Cabo Pulmo - Part II

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Last vacation, January 2021:

Cabo Pulmo - The Gem of Relaxation.

Managed to put together the various clips of video from our phones, an older gopro, and drone. Our first day, we went to Los Fralies Beach, down the dirt road from Cabo Pulmo and snorkeled around the rocks. Amazing! Then... I realized our brand new GoPro 8 found a new home at the bottom of the...

www.hunttalk.com

Forward to today:
This vacation is ongoing. Limited service so no videos to post yet however, to holdover until we return, here are some snapshots.
Four dives with two dives set for tomorrow. The water held a fantastic blueish color vs the prior mid-January agae green hue.

View from the area in front of our VRBO.



Eight tacos, camarones (shrimp) and pescado (fish), w/ Coca Cola Light and a Pacifico n lime = $20 USD at, well you guessed it, "Tacos & Beer"



Walk along the beach



Queue JAW'S soundtrack here:
We we're surrounded by the guide's estimate of 30-40 Bull Sharks. This is a snapshot from my wife's phone of the GoPro 10 tiny screen.
The resolution isn't great though once an opportunity presents when home, I'll add better pics/video of the dives.
My first time diving with Bull Sharks, or any shark for that matter! A seasoned diver with us who's dived around the world described this dive as a, "Once in a lifetime" rated dive for him (30 years diving). For my second scuba based vacation, sure - all I have to say is EPIC!



Anyhow for an opener, this is what the internet bandwidth would allow. Look forward to sharing more as opportunity presents.

 

[Art Vandeley]

Great tacos and beer there... enjoy !

 

[Letthemgrow]

My first time diving with Bull Sharks

What's the daily limit versus the possession limit?

 

[mdhunter]

Bull sharks=nasty

Be careful with those critters.

 

[Beignet]

Bull sharks be shopping for their own tacos.

Beautiful part of the world. I got to witness hundreds upon hundreds of manta (?) rays leaping in and out of the water, seemingly trying to fly while down there on a surf trip eons ago.

 

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What's the daily limit versus the possession limit?

Hah! The thought ran through my mind whether that's what the sharks were contemplating! Haha!

On a side note, this is located within the Cabo Pulmo National Marine Preserve.
It's somewhat relative to our NPS though in some sense more restrictive. Maybe a seasoned Diver can chime in as there are other "preserves" of this nature.
It's free descent because no anchors or drop lines are permitted nor divers permitted to touch the floor, reef, etc. One exception: Diving with sharks, you're permitted to settle on the sand - or so I was advised...

Now that some time's passed and I have more internet space, here are a few additional picture my wife snap with her phone off the tiny GoPro screen (GoPro Black 10)

 

[Hem]

We have snorkeled on two trips in the State park. Glad the Bulls weren't hanging. Plenty of eels though.
Amazing tropicals.
I love anything Baja except CSL.

 

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Wife snapped a few sunrise pics. I finished my last two dives for this trip.
After, Wife and I completed our last snorkel trip. Both amazing!
The Dives: Thousands upon thousands of Jacks in a torrent all around us @ 40' or so. Sting rays, massive groupers, puffers, parrots, etc!
The snorkel entailed two dolphins zip right by the two of us then pit directly downward! She managed to capture a video clip, unexpected excitement.

Tomorrow 0630, we're going fishing and he's prepared to filet what we catch and prep it for our travel back Sunday morning.
All the video and photos, not sure how we'll be able to condense it to a reasonable YouTube length.

Until next opportunity to update...

 

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Thousands upon thousands of Jacks and a sting ray (a few). This next YouTube is going to be jam packed, simply overwhelmed with the great material gained on photo/video.

Fishing was a bust. Odd viewing the pictures though we were shooting for dorado or marlin. Wife caught a something or other fish (looked like a small bonita) while the boat was not trolling. Guide filleted it and the restaurant converted into fried and grilled tacos. The rest others over heard and tacos for others.





A couple dolphins joined us. Super quick and happen-chance recording! Amazing how swift they navigate!

 

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Finally finished the video. Enjoy! What an epic event! Never thought I'd scuba with sharks... None the less Bull Sharks. Haha!

 

[Ben Lamb]

It's a sweet place to spend some time. Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[noharleyyet]

Awesome Charles...jealous

 

[Sytes]

It's a sweet place to spend some time. Glad you enjoyed it!

