Hi,
This is only my second posts on ScubaBoard, but I've been checking this website regularly for advises. I wanted to contribute a little something back with this review of my recent trip to Malpelo, Colombia. I've based this review off the other ones I've read to try to be as useful as possible.
Disclaimer: This trip was heavily discounted due to a last minute cancellation of a group of divers. As a result we were only 9 divers on board (vs. a max. of ~16) which had a significant impact on the trip. These conditions were exceptional so please bear this in mind when reading the rest of the review.
Summary
I'll start with the summary for those who don't have time to read the whole thing.
If you're into athletic diving in strong current and big pelagic (similar to Wolf and Darwin) I would strongly recommend Malpelo. It's my opinion that marine life in Malpelo is of similar (if not higher) standard to the Galapagos and comes with the advantage that at any point in time only 1 boat is allowed on site.
W.r.t. liveaboard, I’d also recommend the Yemaya for the simple fact that out of all the 2 liveaboard allowed to go there it's the best one by far. The crew and dive guides are serious and safety was never an issue. But if you're into luxury liveaboard (the sort you get in Indonesia) it may seem a little underwhelming. Due to new Colombian regulation, this trip might be cancelled as soon as 2018.
I booked the trip through Arthur Portmann from Underseaventures, whom I would also recommend for his professionalism and efficiency
The Diving
April is low season for Malpelo. May to Sep is high season, when Silkies show up in large schools. Whale sharks also don't show up until the second half of the year. However, during the cold season (Jan to Apr), hammerheads come closer to the surface. You also have a higher chance of observing Sand tiger sharks (my understanding is that Malpelo is one of the only places where a close encounter is possible).
Marine life highlights:
Schooling hammerheads (~40+), Silkies, Eagle rays, Galapagos sharks, Black tips, creoles, jacks, angel fish, tunas, green turtle, Morrays, barracudas, dolphins. Having dived in the Galapagos, I felt that the Marine life in Malpelo is more "tolerant" of divers. Hammerheads especially didn't seem to mind our bubbles and were happy to circle back a number of times to the greatest pleasure of the UW photographers in our group. One possible explanation for this may be because only 1 boat is allowed on Malpelo at any point in time limiting the stress on the environment (just a thought, I'm not a marine biologist)
Other observations:
Water temp was at around 24C at surface, with thermoclines at ~25m depth with temp dropping below 20C (sometime as low as 14C)
Visibility was on average 15m, better towards the end of the trip.
The diving is done off 2 skiff boats, negative entry.
Dive sites (by other of preference):
The Fridge - 5 dives - Fantastic steep wall dive, strong current, the diving style was similar to Wolf and Darwin in the Galapagos (i.e. fast descend, grab onto rocks, and wait for hammerheads to cruise by). The Fridge was by far the most consistent dive in terms of marine life and we were lucky enough to see a number of schooling hammerheads (40+).
Ghost Face - 4 dives - Sloping rocky reef and sandy bottom at ~35m depth, mild-strong current. We saw the same school of 100+ jacks on every single one of our dive which made for a mesmerizing site. Hammerheads below 30m, with a few occasionally breaking off from the group and circling around at 15-20m. Single or couple of Galapagos cruising at around 20m, close to a fantastic cleaning station (towards the end of the dive). Other highlights, encounter with a pod of playful dolphins and a small school of silky sharks (10+) feeding on the remain of a bait ball hiding under some drifting wood.
La Ferreteria - 2 dives. Underwater pinnacle, with summit c.18m below surface. South of the Island, more exposed to the ocean and current. Low visibility. Incredible abundance of life, huge schools of tuna, jacks and others. Murray eels would literally be piling up on top of each other. Cleaning stations at 30m and 18m.
Bajo del Monstro - 2 dives. Underwater pinnacle with large plateau at c.18m. This is the famous Malpelo dive where an encounter with a Sand tiger is possible. Sand tiger usually live at +100m depth but occasionally rise up to the surface in Malpelo. We weren't lucky on this particular occasion but were rewarded instead with schools of hammerheads
Altar de Virginia - 1 dive. Sloping rocky reef and sandy bottom. Check dive. Weak current.
Cast Away - 1 dive. Sloping rocky reef and sandy bottom at ~35m depth. While next to Ghost face, we didn't see nearly as much.
