Back in One of My Favorite Destinations to Guide

I was back on my favorite dive boat, Ferox. And I will start by saying that we did not have the best experience at the beginning of our trip. One engine broke down, then we had generator failure that caused the A/C to stop working. It was not a great start to the trip that preceded my Malpelo half-charter, but the issue got resolved and the next trip was back to normal operations.

I’ve been on many liveaboards around the world and have had my share of boats failing. It’s not a fun experience. It was a first time for me on Ferox, but it recovered nicely on the next trip. I maintain that it’s the safest boat I’ve ever worked on, and the liveaboard I choose.

It will never be, and I don’t want it to be, a luxury liveaboard. This is a boat where we can still take the time if we see a bait ball or want to see a bit more of the rock. I think that’s why I see people and friends coming back, myself included.

A super team on this trip

Thank you, Craig and Dan, for coming back! Thanks to Brandon for diving Malpelo with me for two trips. I was happy to finally meet David again after so many years. It was fun getting to know Anitra and Michael on this trip. With this great team, we maximized our dives at Malpelo.

Diving Malpelo This Year

This time of the year is normally my favorite season for seeing a bit of everything. It was hard to find the hammerheads; we saw them, but a maximum of 50 individuals at the most. Their skin was clean, so they didn’t enter the cleaning stations even if the barberfish, King Angelfish and the juvenile Mexican hogfish were there, waiting for them to come in. So then you think warm water… They must be deep in the colder water. However, we mostly saw them up high at 15 meters (~50 feet), almost up to the surface. A few groups were in the depths, but not many. It was difficult to get them this time. El Bajon, usually my safe card, was empty in the times we tried.

We had Galapagos sharks around, at Three Musketeers, Bajo de Ancla and also David this time. Whale sharks were present, with one so friendly we snorkeled with it until it was time to get out of the water. As per the Park’s rules, all divers must be back onboard by 5pm. In Malpelo, I have seen whale sharks getting curious about the boats as well as the divers and snorkelers. If you act accordingly and refrain from charging at them, chances are, they will come up straight to you. You might even get bullied by the whale shark and have to swim away from it. Sometimes it even bumps you!

A Closer Look at Whale Sharks

It was interesting to see this whale shark up close. Some of the remoras on it had bite marks, which somewhat supports my theory that one of the reasons why sharks come here is to get rid of the remoras. I don’t see much of a symbiotic relationship between the whale sharks and mantas, but I have seen sharks taking remoras off of a whale shark a few times.

There’s Always Stuff to See.

We had lot of life in the water, even if we did not score on the big stuff. You can always count on having things to look at when diving in Malpelo — schooling jacks, so much this time that we even skipped them after encountering them again and again; eagle rays; Jordan or whippersnappers; leatherbasses roaming the reefs, especially in the mornings when they hunt with moray eels and bluefin trevally. The old leatherbasses in La Gringa and D’Artagnan like to follow you around, swallowing your bubbles; sometimes they come up so close that you think they will kiss you. Rainbow chubs go crazy cleaning themselves on certain assigned spots on the rocks that they use year after year, turning the surface on that very same spot so smooth and soft to the touch.

Because of smooth weather and very little current, we could go to many dive sites and explore a bit more than usual. January to March could be better for the hammerheads this year, but then it is colder. And, due to current and visibility, you will most likely miss the other life and dive sites as these factors dictate the dives a lot.

Well, who said Diving Malpelo was easy?

Malpelo has become more popular and some agencies have started to sell the Island to divers who are not suitable to come here yet, or who come here expecting that this is just another safe Caribbean destination. A few of these agencies have not been here, but are selling the destination without actually telling what it is about and how to dive Malpelo. There are also training agencies that are now becoming travel agencies…

I said it before and will say it again, Malpelo is not for everyone. Tanya and I are here to give you honest info and how to dive Malpelo, if you are interested. We both love Malpelo and will continue to go back as long as we can. We hope you can join in the coming trips or come back again!

Since I focus on guiding and have less chances to take photos during dives, I thank Brandon Cole and David Massey for letting me use their images. Brandon provided the background image at the beginning of this trip report. You can view more of his work on his website: www.brandoncole.com

Sten