Y'er tip. Muchos gracias! Had you not initially shared your experience on HT, I would have blown your honey hole right out of the water.

Knowing your spirit of conservation AND success stories, this one is pretty darn phenomenal!

You've shared a gem! Love the place, the people, and the massive conservation success within this Designated National Park.

 

[Sytes]

Bull sharks=nasty

Be careful with those critters.

I've received a few PM's about Pulmo, sharks, etc. Received one this morning. To share some basic's I've learned:

This was a small town/village - off grid. Water was (and somewhat still is) scarce and moderated for use. Solar is the primary source for electricity. It is odd, not a single windmill/farm.

The town started as a fishing village though, as I understand, the Castro family and others joined forces with conservation groups to reverse the considerable loss of fish and converted to a diver / eco-tour destination that is THRIVING! However, during the course, loss of fishing, etc, it was extremely challenging to manage.

A good video for the history of Cabo Pulmo and the eco-tourism creation:

A few questions about diving with bull sharks, #1: Great Whites, #2: Bulls #3: Tigers. These are the most common for shark attacks. However, some perspective behind shark attacks that Jen and I researched AFTER my dive.
There's been only one incident of a shark attack in the Cabo Pulmo / CSL area and it's believed the shark attack was post-mortem from a drowning incident. This was in 2008!

sharkattackdata.com

A bit of background on the dive:
I didn't realize my dive would involve sharks. I am interested in learning more about diving, itself. Breathing, buoyancy, etc. My dive log consists mainly fresh water. It's a great method to get repetition and the "how to" portion situated and makes for more comfortable dive involved vacations.

The day of the sharks: It had been and I thought we'd dive the reefs, view the groupers, and tornados of jacks. Mexican Federal Government has a station that the dive guides must check in and find a site available to dive. X amount is permitted and the "wreck" area is the #1 site with the most restrictive numbers permitted. I believe it's 14 divers per day, maximum two boats, 3 days a week. A boat consist of a maximum 6 divers + guide/boat captain.

Our dive guide swims out to our boat after meeting with the Authorities an is excited as all heck! A Spaniard dive master, great guy! He says, to the three of us visiting divers (as best I recall), "You will not believe this! There is a private tour boat with three divers at the wreck and because we are only four, they've made an exception to allow us to join the other boat! We're going to the wreck though have to go quick as they're heading or at the site now and we only have a certain dive time slot!"

One of our visiting divers is extremely into diving (30+years) - around the world gets excited as all heck! I'm thinking, this is cool! My first ocean wreck dive! Awesome!

Then, our dive guide says, "This is one of the top locations for Bull Sharks in the world! Crash course when diving with Bull Sharks..." Suddenly inside, my gut hit the floor! The Captain is hauling ass to get out there as the time slot is a requirement, boat's crashing through the water...

Dive Guide: "A quick buddy check then we must hit the water! We are tight on time! No count to go over, we go and immediately - dump all air and drop straight to the sand! Lay down as soon as you land and gather together! Stay in a line and follow close together, two in the back [He points to the veteran diver and the other diver], always view the opposite direction as myself, checking always on me. Tap forward once one of you hit 700. No fast movements and stay on the floor - Do not rise - keep your BCD empty. When time to leave, follow and we'll swim out of the shark area close to the floor then all rise together and do our 3 minute stop. Be alert when rising. Questions?"

I suppose, I could have remained on the boat though I remain silent, listening intently and thinking... "Holy chit!" The Clash lyrics roll through my head - "Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble, and if I stay there will be double! So come on and let me know... should I stay or should I go?"

And that is how I ended up diving with bull sharks. Not intentional though it's a bucket list I never added I have now checked off. Haha!

Best time varies though October-end of November is apparently best for that area diving. It's a safe area. No Hotels due to the off grid portion. Apparently, a hotel tried though the community managed to fight it off. Win one for the guppies!
CSL SUCKS! unless you're into mass population, crowded roads of wild driving, and non stop pushy offers to assist (for $). CSL is outright... challenging and we are quick to stay on the road and get to Pulmo.

In our two visits, we've not had a single beg for $! Everyone is hospitable. Night drops fast, yet the walk along the dirt roads back to our house is... safe and this is coming from a LEO perspective. It's casa rentals and a few restaurants that branch off resident casas. It's fantastic!

Hope this give a good summary and response to swimming with sharks - and the safety of the location.