David - 1 dive. Dive start at one rocky plateau at 30m then crossing a sandy patch at 35m to finish at another plateau at 25m. Our group didn't have much luck (sting ray and a few lonely hammerheads) but the other group saw a school of 50+ hammerheads swimming along the sandy bottom between the two rocky plateaus. Most of the dive is at 25+m so a couple of us risked deco time.
D'Artagnan - 1 dive. Large plateau at 30m surrounded by sandy bottom. Supposed to be great for hammerheads but we didn't see anything. Cleaning station on the nearby "Three Musketeers" dive sites.
La Gringa - 1 dive. Wall dive, through a small cavern to the open sea. Low visibility. Thermocline hit 14C here but unfortunately visibility was too low to fully appreciate the hammerheads.
The Yacht
Cabin: There were 8 cabins - 2 en-suite on the main deck, 4 on the main deck with shared showers (1 shower per 2 cabins) and 2 en-suite on the mezzanine deck. I was in one of the en-suite cabin in the main deck (twin bed configuration perpendicular to each other).
Cabins had A/C (which was always too cold), 4 bed drawers and 1 bedside table, very small reading lights. Showers worked great with hot water, bath towels were provided. Disturbance from the engine was I thought minimal and soon everybody was getting used to the constant humming. As mentioned at the beginning of the review, the total capacity of the boat is ~16 divers and we were 9. As a result we all ended up with individual cabins and more than enough space for everybody.
Lounge: Small space in the main deck with no windows. Mainly used by the crew as their chill-out area. Everybody was on the Upper deck outside
Dining area - In the upper deck outside. Meals served by the cook at the kitchen (also outside). Woodenchairs. Nothing fancy but comfortable. Not sure what happens if the weather turns bad.
Dive deck - Individual stations with storage. Rails for wetsuits, 1 rinse tank for cameras, 2 showers. Tanks, BCDs, fins and masks were left on the skiff boats. There was enough room to gear up at the same time but it would probably be too tight with 5-6 more divers.
Outside areas - upper deck is sizeable. Doesn't have anything fancy like a Jacuzzi (which usually never gets used) but there were more than enough seating/lying spaces for everybody.
Camera stations - 1 outside on the dive deck, protected. Enough space for 6-7 large DSLR UW cameras with lenses and strobes.
Food and Drinks - Only one choice for each meal but all cooked well. Might be a little unexciting for vegetarian (you basically get the same dish minus the meat). Hot food was always hot and everything was fresh. Fresh fruit, juice, soft drinks, tea and coffee always available. Alcohol was expensive ($3 for a can of beer, $5 for rum), however we could bring our own liquor (not beer).
Overall the boat is a little old but well maintained and had a distinct charm to it. The crew was very friendly, English is not widely spoken but sign language and broken Spanish usually got you what you wanted. A/C units were too cold most of the time, no issue with hot water. The yacht was stable throughout the crossings, but the sea was relatively calm the whole time.
On the last day we ran into the Colombia liveaboard that replacing us. It was a re-purposed old fishing boat (40+ years old) and from its look we felt that it wasn’t fit for sailing. We learned that it has 3 cabins (2 upper deck cabins for 2, and a communal form for 6 in the lower deck). Our dive guides has assured us that they've never had an accident, but it goes without saying that our boat felt like a palace in comparison.
Apparently the Colombian government is going to change its regulation in order to keep all the profit the island generates, restricting access only to Colombian boats. The owner of the MV Yemaya is unwilling the relocate from Panama to Colombia and therefore may stop operations as soon as 2018.
The Crew
Dive guide - Our two dive guides were Jaime and Juan. I understood that they were the regular dive guides doing most of the trips. There is also a Swedish dive guide who comes in every now and then. We switched dive guide in the middle of the trip (apparently standard practice at the Yemaya). Juan speaks great English, ex-marine biologist, he was very friendly and knowledgeable. Jaime speaks very little English but a Spanish guy in our group translated everything to us. He's more experienced than Juan and has been coming to Malpelo for +15y.
They were both friendly, helpful, professional, and made an effort to mingle with the customers (sharing stories, raising awareness on shark fishing in the area, etc...). They were also very relaxed underwater once they assessed our respective level. Our reduced group meant that we were only 4-5 per dive guides so arguably this was easier for them to manage.
Crew members were helpful a nd always ready when needed but tended to stick to themselves.
