Baja 2000

A Week on the Don Jose

Day 1, Sunday:
Sunday morning, Steve, Randy, Mark, and I (Larry) left Dayton around 10 a.m., for Chicago, then on to Los Angeles, and finally to La Paz, Mexico via Hermosillo for customs. Nothing like a day of running through airports and waiting for planes. I will say that Mexican airlines sure know how to treat their passengers, with unlimited alcohol and a hot meal. After landing, the next adventure was the taxi ride to the boat. I think that Alto/Stop means something different in Mexico than it does in the USA, but we made it to the dock anyway. After unloading the taxi and arguing with the driver we stepped aboard the boat where we will be spending the next 6 days.  After getting our cabin assignments, meeting the other divers, and having a few more beers we heard about the turbo needing repair. We actually saw parts of the turbo on a table topside. Deciding to call it a night we headed to our cabins to unpack and hit the sack. 

Day 2, Monday:
Monday morning, we made our way to the galley for breakfast while the crew fixed the engine. Kevin the dive master told us that we should be on our way by 10:00 AM, so that gave us time to run into town to rent wet suits. After wedging our bodies into wetsuits we were on our way back to the boat, and sure enough right at 10:00 AM we left the dock. Lets go back one step, if you did not catch it I did say wetsuits, and remember we are in Mexico. The northern winds were coming down the valley and keeping the peninsula cool, with daytime temperatures in the mid-70’s, and nighttime temperatures in the mid-60’s, and the water temperature in the lower-70’s. Anyway we were on our way to the first dive site. We arrived at Punta Tintorera around 1:00 pm, ate lunch and headed out for our first dive. Both of the dives there were nice, very different terrain and marine life. After the second dive we headed for the showers, to get cleaned up for supper. The crew was dishing our free Pina Coladas, before supper. We ate supper and then stayed to watch the day’s footage that Mark and Steve shot. Tired from the day’s adventures we hit the sack pretty early. 

Day 3, Tuesday:
Tuesday morning, we made our way to the galley to eat breakfast while they pulled the anchor and moved to our next spot, which was Los Islotes to dive with sea lions. I can say that diving with sea lions makes for a different dive experience. Between their buzzing us, to barking at us under water, and interacting with us gave a whole new meaning to diving with marine life. We dove this site all day and also had a night dive where we saw more marine creatures that we had never seen before. Once back on the boat we got cleaned up and headed for the galley for supper, and to watch the footage that was shot that day. After the viewing, we headed for the cabins for some sleep.  It turned into a rocky night, with the boat tossing and turning all night long.

Day 4, Wednesday:
Wednesday morning, we made our way to the galley to eat breakfast. Once breakfast was over they pulled the anchor and moved to the next dive spot, which was El Bajo to dive with hammerheads. The first dive was a wash, only a couple of divers completed the dive. Between the strong currents, and the cluster on the towline (some letting go of the towline too early – ‘follow the line to the bottom, never follow the bubbles’), the majority of divers didn’t complete the dive. The few that did complete the dive said they saw sharks at a distance. The second dive went much better for majority of us that made it down. Dropping to the depths to see hammerheads, some of the air thrifty group saw 5 hammerheads, while the others that peeled out early because of sucking air were skunked. They pulled the anchor and headed for the next dive site, which was Punta Pitaya for the rest of the day. On the third dive we saw large schools of fish, a bunch of eels, and some stingrays. Everyone aborted the last dive of the day to grab a few free margaritas and headed for the galley for supper. Once we finished with supper we watched the daily footage. Then we headed for our cabins to rest up for the next day’s adventure. 

Day 5, Thursday:
Thursday morning, we made our way to the galley to eat breakfast. Once breakfast was over they pulled the anchor and moved back to El Bajo to look for hammerheads. Steve and Mark went back in to look for hammerheads, and Randy and I stayed topside (BCD problems and I just did not want to fight the current). Everyone came up and boasting that they seen silhouettes of 4 large hammerheads about 30 feet below them. They also had to rub it in that there wasn’t any current this time, so it was a nice dive. Once everyone was topside, we moved back to Los Islotes due to the weather. Did three more dives there and explored other areas of the rock formation called Los Islotes. On the second dive some divers mentioned that they saw a Manta playing around, so we had them point out where they saw it, and for our third dive we headed out in search of the Manta. No luck finding the Manta, but it was a good dive anyway. We were suppose to do our night dive there but the captain wanted to pull the anchor and head to a protected cove for the night. So tomorrow will be our night dive. We got cleaned up and headed for the galley for supper. After supper we watched Galaxy Quest, and then after the movie, we went outside to gaze at the stars and to play with the sea fleas by using a flashlight and some fishing string. After that we headed to the cabins to rest up for the next day’s adventure. 

