Socorro Islands Manta Ray

Damir Tanovic

Blog Entry #6

April 29, 2011: Homeward Bound
The long cruise back to the mainland hasn’t been completely useless. It has helped the group of divers on the Aggressor bond even more, and I’ve had time to finish writing my article on the Socorro Islands, which will appear in the July issue of Scuba Diving. It also gave me time to put together a few tips for other divers looking to take a similar liveaboard trip to the Socorro:

Tips for taking a dive trip to the Socorro Islands
1. Bring reading material and/or music and movies. The one-day crossing to Socorro (and back again) is a great opportunity to catch up with anything you’ve missed.
2. There is no phone or Internet access. Turn off your Blackberries and iPhones as soon as you step aboard.
3. For some reason, flights back to the US from Los Cabos airport don’t depart until noon/early afternoon. (The Baja Aggressor turns everyone off the boat at 7am, so they can prepare for the guests arriving later that day.) Plan ahead, and either book a room for the day at a hotel in San Jose or be prepared to wile away your hours at the airport.
4. Make sure your arrival airport is San Jose de Los Cabos (airport code: SJD), and not San Jose, California (airport code: SJC). It sounds like a silly mistake, but it’s an error that two guests made during my trip, and it nearly derailed their vacation before it even started.
5. Don’t be a hero: a 7mm suit with a hood (or, better yet, a drysuit) is the bare minimum you’ll need to be comfortable doing up to four dives a day in 68 to 73 degree F. water temps.
6. Gloves and dive lights are not allowed in the marine park. Leave them at home.

To read the other blog entries from this trip, click on the Related Articles below.