Kategorie: News
Hunting birds underwater, sea lions and much more...
When you encounter birds underwater, you ask yourself as a diver: Is everything OK? And yes, it really is! Birds at a depth of ten metres, but it's not penguins swimming in the 30-degree water!
Report and pictures by Jan Finsterbusch
Let's start at the beginning of our journey: Not much is really known about our destination Baja California in German-speaking countries. We have seen the schools of Mobulas or the shots of the marlins from time to time, but when and how?
After a lengthy conversation with "Buceo Carey" at the "boot-show" in Dusseldorf, it quickly became clear that the area was worth a trip and a report. Just a few months later, the time had come and we found ourselves at La Paz airport. Unfortunately, the journey from Germany is a little more complicated and longer than to other destinations, which is why we planned 14 days on site.
During our stay we stayed in the "Villa Carey", which also belongs to the family of the dive centre owner. The rooms are in good condition and are fully equipped for divers and photographers. Each room has a table with eight(!) electrical outlets, all of which are compatible with European standards. Someone has definitely thought things through here.
A divers-only hotel
We receive our introductory briefing for the diving centre and villa from Gabriel, the son of the owner family. He proudly presents us with the "welcome kit". The landscape around La Paz is predominantly desert-like. Accordingly, fresh water is scarce. To take this into account, every guest receives a microfibre towel, for example, to reduce water consumption (washing white towels every day?). A personal drinking bottle and other utensils are also included. So the environment is also taken into consideration.
He also explains that a simple breakfast is included in the room rate. Villa Carey is a "divers-only". The rooms are not available on the open market, but can only be booked in conjunction with diving.
On the very first day, we notice the excellent organisation of the dive centre. "Buceo Carey" sends a van to the villa every morning so that all divers can start their diving day in a relaxed manner from the Dive centre. So if you don't have a heavy camera with you, you can also walk the 15 minutes.
At the dive centre, the divers are assigned to the up to three operating boats, depending on how busy they are. All the equipment that we left behind at the centre the day before is already assembled and neatly sorted on the boat, so that after a quick completeness check we can relax and set off for the planned dive sites.
A colony of sea lions
On the very first day, we set off for "Espiritu Santo". There is a colony of sea lions near the northernmost island in the nature reserve. The animals are used to divers and are fully socialised. The small and adolescent sea lions play with the divers under the watchful eyes of the older females. The youngsters bite the fins or sometimes the lightning cables or longer hair, treating us divers as they do each other. However, you have to be careful if a female with extremely young offspring crosses your path or if one of the adult bulls feels disturbed by the divers. With a weight of more than 200 kg and a length of up to two and a half metres, divers don't really question the hierarchy.
We also dive at La Reina: the site is well-known, Jacques Cousteau dived here. Frequent encounters with oceanic manta rays and whale sharks keep this exposed site in divers' memories. Unfortunately, we don't see anything here. Is this because there are better times of year? In any case, the huge hurricane that passed through here shortly before our arrival certainly didn't help. On some days, the conditions unfortunately prevent us from travelling to the usual places.
Nevertheless, we manage to go on an expedition on the other side of the "Baja California": We sit in a small boat in the middle of "Magdalena Bay" and try to discover the other legends of "Baja California". The grey whales come to the bay especially in February and March to give birth to their young. On our expedition we meet two of the gentle giants: Unfortunately, they are travelling east at high speed, so interaction with the animals fails. In "Magdalena Bay", by the way, we only snorkel, but there are certainly one or two dive sites to be found.
Large schools of mobulas are typical for the bay and are best observed in May and June. Whale sharks usually visit from November to March. Marlin are probably possible all year round, with the best time being between May and September.
What is almost certain are the sea lions. However, the colony is closed from June to September and can only be dived the rest of the year. And because it's not spread out enough, the best visibility is usually from September to December! But only if there isn't a hurricane travelling along the coast. However, these tropical storms are not a regular seasonal occurrence here as they are on the Caribbean side. "Hilary" was the first tropical storm to hit the peninsula for many years.
There are several wrecks in the immediate vicinity of La Paz, some of which were either artificially sunk or ran aground on a reef and sank. The first category includes the "Fang Min" and the "Lapas03", which were used by Chinese smugglers but were raised by the authorities and later sunk as artificial reefs. The empty "Fang Min" in particular, with its spacious interior, invites extensive exploration.
The "Salvatierra" is different: the ferry ran aground on a shallow reef in 1976 and sank as a result. The crew and passengers were completely evacuated at the time.
Incidentally, all the wrecks are at moderate depths of around 20 - 25 metres. The ferry is one of the largest and, due to its decay, one of the most atmospheric around "La Paz".
Birds under water
The dive at the "Salvatierra" is usually associated with "Suwanee Rock": The shallow reef led to the loss of the ship at the time. Both dive sites are extremely rich in fish, which alone is enough to get you excited. On the shallow reef, we first encounter turtles swimming through the large shoals. And now birds too?! Suddenly we are overtaken by a cormorant. While we're still wondering whether we've been fooled, whether our eyes have been playing tricks on us or whether it's possible to have a deep dive at ten metres, the next group of dynamic swimmers comes towards us. No doubt about it, the animals are trying to profit from the abundance of fish in the shallows. Over the next hour, we can indeed observe one or two successful hunts. The interaction between the hunters and the shoal is impressive. It is as if the shoals react in time and draw closer together when the birds even start to hunt. On the other hand, you can see a visible relaxation of the flock as soon as the hunters break off the attack. Although the bird is still swimming close to the flock, it is no longer perceived as a threat.
Our two weeks on site fly by and we prepare for our return journey. We ask ourselves whether we would do this experience again and what we could do differently?
The first part can be answered quickly and easily: YES - at any time, or planned for the respective months, depending on what we want to see. The second part of the question is a little more complicated. We would definitely not do without the first-class service of "Buceo Carey" in La Paz!
However, we would try to make another stop at "Capo Pulmo". The local bull sharks probably offer an intense experience, but the permits for diving at the shark spots are raffled off every morning. So unfortunately it is not certain whether you can really experience the animals under water.
We wouldn't stay just one day in Magdalena Bay, but plan several days here to increase the chance of seeing whales and marlin. Unfortunately, the region is almost completely undeveloped for tourism - there are probably no regularly operating tourist boats. The tours are organised by local fishermen and they generally don't speak English. So you should either speak some Spanish or book a translator.
More information:
Buceo Carey, La Paz
Buceo Carey auf Taucher.Net
Villa Carey auf Taucher.Net