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My girlfriend and I went on a quick 4 nighter dive trip to Cabo Pulmo last week. I feel a little conflicted writing this report: this was pretty much the best dive trip I have ever been on... but I would hate to see the place flooded with visitors. Right now it has a barely touched feel to it which really is just about perfect.
We fly into San Jose del Cabo via Virgin America, which from SFO was an easy and very pleasant flight. We rented a Jeep from Thrifty and got the full coverage insurance... you will definitely want to get this as the road trip into Cabo Pulmo is relatively adventurous. The morning before we flew in was the tail end of a tropical storm. Apparently the roads were completely impassable earlier in the day but things were looking dry in the afternoon and we decided to try to make the drive. Once we turned off the main highway towards the town of La Ribera, the road progressively turned more "rustic". We came across a flooded arroyo and tried to pass a stopped big rig...only to get stuck in knee deep mud. Some locals came to the rescue and got the Jeep pulled out with a rope. Cost me a 12 pack of beer and a little anxiety but we were on our way and after an hour of dirt road and mud pits, came to the town of Cabo Pulmo.
This town has a great old Mexico feel and is off the grid (everything is on solar generators) and relies on well water. We stayed at Baja Bungalows which was very homey and simple. Clean beautiful casitas with a perfect laid back feel. No hot water but it didn't bother us at all. The upper room had a great view and we woke up every morning to roosters and glorious sunshine. The place is well maintained and has beach chairs and coolers that you can borrow, as well as snorkels and wetsuits.
We dove for 3 days (2 tanks a day) with Thierry from Mar y Sierra.
Cabo Pulmo diving - Dive trips in Baja California Sur
This is THE guy to dive with. Thierry really specialized in personal small group diving. 2 of the days it was just my girlfriend and I out with him and the boat captain, one other day there was a 3rd diver. Thats it. We saw other boats with larger groups of divers...not cattle boats at all, but we felt much better taken care of by Thierry. The boat is launched from the beach via pickup and is brought back to shore by the same way. Never seen that before but was very fun.
Now to the diving. On every dive there was more sea life than I have ever seen anywhere else. We are talking schools of jacks which block the sun, human sized groupers, carpets of garden eels, free swimming morays, a cormorant at 50 feet down, tons of puffer fish and a gang of lazy sea lions. See the video below to get an idea of what I am talking about. We kept seeing fish similar to what we have seen in other places, most recently in Bonaire...only bigger in size and much more numerous. The coral was in good condition but honestly I didnt really notice it with so many big-a$$ed fish in my face. After the second dive my girlfriend immediately said that that was the best dive of her life (which was previously the position held by the Kona manta night dive)
More about Thierry: during the entry of the second dive of the trip, I had the sickening sensation of the lanyard slipping off my wrist and saw my brand new tricked out GoPro Hero3+ Black sinking to the bottom of the sea. Uh oh. The current was super strong on this drift dive and I could not descend fast enough to reach my camera. No worries. Thierry took us back on the boat and circled around and we did a search and recovery dive and recovered the camera. Super awesome. The guy also really knows the reef well and has been around for a long time. He has been hired by some TV shows for work around the area...really an expert.
Dining options in Cabo Pulmo are somewhat limited but very good. We went to about 5 of the 6 restaurants in town and found them all to be cheerful and tasty. Prepare yourself with supplies before coming, groceries and ATMs are all a far drive away and everyone in town only takes cash.
Cabo Pulmo is not for everyone. This is NOT a resort like setting and is not a party town. The road to get into town can get tricky when there is weather. We had no AC or hot water but it didn't matter. The place is breathtakingly beautiful and the beaches look like Corona commercials. We met like minded travelers here who all were looking for more scaled back places to dive. If you prepare yourself for the trip in and expect a small village atmosphere, you will be rewarded with one of the best dive spots in the world. My girlfriend and I have already planned to make this trip an annual tradition. Just please...don't all come at once. If this place loses its soul, I will be heartbroken.
