you can't come to La Paz without discovering the Espiritu Santo archipelago.

Click on the image above to enlarge

Isla Espiritu, the main island, is 19 km long and 5 km wide. This 23 hectare desert is one of Baja California's most pristine ecosystems. Archaeologists have found evidence there that people already lived on this island more than 800 years ago. The natural conservation of Isla Espiritu Santo is a marvel.

A UNESCO protected biosphere, the island was ceded to the Mexican government in 2003 thanks to the cooperative efforts of several nonprofit organizations that raised $ 3,3 million to compensate landowners for the loss of their land . It is now managed by a Mexican Commission which has created protected natural areas and which also cooperates with nonprofit groups to protect ten other private islands in the Gulf.

Let's go to Espiritu Santo

The dives all take place outside the Bay of La Paz. The most interesting are a priori around the archipelago of Espiritu Santo. Departing from La Paz, it takes an hour of navigation to reach the southern tip of the archipelago.

The crossing itself is already worth its weight in gold. You can observe birds by the hundreds, schools of mobulas, dolphins… and even a humpback whale on the surface… This place is literally full of animals of all kinds!

Diving with sea lions: Islotes

Quite to the north of the archipelago are two small islands known as Islas Lobos. This is where a colony of California sea lions, Zalophus Californianus, has established itself, which resides there year-round, which guarantees their encounter, both in diving and snorkeling.

The diving is extremely simple since the immersion takes place in front of the colony on a bottom of 8 meters maximum. You just have to submerge yourself and give a few strokes of the fins to get even closer to the herd of sea lions. They spend their time basking in the sun, then going to cool off, but above all playing in the water. No need to provoke exchanges. It's a bit like with us humans. Some are more sociable than others. When one of them is in a playful mood, she crashes in front of you and no need for words, let's go… we're heckling!

Sea lion - diver interaction

Armless, these animals use their jaws to catch, pinch and bite ... Often, when one of them wants to engage in the game, it begins by nibbling your fins. If you want to respond and play, just hold out your open hand while wiggling your fingers. Remember to make a fist when they bite you. The fangs of the animal are indeed felt and you are then very happy to wear a combination ...

Even if, as a general rule, everything goes in a courteous way, it can happen that some more intrepid individuals try to grab your hood or pinch your stomach ... Then you just have to stop moving and take your pain in patience. A few seconds will also suffice for the animal to tire and go in search of some new, more cooperative partner. It did happen to me to see divers come up with beautiful scratches left by the fangs of these charming little animals ...

Sea lion from the Greek “ôtarion” which means “little ear”

The term sea lion derives from the Greek ὠτάριον which means “small ear” and which was used to designate these species with small ear appendages. This is indeed what distinguishes them from their cousins ​​the seals which do not have them. Although they are part of the same order, sea lions are different from seals. Another dissimilarity, they can also, for example, fold their fins under their body and move by "walking", so to speak, while the seals are satisfied to crawl on the mainland, because of the size of their body. their limbs which are very short.

During the breeding season, from May to August, the males become aggressive. They mark their territory by constantly barking and performing intimidation rituals. The arrival of an intruder leads to an immediate reaction from the resident male. The clashes are violent and can cause serious injuries, but rarely fatal. Each territory has only one dominant male who rules over about fifteen females, free to change territory at their convenience, without the males doing anything to hold them back.

Dives in La Paz

Clearly, when diving, the great attraction is the sea lions on Los Islotes. Nevertheless, the bay offers a dozen other different dives. For the moment, the local centers work more from day to day. It is therefore difficult to plan a week of diving without duplicates… In addition, the activity of snorkeling is very important there and you will therefore have to share the boat with these swimmers. As a result, as they are often more numerous, the sites are primarily chosen according to them, because they need shallow funds ...

Impossible for us to tell you more because as mentioned above, most Centers offer Los Islotes as a first dive and then, very often, the Fang Ming, a Chinese wreck whose details follow. We are therefore a little unsatisfied. The upcoming opening of the Phocéa Center should change all that!

Wreck lover?

On November 18, 1999, two Chinese vessels, the Fang Ming and the Lapas 03, respectively 56 and 36 meters long, were sunk near Ballena Island. These vessels, first confiscated by the Mexican government for illegal transport of immigrants, remained Mexican property, but one day they finally became lucrative, turning into wrecks and artificial reefs. Indeed, the Fang Ming was the first vessel voluntarily sunk in South America to create an artificial reef. The Fang Ming now lies 21 meters deep and divers of all levels, from simple novices to the most experienced, can dive on this wreck.

