Guaymas/Sonora

Club Med, March 1995, Tommy Ronan, Lanham, MD. "Diving great. Trips to Seal Island fantastic. Mosquitoes on some trips. Seals and fish fantastic. Vis 15­20 ft. Well-run and friendly operation. G.O.'s helpful, knowledgeable and safety conscious. The Club Med is nice, food okay. Weather chilly. Bring your own equipment; the Club's looked worn, but wet suits were new. Rooms nice and roomy. Beautiful location."

Baja

Acuadeportes, March 1995, Steven M. Harris. "Vis 15­40 ft, Water 64­69 deg. at 60 ft. Most wore a farmer john with shorty. Operation friendly, well organized and safety conscious. All dives at Pinnacle/Pelican Rock/Sea Lion colony area, 5 min boat ride from shore. Divemasters bilingual and excellent locating a multitude of moray eels, scorpion (rock) fish, and several octopus. Hand fed morays (5­6 ft approx). Morays would nudge the flat lens port of my housing making for exceptional close-ups. Huge schools of jacks and snapper. Angelfish numerous."

Acuadeportes, September 1995, Ariaal Ashlie, Vancouver, BC, Canada. "Hurricane destroyed vis. Americans Molly and John own Cabo Acuadeportes; great crew running 'Pampas' and divemasters. . . . Water is green and filled with nutrients. Current can be strong. Huge green morays, zebra morays, beautiful jewel morays, coronet fish 4­5 feet long, tons of red and tinsel squirrelfish. Friendly Cortez angelfish and Clarion angelfish. Schooling barberfish and longnose butterflyfish. Bumphead parrotfish, combtooth blennies, Moorish Idol, yellow and blue spotted surgeonfish, Pacific boxfish, potted sharpnose puffers and stunning sea fans in orange, rust, red, yellow and green."

Melia Cabo Resort, May 1995, Steve Lanini, Glendale, AZ. "Open panga with 80HP outboard. One snorkeler and I. No place to stow gear. Three Mexican divemasters. Everyone went into the water. Water 73 deg. 2-tank dive $60. Snorkeler dropped off at the beach to fend for herself. We dove about 200 yds off the rock cliffs in 80 ft. water. Fish life good. Little coral. Couple of 3 ft groupers, but you couldn't get close. 2 ft. spotted eel, schools of sergeant majors and batfish, French and queen angelfish, parrotfish, balloon fish. One divemaster had a lesser electric ray; put your hand on it and you get a small shock."

Pacific Coast Adventures/Las Glorias Hotel, May 1995, Rick Hayhurst, Las Vegas, NV. "Hector our guide did excellent job! The trip was mediocre, the visibility 20'. Water at depth in the low 60's. When I called to reserve I was told water be in the low 70's. The diving at Cabo Plumo was good; no toilet on beach."

Pacific Coast Adventures/Mar de Cortez, July 1996, Don Hendrick, Anacortes, WA. "Clean, reasonably priced hotel in town. Close to taco stands and Pacific Coast Adventures. Sites 5 minutes away. Lots of fish including many scarce forms (Clarien Angelfish, etc.). Little hard coral, some soft corals. Did not dive Gordo banks where other divers saw hammerheads. Los Cabos does not measure up to the South Pacific or Caribbean, however East Pacific fish community is unique and varied and Baja may be the best and easiest place to observe it. A must for serious fish watchers some time in their lives. . . . Dive shop Pacific Coast Adventures no longer affiliated with Pacific Coast Adventures, the defunct travel agency in Santa Monica, CA. The latter stiffed us for $600 which we have not recovered."

Tio Watersports/Casa Rafael, January 1996, John Neet, CA. "All diving around the rocky point separating Pacific from Sea of Cortez. Vis 15 to 35 ft. Sea life not prolific, but many sting rays and puffers, some octopi and morays, moderate amount of tropical fish. Lots of sea lions. Don t go just to dive. . . . Dive guides better than average. Deliver as good and varied dives as possible, but have nothing in particular to sell. After 9 dives, some of the fish knew me by name. On most dives, I was only customer (Most was 3, usually inexperienced). Other operators didn t go anywhere that we didn t go, but had more crowded boats and got to the sites after we did. . . . Casa Rafael is billed as the best restaurant in town with a few rooms. Very charming. Restaurant excellent, but was closed for private parties on 2 of 4 nights that went to 3 am with disco noise, intrusive and disturbing in second floor rooms. Management friendly, detached, I never felt comfortable here. Hotel secondary to restaurant. Owner keeps 3 barking rottweilers on third floor."