Enjoy this epic video:
https://vimeo.com/77362824
[video=vimeo;77362824]https://vimeo.com/77362824[/video]
We fly into San Jose del Cabo via Virgin America, which from SFO was an easy and very pleasant flight. We rented a Jeep from Thrifty and got the full coverage insurance... you will definitely want to get this as the road trip into Cabo Pulmo is relatively adventurous. The morning before we flew in was the tail end of a tropical storm. Apparently the roads were completely impassable earlier in the day but things were looking dry in the afternoon and we decided to try to make the drive. Once we turned off the main highway towards the town of La Ribera, the road progressively turned more "rustic". We came across a flooded arroyo and tried to pass a stopped big rig...only to get stuck in knee deep mud. Some locals came to the rescue and got the Jeep pulled out with a rope. Cost me a 12 pack of beer and a little anxiety but we were on our way and after an hour of dirt road and mud pits, came to the town of Cabo Pulmo.
This town has a great old Mexico feel and is off the grid (everything is on solar generators) and relies on well water. We stayed at Baja Bungalows which was very homey and simple. Clean beautiful casitas with a perfect laid back feel. No hot water but it didn't bother us at all. The upper room had a great view and we woke up every morning to roosters and glorious sunshine. The place is well maintained and has beach chairs and coolers that you can borrow, as well as snorkels and wetsuits.
We dove for 3 days (2 tanks a day) with Thierry from Mar y Sierra.
Cabo Pulmo diving - Dive trips in Baja California Sur
This is THE guy to dive with. Thierry really specialized in personal small group diving. 2 of the days it was just my girlfriend and I out with him and the boat captain, one other day there was a 3rd diver. Thats it. We saw other boats with larger groups of divers...not cattle boats at all, but we felt much better taken care of by Thierry. The boat is launched from the beach via pickup and is brought back to shore by the same way. Never seen that before but was very fun.
Now to the diving. On every dive there was more sea life than I have ever seen anywhere else. We are talking schools of jacks which block the sun, human sized groupers, carpets of garden eels, free swimming morays, a cormorant at 50 feet down, tons of puffer fish and a gang of lazy sea lions. See the video below to get an idea of what I am talking about. We kept seeing fish similar to what we have seen in other places, most recently in Bonaire...only bigger in size and much more numerous. The coral was in good condition but honestly I didnt really notice it with so many big-a$$ed fish in my face. After the second dive my girlfriend immediately said that that was the best dive of her life (which was previously the position held by the Kona manta night dive)
More about Thierry: during the entry of the second dive of the trip, I had the sickening sensation of the lanyard slipping off my wrist and saw my brand new tricked out GoPro Hero3+ Black sinking to the bottom of the sea. Uh oh. The current was super strong on this drift dive and I could not descend fast enough to reach my camera. No worries. Thierry took us back on the boat and circled around and we did a search and recovery dive and recovered the camera. Super awesome. The guy also really knows the reef well and has been around for a long time. He has been hired by some TV shows for work around the area...really an expert.
Dining options in Cabo Pulmo are somewhat limited but very good. We went to about 5 of the 6 restaurants in town and found them all to be cheerful and tasty. Prepare yourself with supplies before coming, groceries and ATMs are all a far drive away and everyone in town only takes cash.
Cabo Pulmo is not for everyone. This is NOT a resort like setting and is not a party town. The road to get into town can get tricky when there is weather. We had no AC or hot water but it didn't matter. The place is breathtakingly beautiful and the beaches look like Corona commercials. We met like minded travelers here who all were looking for more scaled back places to dive. If you prepare yourself for the trip in and expect a small village atmosphere, you will be rewarded with one of the best dive spots in the world. My girlfriend and I have already planned to make this trip an annual tradition. Just please...don't all come at once. If this place loses its soul, I will be heartbroken.
Enjoy this epic video:
https://vimeo.com/77362824
[video=vimeo;77362824]https://vimeo.com/77362824[/video]
