Socorro

The Revillagigedos Archipelago, more commonly called Socorro is located in the eastern Pacific Ocean approximately 400 km south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – at the tip of the Baja peninsula. These islands have been compared to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador or Cocos Island in Costa Rica because of the big animal encounters they provide.
 

The Revillagigedos Islands consist of 4 islands – San Benedicto Island, Socorro Island, Roca Partida and Clarion. They are simply called Socorro. They are wild, remote and unpredictable and have been called the Mexican Galapagos.

This area is famous for up close and personal encounters with the Giant Pacific manta ray, which can grow to 22 feet from wingtip to wingtip. The crew on Solmar V have been interacting with these gentle giants since 1992 and as a result of having worked with several manta researchers over the years, they have extensive ID’s on most of them, and special relationships with many of them. There is absolutely no chasing or riding on the mantas, and interaction with them must be initiated by the mantas themselves. Their continued willingness to interact with divers is due to the respect shown for them over the years. San Benedicto is by far the best location in the world to experience and photograph these gentle giants.

There are lots of sharks in the Revillagigedos Islands - hammerhead schools, white tips, silver tips, silkies, duskies, Galapagos and occasionally tigers.  Divers have encountered up to 7 species of sharks on a single dive! There are several hammerhead cleaning stations that are visited on each trip, weather permitting. Whale sharks are a special treat at the islands, in November/ December and late April/ May.

Pods of wild bottlenose dolphins play here on a regular basis, and from January through March, these islands are home to a large population of humpback whales that come here to breed and calve. Several newborn humpbacks have been spotted over the years. In the last few years the frequency of underwater encounters with humpbacks has increased dramatically.

The scientists who visit the Revillagigedos Islands every year to study the migrating whale population have told the Solmar V crew that after twelve years of encountering the SOLMAR V, the humpbacks now recognize the vessel and so the opportunity for underwater encounters improves. Add to the mix extremely large tuna (the world record yellowfin is from these waters), wahoo, thick schools of jacks and many other big critters along with endemic tropicals found nowhere else in the world, and you have some of the best big animal diving on earth!