La Paz Area

Aquilar Bros./La Costa, May 1995, Yancy Hughes, Germantown, TN. "Resort; slow service, lack of concern. We could not get bath towels and never received an ice bucket. Room was clean and the food was good and inexpensive. . . . Sea lions and more fish than you can imagine, however, all day boat trips and no service from the dive operation. You board a bus to reach the boat; no dive shop at the dock if you have an equipment problem. You arrive back at 4:30 PM and reboard the bus to return to your hotel."

Baja Diving & Service, May 1995, Liane Wong, San Diego, CA. "Certain spots filled with fish of all sizes, corals and interesting rock formations. Twice boats were on one engine (out of 2) or broke down in route. Diving from La Paz requires 2­3 hours (depending on boat speed). Could do only 3 dives max. Hot and dry, no wind. Tried El Bajo for hammerheads and whale sharks but vis was poor. People friendly and gracious. Boat food boat simple yet tasty. . . . Seafood in La Paz was excellent, as was the lodging."

Baja Diving & Service, June 1995, Ron Edmundson, Channel Islands, CA. "Bus picked me up at hotel. The equipment, tanks, weights and boats were in excellent condition, lunch good, boat captain and guide were excellent! Fernando Aguilar had the hotel take $8 per night off my bill, which was already reasonable."

Baja Diving Service, November 1995, Jerry Antinoja, Longview, WA. "At "El Bajo", there was no dive briefing and most divers unprepared for strong surface current. Not told of the surface line behind the boat so exhausting to get back to the boat after the dive - an accident waiting to happen. Boats are extremely slow. Lunch is a cold sandwich. Saw 4 hammerheads. Vis. 100­120 ft. water: 75°­78°"

Ecological Dive Center/El Tecolote Beach, September 1995, Ariaal Ashlie, Vancouver, BC, Canada. "Juan Carlos fabulous, caring and conscientious. 22 ft covered boat; individual attention. . . . Did Los Islotes, where the sea lions hang out; large octopus hunting in daylight and photographed him to my heart's content. Nature preserve, for lunch. Solitude and silence prevailed. The water was crystal clear and the rock formations are incredibly beautiful. Night dive off San Rafailito; Synapted cucumber: 1­5 feet. Crown thorns and Socorro crown of thorns, chocolate chip stars, Gulf stars and spiny stars abound. Juan knows the waters and the marine life."

Land's End Divers/Plaza Las Glorias, October 1995, Harry Curc, Ft. Worth, TX. "Owner Carlos allows experienced divers to dive their computers, takes care of inexperienced divers. Cabo Pulma seal colony is best dives in Sea of Cortez!"

Rio Rita/Los Arcos Hotel, May 1995, Lionel Specter, Albuquerque, NM. "Hotel nice, staff courteous and efficient; room spacious and AC worked well. . . . Rio Rita small but adequate; crew went out of their. No hammerheads due to bad vis. Swimming with sea lions at Isla De Islotes was good; Weather warm, sunny."

Rio Rita, May 1995, Gordon Lukesh & Susan Chandler, Corrales, NM. "Crew exceptional; cooked, hooked up gear, helping you get in the water. Josi and Alfredo speak English, French and Spanish and are tops. Through Josi's coaching we passed from pure novices to a comfort level in nine dives. Air 80­85F. Los Islotes with sea lions barking and swimming around. Water 65 to 75F, vis 30­50 feet. Salvatierra is 60 feet deep, one hour from Los Islotes. Currents, water 20­30 feet. Worth the 8 hour round trip."

Rio Rita, July 1995, James Ayers, New Port Richey, FL. "50 ft, 'diver friendly' boat; three tank dives; easy water entry and exits. Divemasters Alfredo and Josi professional and helpful. Dive guided or own plan. Alfredo guided the group of eight divers to a school of 12 hammerhead sharks at El Bajo, followed by a dive to the sea mount where hundreds of eels lived in crevices, and an exciting dive with sea lions at Los Islotes. Took two divers and snorkeler with full crew, did not skimp on food or service. Made special stop in a cove where my wife could snorkel during surface intervals. Excellent customer orientation."

Rio Rita/Los Arcos, August 1995 Michael Nevins, Los Angeles, CA. "Hammerheads, tuna, marlin and large eels at El Bajo (sea mount). Only 4 other divers and 3 divemasters. Josi and Alfredo are thorough and professional divemasters. Sea lions, puffers, roosterfish and large parrotfish. Food and crew great. Entries and exits easy. 5 killer whales. . . . Cabanas de Los Arcos is comfortable and relaxing. La Paz is not Cabo at night, but Cabo is not La Paz when it comes to excellent diving. The El Bajo/Seamount one of best sites in Sea of Cortez. Water 82 deg, vis 60­80 ft."

