The Revillagigedo Archipelago and its underwater beauties
I was in Mexico City at a meeting on the conservation of sharks. Just before it started, my phone rang, it was Manolo Victoria, from Veracruz. He excitedly said “Get ready, because we’re going to the Revillagigedo”. Just hearing that name altered my pulse, as the Revillagigedo Islands are my favorite place to dive.
Immediately, I answered, “OK when do we leave?” “Tomorrow,” he replied. There was a problem, because my scuba gear and my camera were in Cancun. To think about going to that magical place without my equipment would be a sacrilege, and how could I tell my family that I would not be back until 15 days later. Now, the situation was really difficult.
I spent the night thinking about what to do, because I didn’t want to lose such opportunity. At the airport, before boarding my flight back to Cancun, I decided: “I am going scuba diving. I’ll see who brings my equipment and some clothes”. I had to spend more than 12 hours at the airport, but finally, I got out on the last flight to Los Cabos.
Revillagigedo is an archipelago located 300 nautical miles from the port of Manzanillo, on the Pacific Ocean. Politically it belongs to Colima State. It has three islands and one islet. The largest island is known as Socorro and is inhabited by Marines from the armed forces Mexico. The farthest island (almost 600 miles from the coast) is called Clarion and is also inhabited by a detachment of marines. The nearest island is called St. Benedict and is not inhabited. Finally, the smallest of the 3 islands is Roca Partida, which is nothing more than a stone in the sea.
Getting there took us over 30 hours of sailing and this time it was quite violent, the ocean was quite cheerful. We arrived in the evening at St. Benedict, just in time for our first dive in a place known as El Boiler, a famous reef used by the giant Ray as a cleaning place.
The water was very clear despite the late hour. As we didn´t see much some “Moorish idols” and some long nosed butterfly fish. A few minutes passed and suddenly, emerging from the infinite of the blue ocean, it appeared in formation, three large Rays. They came right at us; we held our breath so we didn´t release bubbles and prevent them from being frightened. They passed very close to us and I was able to appreciate their flattened body, their little eyes, their long horns and the white spots on their bodies. I recall that these spots are the mark used by biologists to identify them, there are no stains alike.
My colleagues went after the Rays; I stayed for a few minutes. I like that feeling. The goldfish surrounded me without fear. Again a Ray appears and stops right in the middle of the multiple bright orange fish, who without missing a second; began to remove the dead skin and parasites from it’s body. What an amazing spectacle the Revillagigedo greets us with.
It’s a new day and the sun rays shines through the clouds turning the waters of the ocean into a mirror. Now we are at Roca Partida, we will try to see and film the shark species that live here.
We dove into the water early. We had not begun to descend when a school of small sharks known as “Silkes” are in front of us, while we prepare our cameras since it was believed that only in the Galapagos and Mapelo, in Colombia, this migration occurred. The sharks vanished into the horizon, in the caves wall were the white tip sharks. They were many, we could only appreciate their tails with their white tips.
We could clearly hear the singing of the humpback whales. I knew, from experience that although you can hear them loud and clear, the whale could be miles away.
When we were on the boat back to the ship, all of a sudden it appeared right next to us a mass of flesh that snorted so hard it got us all wet. The Humpback or singing whale, quietly wandering the endless sea. Without wasting time, I took my visor and fins and prepared to dive. I take the first shots; it was a bit far away. Then, to my surprise the giant whale stops at a depth of 60 feet in the deep blue water. I take the time to put on my tank and dive with reverence, respect and a little fear. As I am getting closer to her, I see how she looks at me with that crystalline eye of hers. Then, all my disappear and turn into admiration, I see a loving mother protecting her cub, who was hiding among the large flaps of his mother. I do not know how much time passed, as I was enjoying that moment of intimacy between mother and baby. Only when my regulator was out of oxygen I remembered that I am a human being and not a fish.
I could not ask for more, but the ocean was generous and sent us a herd of dolphins that played with us, some timid false killer whale. Far away, we hardly distinguished the silhouette of the perfect silver tip sharks.
What a great decision I made to come to the Revillagigedo! This kind of contact can only happen here in this distant Mexico which always shows hidden delights.
We need to strive and to act now, while there is time and value the importance of harmony nature with the extraordinary resources that Mexico can offer.
Text: Alberto Friscione Carrascosa ± Photo: Alberto Friscione Carrascosa