disorientating, but we put our trust in
local expert Ivan as he led us into the
abyss. After a minute or so the dark
bottom loomed, and we could make out
some rocky formations.
Within seconds a plethora of silvery
bodies began shining in the sunlight as
they approached and darted away from
the cleaning station. In just 10 minutes
we were graced with silky, Galapagos and
silvertip sharks, set on enjoying a body
scrub at the barberfish salon.
A handy briefing later that day armed
us with further knowledge of how to
identify these beautiful, sleek creatures.
The Galapagos sharks are wide, have
a rounded nose and much of their body
mass is at the front of their body, while
silvertips have white edging on all their
fins. The silky dorsal fin is situated
behind its pectoral fins.
Three additional dives near and around
the Canyon throughout the day were
interspersed with food, rest and some
reading. As the day went on, the silkies
became more and more inquisitive and
made their way shallower to the boat,
making for some interesting safety stops.
There was even an unplanned snorkel
with a pod of false killer whales!
Day 2 was at the famous Boiler site west
of the island. A week earlier the crew had
seen two whale sharks there.
As the sun rose higher we could see that
we were moored close to some impressive
sharp boulders that formed a ring in front
of the island. We could also make out
caves and ashy stalactites to the rear of San
Benedicto. Remote and barren as the land39 divErSOCORRO DIVER
Right: A silky shark - note
the position of the dorsal fin.
Below: A clarionfish
provides a welcome splash
of colour at Punta Tosca.
Bottom: Liveaboard and
the volcanic topography of
Socorro Island.
☛
is, you can’t tire of its beauty.
The Boiler is the remains of yet another
volcano crater, and in our well-organised
groups we boarded the skiffs to be driven
over to the area of bubbling water that
gives the site its name.
We made a negative entry. Whitetip reef
sharks sat lazily on the ledges, and bigeye
trevally moved in an organised chain in
the shallows.
Two scalloped hammerheads ducked
in close to the reef to check us out before
slowly snaking back into the blue. What
happened next was the beginning of a 40-
minute rollercoaster ride with manta rays!I
HAVE EXPERIENCEDclose encounters
with mantas in the Red Sea and
Mozambique, but had never seen as many
together as I did at the Boiler.
An adult chevron (black and white)
manta passed by eyeballing us, followed
by another and another and another! They
danced together, feeding and enjoying
being cleaned in the current, interacting
with the divers as well as each other.
They curled and uncurled their cephalic
fins, used as electroreceptors to “feel” us in
the water. Out of nowhere an even bigger
black (melanistic) manta flew into the
broth and started barrel-rolling and flying
on her side, giving her a better view of us
tiny humans.
Black mantas look like stealth bombers
and make up a quarter of the Socorro
population. My buddy was going crazy
and mimicking the manta’s movements
belly to belly. Seeing one of these rays was
his dream for this trip.