Well… frankly, it's not the Donator but if you are in need of rusty sheets, the Fang Ming and the Lapas 03 have the merit of existing.

El Bajo: the hammer diving

Located 30 minutes by boat from Los Islotes, is one of the most famous dives in La Paz, El Bajo. This site was discovered by Dr Peter Klimley in the 70s. Dozens of hammerhead sharks meet there from September to February. The first underwater images were filmed there by filmmakers such as Stan Waterman and Howard Hall in the early 80s.

Video posted on Youtube by signalblenny
The quality is not there but it gives an idea ...

But now, for ten years, their number has been steadily decreasing. And this is explained. Commercial fishing catches in the Sea of ​​Cortez have become scarce. Fishermen must therefore sail further, stay at sea longer and therefore use more fuel. So a number of the fishermen in La Paz have decided to put their gillnets outside the bay of La Paz during the winter months, knowing that at that time of the year the nets will fill up. of newborn sharks. And even if the small sharks are of little value, they will still be able to make a little money from them, the cost of this fishing being also very low. According to one fisherman, around twenty shark fishermen would thus set their nets to specifically target hammerhead sharks ...

We certainly agree on the fact that these poor fishermen must support their families well. Nevertheless, let us remember again, hammerhead sharks are A THREATENED SPECIES! More selfishly, here is another spot known worldwide for its hammers which is on the way to disappear ... How long will the authorities take before finally legislating effectively on this subject?

Whale watching

Even if they are present in the bay of La Paz, you will have to go to the Pacific Ocean side of Baja California in order to guarantee the meeting. Indeed, a four hour drive to the northwest, is the bay of Magdalena.

During the annual migration that takes place from January to March, the bay fills with gray whales and their young. And although a limited number of pangas, the local boat, are allowed during this time, we advise you to get there early to avoid the crowds.

Mexican law prohibits any entry into the water with whales. We must therefore be content to observe them from the boat. Anyway, the visibility is so poor there that getting in the water wouldn't add much more ...

When to go?

The tourist season is in fact stuck on the cooler months, from October to May with a peak from December to February when the average temperature drops to… 20 °!

September is, in this region, a month where there can be very heavy rains as well as cyclones… so it is certainly to be avoided.

The visibility is best from July to December, often over 25 meters. From September to November, whale sharks are found in the bay where they feed on plankton. Nothing to do, however, with the gathering that takes place every summer at Isla Mujeres, near Playa del Carmen.

From December to March, gray whales and humpback whales are found in large numbers in the area, as are mobula rays. On the other hand, this is the period when the water is the coldest and the visibility is the worst.

With whom?

Several operators offer dives in La Paz and its surroundings. We chose to trust once again the professionalism of Phocaea Mexico. Indeed, after Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, Martine and Didier, the bosses of Phocéa Mexico, decided to export their know-how to the Pacific coast of Mexico. The third Center will therefore be officially inaugurated with great fanfare next June.

Click on the image above to enlarge

To tell the truth, it should have happened earlier ... Didier wanted to explain:

"We initially planned to work with boat rental. But after having ourselves tried different local solutions in order to test the quality of the services offered in La Paz, we have come to the obvious and could not start this way ... We have just made the only decision that was necessary in order to respect the Phocéa standards… and we have to postpone the opening to the beginning of June… It is no good heart since the center is almost finished, but we will never take the risk of dissatisfying our customers. As a result, we are having a 42-foot boat built with 2 inboard engines of 315 HP each, in order to fully control our offer. This is a decision that does not delight us, but we did not see how we could have offered this new destination without offering everything that divers expect today from PHOCEA services."

We can already present you the Palmira Marina where the diving center is located as well as one of the hotels which is only fifty meters away.

If you want more information, do not hesitate to contact Nature Diving who helped us and supported us to carry out this report.

Nature Diving is a diving travel agency imagined and run by divers for divers. The founders of the agency and the teams who joined them are all divers who have spent years traveling to discover the most beautiful scuba diving sites. This allows them to bring you their testimonials and their experience of the diving destinations they offer.

     Please Note:
At the time we publish this report, in this 21 / 02 / 15, all the information, photos and videos that constitute it, except that hammerhead sharks, are less than 15 days ... This is for you a guarantee of freshness of the info ;-)