Also, my one and only schedule dive trip for 2024 is NOT with Dumdee, but it is with Neverdry. I signed up to go on the Socorro Island trip. To say that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into would be a complete understatement. I had a fairly vague idea…that would not even come close to preparing for the trip that actually happened.

The trip started with an overnight stay in Cabo before setting out. We stayed at the Mayan Monkey (which is a hostel)…there were 12 of us. It was definitely a too-cold adult slumber party. There were no blankets and only sheets to cover ourselves. The A/C was turned down WAY too low because of certain people ([side eye emoji]). We made it through the night without turning into popsicles. We had a lot of time to kill before checking in and before boarding the boat. A group of us ended up going on a 45-min tour of Cabo and the peninsula. It was the BEST $8 we ever spent.

Isla Socorro is a part of the Archipielago de Revillagigedo. This chain of island is located of the SW coast of Cabo San Lucas (which is in Baja California). It consists of 4 islands: San Benedicto, Socorro, Roca Partida and Clarion (this one is super far away). It’s a part of a submerged mountain range (isn’t that crazy). The Archipelago because a UNESCO Heritage World Heritage site in 2016. It is home to manta rays, whales, dolphins and sharks.

We boarded the Nautilus Belle Amie at around 8p and set off for Isla San Benedicto. This is where we were to do our check dive (and would prove to be the easiest spot to dive, La Fondeadero. During our check dive, we discovered the lobsters here are GIANT! During our safety stop, we caught the silhoutte of our first manta ray.

The next 3 dives were at San Benedicto, but at El Canon. This site has 2 cleaning stations and is known for having hammerheads swim through occasionally. We saw A LOT of sharks, and they came pretty close to us as well. Here, we saw: white-tip reef sharks, silky sharks, Galapagos sharks, silvertip sharks and scalloped hammerhead sharks. Oh, I also spotted a giant electric ray. And played with some dolphins.

The next day, we were diving at Roca Partida, which is DEEP. On one side of the rock, there are balconies stacked with juvenile white-tip reef sharks and lobsters. There are also just a bunch of sharks swimming along the rock. One of our dives, we immediately encountered a bunch of playful dolphins. On another dive, a whale shark came to play. This was also where we encountered a school of hammerhead sharks. It was so cool. There were a couple mantas as well.

Days 3 & 4 – Isla Socorro: Cabo Pearce. This is THE dive site to encounter the great ocean mantas. And, there were so many. There were sharks here as well and ran into a radical, OMG kind of current on our 4th dive on day 1. Let’s just say, some of us felt lucky to have survived.

Day 5 – last day of diving. San Benedicto: El Boiler & El Canon. Enough of the mantas, time to hang out with sharks again. We swam out to baby boiler and on the second dive, saw the BIGGEST school of hammerheads sharks ever. This definitely means I can cross it off my underwater bucket list. There were, again, so many sharks and near the end of dive 3, a really, REALLY big hammerhead shark.

After our last dive, there was a surprise waiting for us. It was a surprise wine & cheese hour on the roof deck during sunset!

After our little happy hour and dinner, we set sail for Cabo; we were headed back to the mainland. It would take another 26-28 hours. An entire day of sailing. There were some activities and, of course, the meals. Kate and I felt a bit seasick, so we took some Dramamine in the morning and then felt pretty out of it most of the day. The waves were big.

A big thanks to P’Doi, P’Yam and Sun for sharing their photos. The trip was more than I expected. We didn’t quite complete all the missions (we didn’t get to see the whales under the water, but we did see them from the boat – humpback whales). We did get some extra bonuses though [wink wink].

The trip was expensive, but you can see why after the journey, the animals you get to see, the care they take in serving you… The experience and the people we met were incredible. It’s is definitely a trip I will remember for years to come. I’ve seen whale sharks, but this was truly the BIGGEST whale shark I’ve ever had the pleasure to swim with. The dolphins were friendly and dangerously (at times) playful. The mantas were not shy. Everyone was able to capture some pretty amazing pictures and videos.

Thanks to the team from the Nautilus Belle Amie. Thanks to Neverdry Expeditions for organizing the trip. To those I met, I hope we get to meet again!