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Published: September 4th 2022
CABO PULMO TERRAIN
Stark landscape with bright wild flowers.FIVE DAYS IN MEXICO
8/25 TO 8/30 2020
My friend Sarina made plans to dive in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico, in August 2020. She invited me to join her. How could I resist? We both love to travel. Our second love is scuba diving.
2020 was the year of the Covid pandemic; travel for pleasure was discouraged. Although I was nervous about traveling, I was excited about the dive trip. My family was worried about me picking up Covid while traveling. I promised to quarantine for three weeks when I returned, by camping in the mountains.
I could hardly wait to travel and do some diving again.
In January 2020, I had surgery on the meniscus in my left knee, just before the lockdowns started. I was lucky. By late March, hospitals were full of Covid cases, and it was nearly impossible to schedule surgeries.
The surgery was a success, according to the doctor. He “trimmed away” 85% of the meniscus. I was not so optimistic. It has been a long slow healing process: two steps forward, three steps back. I was worried about my knee. Before surgery, it was so painful, and I
ANGEL FISH
Nice to get a good photo of a colorful reef fish. didn't want to damage it again. Two knee braces; one for land and one for diving went into my luggage. Then I packed dive gear, my underwater camera, and very little else. I managed only an hour or two of sleep the day before our flight. I drove to Sarina's house in the early morning, arriving at 3 am. I passed her house three times in the dark!
Sarina drove to the airport. She walks briskly; my luggage is slow. We found a Starbucks and prepared for the short flight to LAX. My knee held up nicely. In Los Angeles, we boarded our second plane for Mexico.
Traveling with Sarina is like having a tour director. She thinks of everything. We got our luggage and the rental car. Having dived in Mexico many times, Sarina knew just what to do and where to go. She drove to a big supermarket for groceries for the week, then continued toward Cabo Pulmo. We had reservations in a gated community. The gate was cobbled together out of chain link, barbed wire, and odd timbers, but it was effective. Sarina made a call; our host came and unlocked the gate and gave
SPOTTED MORAY EEL
Once you spot one, there seem to be many more. us a key. Our bungalow was great, but the weather was so hot. We had a wrap-around porch where we ate, and there was a hammock. Sarina made ceviche for dinner (we ate it for three days). We only went inside to shower and sleep.
We had plenty of windows for cross ventilation in our room and a fan but no air-conditioning. During the night, the electricity stopped occasionally but usually came right back on. I was tired and slept well. I was a bit stuffed up in the morning, but my sinuses cleared by the time we got to the dive shop. Our divemaster was young and very helpful. We had some paperwork to complete and went over the rules for the boat dives. Our dive gear went on the boat, and a truck took it to the beach. The driver backed the trailer into the water to launch the dive boat. It was quite a tricky procedure.
The first dive was a check-out dive on a reef. It felt so good to be back in the water. The terrain was sandy, with many crevices that made photography challenging. There was so much color. We swam slowly,
GREEN MORAY EEL
This is my favorite eel. He is so feisty and seems to think he can swallow me whole if he can just open his mouth a little wider. enjoying giant sea fans, and a variety of fish and eels.
I had to reacquaint myself with the camera. Surgery and recovery took much longer than I expected; it was six months since my last dive. I loved having the camera back in my hands. I felt like celebrating, but being back in the water felt a bit foreign, too. It took a while to get the lighting right. Luckily I can take dozens of pictures with my digital camera. If I get one or two good photos, I consider it a good day. I don't know much about the quality of the photos until after the dive because it is difficult to see the results underwater. Still, I can't help being disappointed when most of the photos are too dark or blurry.
I also had some trouble with my buoyancy, which once had been second nature to me. Getting back in the boat was a struggle, too, as I tried to protect my knee. We rested on the boat between dives and did our surface interval, off-loading nitrogen that can accumulate in our body to dangerous levels while breathing air underwater. We snacked and drank water to
INTERESTING ARRAY
Spotted sting ray seems to be the center of attention. remain hydrated. I was happy the boat had a canopy to protect us from the sun.