Thanks for reading and hope this helps if you were thinking of going there,
This is only my second posts on ScubaBoard, but I've been checking this website regularly for advises. I wanted to contribute a little something back with this review of my recent trip to Malpelo, Colombia. I've based this review off the other ones I've read to try to be as useful as possible.
Disclaimer: This trip was heavily discounted due to a last minute cancellation of a group of divers. As a result we were only 9 divers on board (vs. a max. of ~16) which had a significant impact on the trip. These conditions were exceptional so please bear this in mind when reading the rest of the review.
Summary
I'll start with the summary for those who don't have time to read the whole thing.
If you're into athletic diving in strong current and big pelagic (similar to Wolf and Darwin) I would strongly recommend Malpelo. It's my opinion that marine life in Malpelo is of similar (if not higher) standard to the Galapagos and comes with the advantage that at any point in time only 1 boat is allowed on site.
W.r.t. liveaboard, I’d also recommend the Yemaya for the simple fact that out of all the 2 liveaboard allowed to go there it's the best one by far. The crew and dive guides are serious and safety was never an issue. But if you're into luxury liveaboard (the sort you get in Indonesia) it may seem a little underwhelming. Due to new Colombian regulation, this trip might be cancelled as soon as 2018.
I booked the trip through Arthur Portmann from Underseaventures, whom I would also recommend for his professionalism and efficiency
The Diving
April is low season for Malpelo. May to Sep is high season, when Silkies show up in large schools. Whale sharks also don't show up until the second half of the year. However, during the cold season (Jan to Apr), hammerheads come closer to the surface. You also have a higher chance of observing Sand tiger sharks (my understanding is that Malpelo is one of the only places where a close encounter is possible).
Marine life highlights:
Schooling hammerheads (~40+), Silkies, Eagle rays, Galapagos sharks, Black tips, creoles, jacks, angel fish, tunas, green turtle, Morrays, barracudas, dolphins. Having dived in the Galapagos, I felt that the Marine life in Malpelo is more "tolerant" of divers. Hammerheads especially didn't seem to mind our bubbles and were happy to circle back a number of times to the greatest pleasure of the UW photographers in our group. One possible explanation for this may be because only 1 boat is allowed on Malpelo at any point in time limiting the stress on the environment (just a thought, I'm not a marine biologist)
Other observations:
Water temp was at around 24C at surface, with thermoclines at ~25m depth with temp dropping below 20C (sometime as low as 14C)
Visibility was on average 15m, better towards the end of the trip.
The diving is done off 2 skiff boats, negative entry.
Dive sites (by other of preference):
The Fridge - 5 dives - Fantastic steep wall dive, strong current, the diving style was similar to Wolf and Darwin in the Galapagos (i.e. fast descend, grab onto rocks, and wait for hammerheads to cruise by). The Fridge was by far the most consistent dive in terms of marine life and we were lucky enough to see a number of schooling hammerheads (40+).
Ghost Face - 4 dives - Sloping rocky reef and sandy bottom at ~35m depth, mild-strong current. We saw the same school of 100+ jacks on every single one of our dive which made for a mesmerizing site. Hammerheads below 30m, with a few occasionally breaking off from the group and circling around at 15-20m. Single or couple of Galapagos cruising at around 20m, close to a fantastic cleaning station (towards the end of the dive). Other highlights, encounter with a pod of playful dolphins and a small school of silky sharks (10+) feeding on the remain of a bait ball hiding under some drifting wood.
La Ferreteria - 2 dives. Underwater pinnacle, with summit c.18m below surface. South of the Island, more exposed to the ocean and current. Low visibility. Incredible abundance of life, huge schools of tuna, jacks and others. Murray eels would literally be piling up on top of each other. Cleaning stations at 30m and 18m.
Bajo del Monstro - 2 dives. Underwater pinnacle with large plateau at c.18m. This is the famous Malpelo dive where an encounter with a Sand tiger is possible. Sand tiger usually live at +100m depth but occasionally rise up to the surface in Malpelo. We weren't lucky on this particular occasion but were rewarded instead with schools of hammerheads
Altar de Virginia - 1 dive. Sloping rocky reef and sandy bottom. Check dive. Weak current.
Cast Away - 1 dive. Sloping rocky reef and sandy bottom at ~35m depth. While next to Ghost face, we didn't see nearly as much.
