01 – 2009 – Isla San Benedicto MANTA RAYS & SHARKS
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- Arriving Isla San Benedicto, Southeast lava field. This island is part of the Revillagigedos Archipelago, located 250 miles south of Cabo San Lucas and 300 miles west of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This group of 4 islands, San Benedicto, Socorro, Clarion and Roca Partida are a Mexican National Park. Protected by a “no take” policy (12 miles around each island), the island are trying to rebound from heavy over fishing over the last century. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Volcanic in origin, the lava field you see was from the 1953 eruption. It added a quarter of a mile of land area to the island and was witnessed by the tuna clipper “Challenger”. They took some spectacular photos (which can be googled) and barely escaped in tact. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- You can see just above the lava field, the exit point of the 1953 eruption. This island is 2 1/2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide. The cinder cone you see is so soft, it cannot be walked on easily. These islands are GROUND ZERO for the Eastern Pacific Hurricanes which strike here yearly. The deep cuts in the cone are from the intense storms reaching Catagory 5 in many years out here. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- People who have visited this crater exit have said it reminds them of the movie from the 1960’s, “Journey to the Center of the Earth”…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- There are two main anchorages on this island, either side of the lava field. We spent one month in the south anchorage and never moved. There was no reason to relocate. We grew to call the edge of the lava field here “Turtle Point” as we saw green turtles here almost daily. Mantas too! Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Everyonce in awhile, ash comes out from underwater here at San Benedicto. Terry Kennedy said he was once here in water so hot, he had to get out of the water. Fortunately for us, it was just 80 degrees F, the entire time we were here. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This was our home for the next month. Usually calm, an occasional east wind would make it a bit rolly. We sailboats stayed more inshore and the two commericial dive boats were anchored further out. The mood of the cove changed with the light and the clouds all during the day. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- As we were here for the northern Winter Solstice, the light was very low all during the day…..At the base of the crater was one of the few spots anyone could land to go ashore. We never did, though we were told we could by the permit office in Cabo San Lucas. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- We called her “Buttercup”, but she is officially “D.Tipton” (named after the first person who photographed her) according to the identification made by Karey Kumli of the Pacific Manta Research Project. She was one of our very favorites and played with us till we ran out of air on many dives. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This was a specific pinnacle at the edge of the dive site known as “The Canyon”…only 100 yards from our boat at anchor. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These manta rays are so gentle and so curious it’s astonishing. They were like big friendly 1500 lb dogs! Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- The mantas would frequently just hover and wanted you to pet their bellies in particular. Once they became familiar with a diver, you became THEIR pet. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Like giant stealth looking spaceships, these amazing, intelligent and beautiful animals allowed us to interact with them. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- The projections off either frontal aspect are “cephalic fins”. These are used to direct plankton in the water column into the manta’s mouth. When they are feeding, they are open and directing the water flow. When they want to streamline for speed, they roll them up like a barber pole (shown here). Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Not sure, but we think this manta was identified as “Michelle”….. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Most of the mantas were extremely curious and interested in interacting with us. Only about 20 percent would just drop in for a “look see”. The rest wanted to interact at one level or another. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- The mouth of the manta is closed in this photo, but when open, they can look in size between a basketball hoop and a hoola hoop. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Here you can see the “steering” mechanism in the water colum unfurled. The fish on top of the manta is a “Remora”. These are fish who hitch a ride and can move all over the manta. They have a modified dorsal fin which attaches like a sucker on to the manta. It is believed that the remora also are plankton eaters. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- I’m using a very wide angle lens and am only two feet away. The mantas were very tolerant of us and would just hang out once they got to know you. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Like a prehistoric bird, the mantas would flap their “wings” for propulsion. If they wanted to move away quickly, their is no way we could keep up with them. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Here at the 25 foot mound, you get a perspective of the size of the mantas. Though they have been recorded up to 5000 lbs with a 25 foot wing span, the average manta here had about a 12-14 foot wing span. They were about 7 feet in length from mouth to the base of the tail. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Often, the mantas would just hover in the current (which was occasionally strong). They also use this as a feeding strategy. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These specialized fins were used for both feeding and steering as well as occasionally “putting on the brakes”. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Normally I would never have expected to get this close to a large marine animal, but here, we were the play things. Apparently mantas are warm blooded, somewhat unusual for a “fish”. However, this is part of their biology which adds to their relatively large brain size and amazing intelligence. We have been told they may be as smart as a “hunting dog”… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This was a position they seemed to like when we were near. Their eyes are on opposite sides of their head, so often, only one is used for visual cue. Here they could keep “an eye” on their new pets…..US. Note the gill structure on the “chest” (ventral) area. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Cindy is on the mound while manta ray swims over her. The yellow float in the photo is our anchor lift bag which keeps the anchor chain off the reef as to not damage it. We inflate it as we leave and the anchor floats to within 15 feet of the surface making it much easier to recover. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Mantas have a unique underside pattern which allows for them to be identified by researchers. There are two species. The “Chevroned” or “Eppelted” mantas and the “All Blacks”. They do interact, and from our experience, the “All Blacks” seemed to be a bit more “in charge”. However, in general, the “chevroned” mantas were more playful (with a few notable exceptions). Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Most of the mantas we saw were female. We don’t know what that means, it just was the way it was. Mantas are directly related to sharks and have “ampulae of lorenzini”. These are what pellagic sharks use to sense prey. The mantas must use them for something as we have been told they are more sensitive than those of the sharks. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- As Cindy and I are “on our own” out in the middle of nowhere, we wear “shark shields” (see: www.sharkshield.com). These devices put out an electric pulse which annoys the sharks ampulae of lorenzini and keeps them away at a range of 10-12 feet. We haven’t been close enough to a pellagic shark to yet give a report on their effectiveness, but as the mantas have these biologic sensors, we ALWAYS TURNED THEM OFF WHEN IN PROXIMITY OF A MANTA RAY. It is the trailing antenna that you see in the photo off Cindy’s right fin. We barely notice them underwater. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Often the mantas would just “hang” and let you come right up to them. You don’t have to chase them, they will swim up to you! Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Here you can see the cephalic fins rolled up for speed. ID patterns on the ventral surface are easily identified. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Cindy reaches out… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Though this manta is just hovering in the water column, you can see the streamlined positio of the cephalic fins and minimal surface presentation. Many fish are “cleaners”. That is they litteraly clean the mantas skin. This is one reason mantas flock to the underwater pinnacles where they know fish who will clean them are ready to go. The Clarion Angel fish (signature fish of these islands besides the mantas), is one of the most active cleaning fish. You see a “jack” above this manta. They do not seem to clean, but rather use the manta as a hiding place or perhaps slip stream in their wake to move easily around. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- You can easily see the identifying marks on the underside. Often, the mantas would just swim right up to us and then stop above our heads. They seemed to enjoy the tactile pet AND our Scuba bubbles. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Hanging out and watching us with one eye….Classic. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- At first we thought this might be a lesion (just under and behind the left eye). But on later review and speaking with Karey Kumli of the Manta ID project, she felt it was a “Remora Boot Print”. On their backs, these look like white tractor treads. She’ll still always be “Buttercup” to us….) Isla Ballena – Mexico
- As mantas are related to sharks, their skin feels like 150 grit sand paper. You can see the texture in this photo under the “wing”. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Like flaps on an airplane, these fins are in frequent motion to assist in steering and hovering. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Full detail can be seen with the lighting in this photo. I use two large underwater strobes for light to bring out the detail. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Perspective from all around is acutely interesting in these beautiful mantas. Here again is Cindy for perspective. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- And I’ll be there….. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- All the mantas had definite personalites. To watch them interact with each other was to see a “pecking” order. Someone was alway “alpha”. However we didn’t always know who…. Here you can see who is “alpha” in this encounter and it isn’t me. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- The designers of modern aircraft must have sneaked a peak!… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- In the days of the great sailing ships, mariners called these mantas “Devil Fish” or “Devil Rays”. It gave them an undeserved bad rap. These are the most gentle creatures you can imagine, especially for their size. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Here, our friend is “displaying” to another manta you can’t see on the left outside the photo. It is thought they may do this to see who is bigger in the “pecking order”. We do have this “display” behavior on video between two mantas and we will post it when we can. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- More views of the “flapping of the wings”…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Most of our encounters were between the surface and 60 feet deep. If we felt we were a bit too deep, we just went shallower. Rarely did our “keepers” not follow us up. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- The Chevrons are clearly seen on top of this manta. The two “whitish” patterns on the shoulders. The “All Blacks” don’t have these. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Here the “chevrons” can easily be seen. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Just like an aircraft…. Amazingly similar. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Watch the movement from the previous photo…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- It was rare to see a manta without 1-3 remoras attached. 2 was “classic”. The remoras move all over the manta like vacuum cleaners. They seem to mostly like to “ride” where you see this one. However, they would be underneath by the tail all the way out to hanging on the end of a cephalic fin extended. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Are the remoras pests or are they truly symbiotic? Probably both…. They get a free ride to the plankton “chow down” and the mantas get a “massage”…or cleaned or ??? Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- The mantas may think we humans are some sort of “cleaner fish”….Or, they just like the attention. Let me tell you, they are true “paparazzi” lovers… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This and the following photo say it all to me…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- It is thought that the mantas will “look you in the eye” and decide if they like you. Some theorize that this is “bioelectric” or? I dont’ know, but whatever electricity I gave off, they sure seemed to like. We saw them specifically avoid certain divers on the commercial vessels and be very attracted to others in their group. Only they know…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Or so it would seem… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Chuck and Linda on “Jacaranda” were about 4 days behind us in their arrival from Cabo del San Jose near Cabo San Lucas. About a 2 day sail for “Beach House”. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Trade Wind skies… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This was a large school of jacks near the mound. Cindy swam in behind to give this photo some perspective….The visibility here was about 80 feet. Unfortunately, it got worse at the days wore on. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Though they school like this for protection. I think the strategy works to the advantage of the predator. It make them easy to keep hitting. If they all scattered, more would survive when the big tuna and sharks come in to feed. (My opinion).. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- “Jack Soup”…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Yahoo…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This bait ball was only 250 feet from our boat at anchor, just over the edge of “The Canyon”…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Cindy sees lobsters underwater as her pets. She liked to count them every day at the mound. Here is one of her buddies up close. These are “Socorro Lobster” and are endemic to these four islands. Note the blue near the eyes. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These small fish seemed to use the lobster as protection…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- We did want you to know there were other fish here!.. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This is the Clarion Angel fish endemic only to these islands with some rare sightings off the southern tip of the baja peninsula. They are about 9-12 inches long and actively clean the manta rays. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These are very pretty fish in their own right and we were glad to finally get to see them in their natural environment. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- With the depth of field set to a high “F#”, the background is blacked out. It helps frame the fish and let it stand out. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- A classic beauty and a crowd favorite at aquariums around the world. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These fish are about 14-16 inches long and active predators on the reef. Their distinctive blue spots and lateral line identifies them. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Not my best shot and he’s about 4 feet long. But unusual enough for most people to include here. Note the “nostrills”. This species of moray has molars rather than sharp teeth to dig up crustations. Cindy and I saw two of these guys in the “Sea” over the summer either in a territorial dispute or perhaps in mating behavior. I of course didn’t bring the camera that dive. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Many days mantas would just swim around the boat feeding, so we’d jump in and have a look. When they were feeding, they were tolerant of us, but not in a “mood” to play. Once they had their breakfast, they were ready for playtime. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Chuck and Linda are certified divers, but didn’t have any Scuba gear. Chuck went with us once and Linda twice. However, Linda is a virtural fish and would snorkel for HOURS. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Well we would occasionally go deep and see Scalloped Hammer head sharks. Not one or two mind you, but 1 or 2 HUNDRED. They actually are shy around divers and it is difficult to photo them. This guy was a good 15+ feet away. But, you get the picture!… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Mostly these guys were around 100 plus feet deep, but occasionally a few would come up to about 40 feet near the mound. As soon as they saw us, they swam off. Everytime!.. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- In our video, one circles in front of me about 10-12 feet away. Cindy got nervous and turned on her shark shield and swam toward me to “protect me”…. Actually, he wouldn’t come any closer…..darn. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These are often seen resting on the bottom and quite approachable. However, here they would never let us get too close. At Socorro, we got some decent video of several. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- But this is Isla San Benedicto. Nowhere else on earth is it known where mantas will interact with humans so easily. We dove in Yap in 1996 and saw mantas on every dive…They even guarantee it! Howver, except for one which didn’t see me and swam right into me (then bolted off), they would keep their distance. Also, they are a bit smaller than our freinds here at Isla San Benedicto. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Between 30 degrees north and south of the equator, mantas are found world wide. Here they are fortunately protected. Every year, thousands of these magnificient animals are killed by indiscriminate gill nets. Happily the Mexican Navy enforces the no fishing zone here and wants reports from the commerical dive boats and private vessels here. That is why they issue permits and allow us to visit. The dive boats report illegal fishing within the 12 mile zone of the islands several times per year as the Asian market wants shark fins. They “fin” the sharks and throw them back to drown. We heard an unbelievable statistic that 175,000 sharks are killed world wide daily (but we think that might have been yearly). The dive boats told us that due to the Asian markets pushing the finning of the sharks, their population is down 90% here in the last 10 years. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Here you can see the mantas eye just below the middle of the remora. They have a fold of skin that protects their eye that comes from behind when the remoras swim over them. It’s the manta version of an eye lid. When the remoras swim over their eyes…they bat their lashes….:) Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- I just can’t get enough, I hope you can’t either… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- To fetch a pail of water with a manta ray! Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Guess which ones the remora….:) Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- The signature dive site of Isla San Benedicto is “The Boiler”. It is a pinnacle that comes within 20 feet of the surface about 3/8ths of a mile off the north west side of the island. The first time we dove here, we did so with one of the commericial dive boats. After that, it was Cindy and me in our 11′ 3″ dinghy. Needless to say, we had to have a nice calm day. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- You can see how far off shore we are. This site has mantas on almost every dive. In 7 dives, we only got skunked once. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Linda baked Cindy a “Manta Cake” and made us these little party favors. Mine said “manta man”, Cindy’s “manta mermaid”… We had a great time with Chuck and Linda for 6 weeks out at the islands…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Actually Linda made this sign and gave it too us…..see the next shot! Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Linda made it waterproof, so I took it down with me to surprise Cindy.. This is her first underwater still photo……The photo that launched a career!…..:) Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Linda’s Manta Cake was a huge hit!… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This is Jeronimo (yes that’s how he spells it). Jeronimo just showed up one day to say hi. He’s been with Solmar V which you see behind us for 20 years. He was very friendly to us, very helpful and we really appreciate him. He even got us a new years eve dinner invitation to a fabulous meal aboard. One of the nicest things they did on Solmar V was take our trash! We saw them about 5 different times while we were at Isla San Benedicto…..Thank You Jeronimo (and Captain Gerardo). The chef was fabulous too. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- We were invited aboard and were treated as nice as could be…We would recommend either of the two dive boats to anyone who wished to come to these magnificient islands. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This is what the deck of a “live aboard” dive boat looks like. Note all the cameras on the left. Also note in the back of the photo, the engineer nicely giving us 20 gallons of diesel fuel. Chuck was VERY appreciative of this. We ended up with plenty to spare. Jacaranda only carried 30 gallons. We carry 250 with our spare jerry cans. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Jeronimo really helped us out. We can’t thank him enough. We emailed Solmar’s office to see if they wanted us to pay for the fuel. They responded it was “with their complements”…Now folks, can you beat that!… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This was the other primary commericial dive boat. Nautilus Explorer was just as nice and just as helpful to us as Solmar V. They freely shared information with us and gave us dive briefings on the sites. They even allowed us to tie up our dinghy to them on our first dive out at “The Boiler”….Thank you Sten and Buzz, Gordon and the rest of the Nautilus Explorer crew. Their chef and galley staff gave us fresh bread butter and eggs. They took trash for us too!… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Daily, Linda would swim to turtle point and just watch the turtles (as well as the mantas). This day, I had hurt my ribs and took it off. Cindy and Linda watched these two turtles mate obliviously for over an hour… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- The mound had lots of life. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- A green jack at “The Canyon”. This guy is about 20″ long…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These guys looked like they put on make up Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These guys are seen everywhere there are divers in temperate seas. The classic motion which most people believe is threatening (their mouths opening and closing) is just how they pump water over their gills. They’re really unagressive to divers and usually shy away. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- We would see this schooling behavior occasionally, but this one really caught my eye. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Often, we would just go “sit” at the mound and wait for the mantas to show up. They did 60+ percent of our dives. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This is what the mantas look like when feeding. Often at the surface, they filter feed on plankton. Note the distended lower ventral part of the body. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This is an apparently as yet unidentified “All Black” manta we saw cruising the cove right off the boat. Note the white remora. Remoras came in several shades from brownish to white. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These guys would be more wary of us, but several did play. “Rosie” (one of the largest) played with us at both “The Canyon” and “The Boiler”. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- The stark contrast of the water and the manta with the white remora just was captivating. These were some of the only still photos I got of an “All Black”… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- A little more wide to their length than the “chevrons”(not always true), but notable. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- This was the classic feeding behavior we witnessed between 6:30 am and 9:30 am most mornings right around the boat. Sometimes we would see several mantas at once. We saw one 6 foot wing span juevenile in the cove as well. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Note the mouth opening. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Sometimes they would “porpoise”. This seemed to be a strategy to get rid of the remoras. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- These mantas can and do jump. Occasionally clear out of the water. We saw several do back flips, but not completely out of the water. I theorized part of it was to ditch the remoras. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- Top view. The skin looked like a carpet. Just so you know, he decided to swim right under me while I was snorkeling. Kind of, “wait a few minutes till I’m done with breakfast and we can play”…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- I leave you with these last three images. That’s our dinghy on the surface lower right and either Chuck or Linda up on the surface upper left. You know where the star of our show is…. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- We will miss this place and miss it for the rest of our lives. It is unique. We thank Terry Kennedy of s/v “Manta” (imagine where he got that boat name) who has dove these islands for over 20 years to get us out here. Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico
- We hope you’ve enjoyed this tour of this very small island, only 2 1/2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide. It’s wild, volcanic and holds some of the dearest treasures we’ve ever seen……Farewell San Benedicto, we hope to get the chance to visit you again… Isla San Benedicto – Revillagigedos Archipelago, Mexico