Day 6, Friday:
Friday morning, we made our way to the galley to eat breakfast. While eating breakfast they pulled the anchor and headed to Barc Chino for a wreck dive, which was your basic man-made sunken wreck. Once everyone was topside, we moved to La Cola De Ballena where we finished out the day of diving. A group of divers found another sunken ship, while others found tons of marine life in 12’ of water. A group of us did the night dive, and I followed Mark and his camera, which looked like a car driving down a dark country road. I will give Mark the two thumbs up with his navigational skills by getting us back to the boat in the dark. Once topside we got cleaned up and headed for the galley for supper, after supper we watched the day’s footage then hit the sack. 

Day 7, Saturday:
Saturday morning, we made our way to the galley to eat breakfast, while eating breakfast they broke the news to us that the final dive site was not accessible due to the weather conditions, so our only choice was to stay at La Cola De Ballena for the last dive. Most opted to just pack our bags and get ready for the trip back. Once the few that went out for the last dive were back topside, they pulled the anchor and we were on our way back to La Paz. After docking in La Paz we said our good-byes to the crew, jumped in the vans and off we went to the hotel for our last night’s stay in Mexico. After checking into our rooms, some of us met downstairs to walk around town and pick up some souvenirs. The gang met one more time to eat dinner together, said our good-byes and off to our rooms we went, (except for Steve and I, we went down to Carlos and Charlie’s to watch the local nightlife), so everyone could rest up for our flight home the next day. 

Day 8, Sunday:
Sunday, everyone got up and headed down to check out of the hotel and find a taxi to take us to the airport. After checking in at the airport our flight was late, so we waited and waited. Finally the flight arrived and off we went for our adventure home. Landed at Los Angeles late and had to go through customs, and pick up our bags in the international terminal and hike over to the domestic terminal to check in again. Needless to say we were late and missed our flight. They found us a new flight and off we went to catch that flight to Chicago. Well, we sat long enough at LA that we figured it would be a race to catch our Chicago connection. Luckily for us the plane to Dayton was also running late so we made it with time to spare. Unfortunately once we boarded the flight to Dayton we did not leave the terminal for about 45 minutes waiting for fuel, and getting cleared for take off. Finally we got the clearance and we were off to Dayton. 

Overall comments about the trip:
We enjoyed the diving; the water is darker green with visibility of 30 – 50 feet. The water is cooler with more boulders and sand than coral. The dive master was friendly and knew a lot about the marine life in the area, so all you needed to do was describe the creature and he would tell you the name. Then if you looked the creature up in the book, he was right. The dive master allowed us more freedom on the dives. We did not have to stay in a big group like in previous dive trips. The four of us, or even two of us could go out exploring. All we had to do is checkout when we left the boat and check in once we got back in topside. He would even let us dive solo, which is a first for me. Mark and Randy each did some solo diving, but then Mark and Randy are usually diving solo even when they have a buddy.  The crew was very friendly, and all the meals were delicious. We received 3 meals a day (be prepared to eat beans and onions every day) plus snacks, along with pop, coffee, juice and beer, then we had a couple of nights of cocktails. 

 The colder air and the northern winds put a damper on the dives because it made it cold putting on and taking off the gear. The water was cooler, and with the winds a lot of the normal dive sites were closed, so we had to re-visit some of the same dive sites. Next time I head back out there it will be early September when things are usually warmer and the water is clearer. 

Less notable quotes: 

	Follow the LINE to the bottom, never follow the BUBBLES.
	Let’s take Susan’s picture in her Bare skin!
	Did I mention that I HATE wreck dives?
	No  diving allowed unless you have your sausage.
	Why are you sitting on this ledge at 96 feet?
	Its not advisable to inflate your sausage between the the sun and the boat unless you have a whistle.
	Popeye’s going to show up any day now, and he's gonna be pissed at Marc.
	Un tee-bone por favor.