David - 1 dive. Dive start at one rocky plateau at 30m then crossing a sandy patch at 35m to finish at another plateau at 25m. Our group didn't have much luck (sting ray and a few lonely hammerheads) but the other group saw a school of 50+ hammerheads swimming along the sandy bottom between the two rocky plateaus. Most of the dive is at 25+m so a couple of us risked deco time.
D'Artagnan - 1 dive. Large plateau at 30m surrounded by sandy bottom. Supposed to be great for hammerheads but we didn't see anything. Cleaning station on the nearby "Three Musketeers" dive sites.
La Gringa - 1 dive. Wall dive, through a small cavern to the open sea. Low visibility. Thermocline hit 14C here but unfortunately visibility was too low to fully appreciate the hammerheads.
The Yacht
Cabin: There were 8 cabins - 2 en-suite on the main deck, 4 on the main deck with shared showers (1 shower per 2 cabins) and 2 en-suite on the mezzanine deck. I was in one of the en-suite cabin in the main deck (twin bed configuration perpendicular to each other).
Cabins had A/C (which was always too cold), 4 bed drawers and 1 bedside table, very small reading lights. Showers worked great with hot water, bath towels were provided. Disturbance from the engine was I thought minimal and soon everybody was getting used to the constant humming. As mentioned at the beginning of the review, the total capacity of the boat is ~16 divers and we were 9. As a result we all ended up with individual cabins and more than enough space for everybody.
Lounge: Small space in the main deck with no windows. Mainly used by the crew as their chill-out area. Everybody was on the Upper deck outside
Dining area - In the upper deck outside. Meals served by the cook at the kitchen (also outside). Woodenchairs. Nothing fancy but comfortable. Not sure what happens if the weather turns bad.
Dive deck - Individual stations with storage. Rails for wetsuits, 1 rinse tank for cameras, 2 showers. Tanks, BCDs, fins and masks were left on the skiff boats. There was enough room to gear up at the same time but it would probably be too tight with 5-6 more divers.
Outside areas - upper deck is sizeable. Doesn't have anything fancy like a Jacuzzi (which usually never gets used) but there were more than enough seating/lying spaces for everybody.
Camera stations - 1 outside on the dive deck, protected. Enough space for 6-7 large DSLR UW cameras with lenses and strobes.
Food and Drinks - Only one choice for each meal but all cooked well. Might be a little unexciting for vegetarian (you basically get the same dish minus the meat). Hot food was always hot and everything was fresh. Fresh fruit, juice, soft drinks, tea and coffee always available. Alcohol was expensive ($3 for a can of beer, $5 for rum), however we could bring our own liquor (not beer).
Overall the boat is a little old but well maintained and had a distinct charm to it. The crew was very friendly, English is not widely spoken but sign language and broken Spanish usually got you what you wanted. A/C units were too cold most of the time, no issue with hot water. The yacht was stable throughout the crossings, but the sea was relatively calm the whole time.
On the last day we ran into the Colombia liveaboard that replacing us. It was a re-purposed old fishing boat (40+ years old) and from its look we felt that it wasn’t fit for sailing. We learned that it has 3 cabins (2 upper deck cabins for 2, and a communal form for 6 in the lower deck). Our dive guides has assured us that they've never had an accident, but it goes without saying that our boat felt like a palace in comparison.
Apparently the Colombian government is going to change its regulation in order to keep all the profit the island generates, restricting access only to Colombian boats. The owner of the MV Yemaya is unwilling the relocate from Panama to Colombia and therefore may stop operations as soon as 2018.
The Crew
Dive guide - Our two dive guides were Jaime and Juan. I understood that they were the regular dive guides doing most of the trips. There is also a Swedish dive guide who comes in every now and then. We switched dive guide in the middle of the trip (apparently standard practice at the Yemaya). Juan speaks great English, ex-marine biologist, he was very friendly and knowledgeable. Jaime speaks very little English but a Spanish guy in our group translated everything to us. He's more experienced than Juan and has been coming to Malpelo for +15y.
They were both friendly, helpful, professional, and made an effort to mingle with the customers (sharing stories, raising awareness on shark fishing in the area, etc...). They were also very relaxed underwater once they assessed our respective level. Our reduced group meant that we were only 4-5 per dive guides so arguably this was easier for them to manage.
Crew members were helpful a nd always ready when needed but tended to stick to themselves.
Thanks for reading and hope this helps if you were thinking of going there,
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