Rio Rita, October 1995, Jacques Naviand, Rancho Playa Verde's, CA. "Helpful, friendly crew. Hammerhead school, sea lion pups, eel garden, lot of fish. Long day due to 3 hour ride to site; Rio Rita had breakfast, lunch and snacks. Safety conscious - one of our divemasters rescued two divers from the Realidad."

Rio Rita/Los Arcos Hotel, November 1995, Dr. Terrence W. Dunlop, Annapolis, MD. "Friendly, knowledgeable dive staff and crew. Good snacks between dives; hefty lunch of local cuisine. Frequent sightings of crown of thorns. Sea lion rookeries deliver the animals. No big fish, few small fish, almost no corals, no sponges. vis. 50­70 ft. water: 80°­82°. . . . Rio Rita is a refitted commercial vessel; sea worthy, adequate room and shade, intolerably slow given the distances to sites. Three and one half hours or more each way. Did not go to El Bajo Sea mount even though weather and conditions favorable. At least one dive operation buses patrons to a faster boat, cutting transit time substantially. Also more willing to go to El Bajo. . . . Los Arcos decent for price."

Los Barilles Area

Mr. Bill's Dive Adventures/Casa Miramar, 1995, Kenny & Diana Smart, Northridge, CA. "East Cape interesting diving, not to rival the Caribbean for coral and sponges, but lots of schooling fish similar to Hawaiian species. Dived Punta Pescadero, Punta Arena, Cabo Pulmo; conditions calm, water 83 deg, air 82 deg, vis 30­60/70 ft. Off-the-beaten track. Taken by pick-up with Zodiac on back via dirt roads, dodging stray cows to dive sites. . . . Bill took us to his favorite restaurants, showed lots of personal attention and we felt at home at Casa Miramar. Wind surfers, mountain bikes, Hobie cat and kayaks. 6 rooms few steps above beautiful bay and beach diving easy. Building has heavy stucco walls, Mexican tile floor, AC, ceiling fans and all the charm of the South Baja area."

Mr. Bill's Dive Adventures, May 1996, Jon Kranhouse, Pacific Palisades CA. "Unique operation caters to adventuresome. At Los Barilles on the east cape of Baja, Bill Edsel & divemaster Oly Recio offer more than just diving. Average shore diving at the gracious bed and breakfast. A drive in a comfortable 4x4 delivered us to pangas that took us to outstanding sights; 4­5 foot jacks during a drift dive at La Ventana. vis: 30­50 ft. water: 55°­65°. Free swimming morays. Our panga zipped through a school of hundreds of feasting dolphins. Mountain bikes, Hobie cats, and kayaks."

Amigo Del Mar/Las Bugambilias Del Cabo, June 1996, Steve Neal, Fairfield, TX. "Dives in Cabo San Lucas Bay. vis: 5­20 ft. water: 62°­68°. Too cold. Female divemaster took us down anchor line to where we were supposed to see wreck, then navigate around a pinnacle. Never saw anything; just swam in small circles in the strong current. After 12 minutes I signaled that we need to go up. We were swept 200 yards. Very dangerous. Management nice and understanding and did not charge for dive. They try to please."

Pacific Coast Adventures/Las Glorias Hotel, May 1995, Rick Hayhurst, Las Vegas, NV. "Dive guide Hector excellent! Rest of trip was mediocre, vis sometimes 20'. Water at depth in the low 60's. When I called to make my reservation I was told the water would be in low 70's. I only packed my shorty. . . . Diving at Cabo Plumo good, no toilet facilities on the beach, made you go like 'a bear in the woods."

Pacific Coast Adventures, June 1996, Steve Neal, Fairfield, TX. "Tons of fish, eels, stingrays. Took van to Cabo Pulmo then pangas 5 min. to reef. Divemaster and 5 divers, 12 tanks and captain make a full panga, but spirits were good and diving was fun. Beach lunch under Palapa with concrete floor. Grilled fish, beans, salad etc. Good trip to make if you are staying in Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo."

Copyright 1997 by DSDL, Inc., publishers of Undercurrent. All rights reserved. No portions of this report may be reproduced in any way, including photocopying and electronic data storage, without prior written permission from the publisher. For more information, contact DSDL, Inc., P.O. Box 1658, Sausalito, CA 94966.