Dive #59 - Rich Torkington's Dive Log

A peaceful beach near Puerto Penasco.
Photo by Lynn Dray in Mexico 1996

Dive Journal: Linda kidnapped me for the 42nd birthday and whisked me off to Los Cabos airport. I mistakenly assumed we were headed back to the romantic seclusion of Cabo Pulmo Resort (see Dive #44 and #45). But Linda had other ideas... It is a fun trip.

We head from the airport in to San Jose del Cabo to visit Taquería Erica, a regular favorite of ours. On the way there, however, we pass a thatched roof with a sign proclaiming "Mariscos" and there are plenty of people inside, so we make a u-turn, park, and have a seat. Immediately seeing that many are enjoying oysters, we order six of them. She calls them “ostiones piedras.” No wonder, each oyster is the size of a dinner plate!

We take an hourlong journey north, arriving at La Ribera and other small towns that dot the East Capes. We finally stop at Buena Vista and pick up 4 tanks of air from Vista Sea Sport. The owner is very friendly, and we arrange for 2 boat dives as well. He even helps us load the tanks into our little “Peesa Chit Chebby.”

From Buena Vista, we drive due north onto a dirt road for another 50 minutes or so, finally arriving at the small gathering known as El Cardonal. We are staying at the Hideaway at El Cardonal, and the owner is a friendly man named Eddy, from Montreal.

In the morning, the Vista Sea Sport boat arrives on our beach and picks us up. The winds have been howling last night and the there is quite a bit of residual chop. The boat roars north up the coast, and between the water spray and the chilly air temperatures, both Linda and I are soaked and freezing by the time we arrive at the dive site.

Once we suit up, we enter the water and find it a delightful 84°F – it is WAY warmer in the water than out. The dive is very interesting, although the visibility is so-so. We start out over rocky canyons and outcroppings covered with stubby corals. There are tons of fishes. As we descend, the visibility improves, and we slowly swim east towards the point.

There are great schools of blue and gold snappers, and also some chromis that appear to have a tail-light. There are also lots of Moorish idols around, and a surprising number of large green moray eels. One of my favorite fishes here are the gofftop pompano.

Reaching the surface, we again confront the whipping wind and chilly air.