A Day at the Office

Posted on December 23rd, 2008 by Buzz

Me in the Office (Picture by Chris Humpreys) Here I am, back in the office. Well aboard the Nautilus Explorer. As usual it’s like I was never away. The crew has not changed much at all, we do have a new hostess. Another Australian, Lita. No matter where you go or what you do, there’s always a couple of Aussies.

Due to the upcoming Christmas break this would be a shorter trip than usual, with only five dive days. The weather for the five days looked pretty good, but some high winds were forecast for the 3rd day and so our itinerary looked like this:

  • Dive Day 1 - San Benedicto
  • Dive Day 2 - San Benedicto
  • Dive Day 3 - Socorro Island
  • DIve Day 4 - Roca Partida
  • Dive Day 5 - Roca Partida

After our check out dive at at “The Canyon” I thought that we could be in for a long five days when two of the guests had to make unplanned and fairly lengthy decompression stops. However, we sorted out the issues and it turned out to be a great group and great trip. We made our way to the west side of the island and made a couple of dives at “The Boiler” which is usually our best chance for seeing the Giant Pacific Manta. I was so glad to be back at this site and to check out the mantas. After our run in with the fishermen last season I always jump into the water here expecting the worst, and for the site to be covered in nets. All was well, and after only a few minutes hanging out at the site we were joined by the first of two female mantas. After a little bit of “mantish” the secret body language that Sten and I use to communicate with these majestic creatures, she was swooping around the group of divers. It was not long before a second manta joined in and they both glided around the divers occasionally hovering over divers so that they could be gently stroked on their undersides. We do not encourage touching of any of the animals, but our mantas here seem to want to interact. Indeed it seems that they actively solicit our company and they are extremely curious and especially like to make eye contact. So, when one of these huge and graceful plankton eaters hovers directly above you only inches away it is difficult to resist the urge to make physical contact. The mantas stayed with us for the entire dive and were also there for a short time when we hopped in for our third dive of the day.

The following day was much the same story, with more amazing encounters with the mantas. A couple of our divers also hung out with a small pod of dolphin around the back side of the dive site. It’s always amazing here and you never know what might turn up. Even without the large pelagic creatures there is fantastic diving in and around the site. We almost always find several octopus and large moray eels as well schooling jacks and tuna. Day three and we were anchored at the navy base on Socorro island for our routine inspection by the small contingent of Mexican marines. By 1100 we were around the corner at “Punta Tosca” and back in the water. The current was hard and there was a lot of surge which made for a fairly short but adrenaline filled dive as the divers fought with the surge. A couple of reef sharks and four mantas were sighted and despite the work out most of the divers came up happy. By the time we splashed for the second dive of the day after lunch the currents had died right off and the site was much more what we were used to. I had intended to swim down and along the lava finger here towards the deeper water in the hope of seeing hammerheads. That plan changed when I dropped into the water and was met by a large black female manta that I don’t think I’d before.

The mantas all have unique markings on their ventral (under) sides and over time you begin to recognise certain individuals. In fact we send photographs of the mantas we see to a research organisation which helps us to track the population in this area. This particular manta was curious but wary. She would circle around me and the other divers who soon joined me and then evaporate into the blue, only to reappear a few minutes later to check us out again. This continued for several minutes, during which time I hovered a little above the lava ridge we were diving and watched her. When I was sure she had settled down, I altered my position in the water and raised a hand over head, slowly she swam over and hovered right above me allowing me to stroke her for a few moments before she headed around to check out other divers. Then she continued to swim long slow circuits around the divers, sometimes stopping and hovering in the current above the ridge to observe us or allow herself to be stroked. It’s still a mystery why the mantas here behave the way they do. All we know is that we are fortunate to be able see and interact the mantas here. Mantas are protected in Mexican waters but the fisherman often come to this area to fish and either by design or accident they take these wonderful animals from the ocean.

