Dive Review of Blue Adventures/Villa del Arcos in
Mexico (Western)/Cabo San Lucas

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Blue Adventures/Villa del Arcos, Apr, 2008, by Lori Brown, WA, USA ( Sr. Contributor 22 reports). Report 3995.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The water was about 65-67°F during the week we were diving, between April 5 and 9. We dove on the Sea of Cortez side of the Cabo San Lucas Rock Formation, (El Arco de Cabo San Lucas). On the way down on our first dive, we encountered a large jelly fish, about a foot in diameter, with a glowing purple fringe. The underwater terrain is tumbled, rocky drops covered with small sea fans and star fish. There are sandy gullies between rocks and in one of these areas, we spotted a guitar fish and an eel buried in a sand patch with its head sticking out. There is a pinch of coral and huge swarms of fish, mostly snapper and some large sized grouper. We also saw numerous types of puffer fish, butterfly fish, hawkfish,and blennies.There were also nudibranchs, including a purple nudibranch with bright orange spots and a bright yellow colored bubble snail. This was possibly the worst dive operation I have ever encountered. I contacted the proprietor of the shop in January, 2008 to let him know that we would be in Cabo with a group of divers in April. There were between seven and ten divers in our group for the four days we planned diving. We were told to arrive at 8:30 a.m. but when we arrived, one of the two boats hadn’t arrived yet. We changed into our wetsuits and waited while we were told repeatedly that it would just be another ten minutes. The dive shop’s manager/owner told me that it was because the boat captain didn’t show up. We didn’t leave until after 10. They packed six of us on one boat with an additional diver from outside our group, and the other four onto the other boat with additional divers. We had asked to be on the same boat so we could dive as a group. Don’t even get me started on the condition of the boat. It was crowded, cramped, and the interior of the boat was in a shabby state. The first dive was at “North Wall” and the second dive was at “Pelican Rock.” The dive guide seemed to be interested only in getting us into and out of the water. He insisted we all stay with him and then zoomed so fast that there was hardly time to enjoy the scenery. I thought that maybe the dive operation was overwhelmed with the large number in our group (ten) but was told by the lone diver who had dived with them the day before we arrived, that they were just as disorganized with three divers on one boat as with fourteen on two boats. The next day wasn’t any better. It was the beginning of daylight savings (spring ahead). They were an hour late arriving to open the dive shop and we didn't leave the marina for another hour. We went back to the same dive sites again – and they claimed that the currents were too strong to take us to the other dive sites listed on their website. We worked on arranging other diving in La Paz but went diving with Blue Adventures for one more day—it was the same, late start, same dive sites, same rushed, rude “service.” When we contacted the owner to refund our money for the last day of diving, he told me that he wouldn’t because we hadn’t given him 24 hours notice. In fact, I had told the dive guide that we were cancelling since the owner wasn’t around—evidently, that did not count as notice.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina, Washington, Bonaire, Cozumel, Fiji, Indonesia (Irian Jaya and Sulawesi), Papua New Guinea, Jamaica
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	65-67°F / 18-19°C	Wetsuit Thickness	7
Water Visibility	40-50 Ft/ 12-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Depth limits and dive profile were enforced. Dive guide insisted we stay with him.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	No facilities for cameras.

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Dive Review of Blue Adventures/Villa del Arcos in Mexico (Western)/Cabo San Lucas

Blue Adventures/Villa del Arcos, Apr, 2008,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Blue Adventures/Villa del Arcos in
Mexico (Western)/Cabo San Lucas