| La
Paz diving offers excellent conditions
for scuba diving and gathers numerous magnificent dive sites
with three of the most beautiful islands in the gulf, San Jose,
Espiritu Santo and Cerralvo, plus countless little islets contributing
to a well earned reputation of being a place where you can expect
anyting at anytime.
The
Cortez sea, one of the youngest seas is one of the
world's largest dep gulfs. It has the reputation of being the
richest sea in the world for both number of species and population
sizes.
The
sea temperatures from La Paz south are 21 to 29°C/70-84°F
all year round. The visibility is best from July to October,
around 100 feet/30 metres, but you can count on having 50-80
feet/15-25 metres in most diving places. November to March has
the coldest water. To see whale sharks you
need to go during algal blooms in Spring and Autumn. Manta
rays and schooling hammerheads arrive
during late summer and early autumn.
In
La Paz you can do some drift diving. In the warm season
(from July to November) the current is coming from the southeast
and northeast and this is the ideal period for driftdiving at
El Bajo where the hammer head sharks are easy to find.
A must
see event in the winter is the Gray Whale which
ends its migration from the arctic circle in the Baja's pacific
lagoons and each year they grow in numbers. During th whale
watching season which is generally from end of December to beginning
of March operators in La Paz organise excursions to Magdalena
Bay where the whales can be observed.
Giant mantas, huge whale sharks and impressive
numbers of sharks, especially hammerheads,
have given La Paz the reputation of being among the best worldwide
scuba diving destinations. Some of the interesting sites are:
El
Bajo Sea Mounts an underwater mountain rising to 60
feet/18 meters from the surface where hammerhead sharks
congregate in large schools and has many species
of pelagic and tropical fish
all year round. This site is reserved for advanced divers because
there is no pretection to surge and rough sea conditions
Los
Islotes has more than 350 friendly and playful sea
lions in the wild with an anchorage that is well protected from
prevailing winds. It's suitable for all divers of all levels.
Salvatierra
Wreck is a 300 foot/91 meter long ferry boat sank in
1976 after colliding against Swannee Reef, near Espiritu Santo
island. Lying on a sandbar in 60 feet/18 meters of water, it
is a great “artificial” reef and is filled with sea life.
Las Animas is a small island located east of
San Jose Island, with three tiny islets around it. Here strong
currents maintain a permanent population of pelagic fish and
often visited by sharks throughout the year.
New
artificial reefs La Paz 03 and Fang Ming,
two rusting Chinese long liners, were sunk in November 1999
near the Island of Espiritu Santo to promote artificial reef
development for sport divers. Fang Ming, one of two Chinese
freighters was imponded by the mexican navy when trying to deliver
its cargo of ilegal chinese immigrants to California.
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