The second dive site didn't look like much; it was sandy and barren. There was a shipwreck, but it was scattered all over. Some of the pieces were fifteen feet high. Others were level with the sand. The divemaster told us to hug the bottom, so of course, I had trouble with my buoyancy. I tried to look at my feet, floating high above and behind me, and Sarina in front of me. I worried about the big bull sharks that cruised by, appearing suddenly and silently. They came into view and circled. One here. One over there. A formidable brown and yellow grouper lingered near a big piece of the superstructure. There were numbers of large fish and schools of smaller ones. Plenty of food for a hungry shark. I relaxed a little. Over the years, I have dived with many sharks, but these did cause a tickle up my spine. A couple of years ago, a divemaster in New Guinea told me a story about an attack by a bull shark that put him in a hospital. Remembering his tale made
SEA STAR
Sea stars come in so many colors and textures. They are good photo subjects. me nervous at first. The cruising sharks, in fact, made the dive unusually exciting. When the divemaster suggested the site another day, we jumped at the chance to repeat it.
We did six dives over the next three days. I wish I could say that my photography skills improved. It was tough trying to remember how to work the camera and keep up with Sarina and the dive master. I worried that my dive fins might torque my knee, but the elastic support did stabilize my knee underwater. Lots of rest after the dives prevented swelling.
This was a vacation, so even though we had to wear our masks and practice social distancing we did go to a restaurant, ordered drinks at the local bar, and enjoyed some authentic Mexican food. The whole settlement followed strict safety precautions for Covid.
On our last day, we drove to Cabo San Lucas to dive. Sarina has been there before. She wanted to show me a point offshore where the ocean and the bay meet. The bottom is sandy and the ocean surge causes the sand to "pour" down an underwater slope like liquid. It looks like a sand waterfall.
CONFIDENT OCTOPUS
This octopus was in a coral and rock ring not large enough for me to swim down into. This meant I had to swoop down and try to take the picture without stirring up the bottom. He was so patient. He seemed to say, "What is all the fuss about." It makes your eyes feel like they are playing tricks on you. Unfortunately, I couldn't capture the phenomena on film. You’ll have to go see it for yourself.
After our first dive, high winds and the topography whipped the water into a frenzy, causing our small boat to bob around like a cork. Seven to ten boats crowded together just inside the point of the bay. The captains received storm warnings, telling them to wait for further instructions. I thought, that if our dive boat capsized we at least had a chance of being rescued with so many boats around. We finally got the all-clear signal. Sarina and I followed the divemaster into the water. We submerged, escaping the tumult of the waves, but the water was thick with floating sand particles. Sometimes the visibility improves as divers drop deeper. In this case, no such luck; on the bottom, visibility still was measured in mere inches. We swam around a tall craggy rock. I knew it was on my left side when I bumped it. I could see Sarina's bright white fins in front of me and I could barely see her dive light. I could see nothing else.
SEA FANS
Big sea fans abounded and were home to many small fish. So colorful. After less than ten minutes, she stopped. Crowding closer, I saw her motion to the divemaster for us to continue, but she was going up. I quickly indicated that I was ready to call the dive as well. The conditions were impossible.
At the shop, we rinsed our gear and said we wanted to let it dry. We would come back for it later.
We strolled the boardwalk, gawking at tourists. We found a massage parlor and agreed we had earned a massage to ease our sore muscles. After the massage, we grabbed a bite to eat, took a few land photos, and did some shopping. When we got back to the dive shop our dive equipment was dry, ready to pack into our luggage tomorrow. We did a little more sightseeing and drove back to our bungalow.
That night we feasted on all the food still left in the fridge and packed our suitcases for an early return to the airport the next day. We reviewed our underwater photos and played some cribbage before going to bed. The next morning we drove to the airport and flew to SeaTac.
Our Mexican vacation was a wonderful
respite from the concerns and isolation of Covid. We had no way of knowing how complicated future vacations during Covid would be. I was just looking forward to camping in the Cascade Mountains.
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