Finally we headed west for Roca Partida. When we arrived the weather and conditions were not as good as they can be, but still not too bad for this area of the Pacific. We had a very brief encounters with whale sharks and a manta and also a sea lion, which is very odd for Roca Partida. There were good sightings of hammerheads and the silver tip sharks seemed to be actively hunting in the schooling fish at the northern tip of the rock. It was a great trip. With some great diving and phenomenal wildlife encounters. For me it’s not just the underwater part if my work that I enjoy. I also like to be out on the skiffs. Once I have dropped off the divers I have the whole ocean pretty much to myself. I can just watch the waves or the seabirds and wonder what might be on the next horizon or what changes the ocean winds might bring.

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Back to Work

Posted on December 16th, 2008 by Buzz

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There it was gone. Another month of leave time has flashed by and I’m on a bus back to Cabo San Lucas to rejoin the Nautilus Explorer. I have, I believe just six trips out to the Revillagigedos Islands before I get another bunch of leave. That just does not seem right, but I guess a lot can happen in six trips out on the open ocean. I already have a bunch of stuff planned for the next time I’m off the boat and I’m looking forward to getting out of the Baja and into civilisation.
That’s then and this is now. The last week has been most relaxing. I stayed at a most tranquil and amazing place “Casa Bentley”. The Original casa dates from about 150 years ago and has been restored by retired geology professor Robert “Bob” Bentley. Over the last 20 years he has built and extended the casa to be a unique and charming getaway in the heart of old Todos Santos. I was upgraded to the fountain suite, a huge open plan room with cool stone floors and an very nice bathroom area which has a large shower and a jacuzzi bathtub. You can sit on the toilet and see up into the swimming pool thru a little porthole. Most odd. Directly outside the French doors on the shady terrace there is the fountain from which the room takes its name. Around the corner up a couple of steps is a kitchen area which is shared with the other guests. I seemed to be the only person using it which was nice. Around another corner and up a spiral staircase is the pool and a large sun terrace, which was directly above my suite. There are several other rooms and suites hidden in little nooks and down little passages. It’s a truly bizarre place. Once you’ve met Bob and chatted to him for a while you’ll figure out the entire casa is about as eccentric as he is. Built into the walls is Bob’s semi precious stone collection with lots of strange and wonderful cabachons set into the cement. You walk out of the beautiful gardens of the casa with it’s huge twisted rubber tree and onto the dusty side streets of Todos Santos. Only a short walk and you reach the paved bouganvilla lined roads of the town with its many art galleries and local crafts. There really are some great little places tucked away. Eating in Todos Santos is a real delight with local inexpensive taco stalls and more upmarket foreign restaurants sitting right next to each other. All serving great food. The Hotel California is on the main road and has a good bar and restaurant which serves a nice mojito. It is allegedly “The” Hotel California made famous by the Eagles song of the same name. I do believe however, that this was just a little clever marketing by a local entrepenur. Altough I can see why you would not want to leave Todos Santos.
A 20 minute walk from Casa Bentley had me at a fabulous deserted beach. The crashing Pacific on one side and a flat calm lagoon on the other. I would not contemplate swimming in the ocean here the rips and undertows are notorius and claim several lives every year. So I just sat and read and looked out and watched the humpback whales breaching a hundred yards or so off shore.
Not a bad way to wind down the trip before returning to work.
Oh wow. The bus is driving along the highway at the side of the ocean and I can see more whales breaching. You don’t get that on a number 52 from Arnold to Nottingham.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

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Reality Distortion Field

Posted on December 8th, 2008 by Buzz

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Holy cow ! Tempus fugit ! It hardly seems like a few days ago since I was on bus from Cabo to La Paz and now I’m back on a bus. This time from La Paz to Todos Santos. If you are going to be spending any time in Baja California Sur (the southern part of Baja, doh !). Then I strongly urge you to spend as little time as you can in Cabo San Lucas and head off to some of the more “real” locations and expose youself to a little local colour.
I’ve spent just over two weeks in and around La Paz. It has some great little beaches dotted around the coast,(always a good place for a beach) many of them with a small bar or restaurant serving locally caught fish. The beach at Tecolote is particularly nice especially on days with little or no wind. It has a great view of Espiritu Santo island and boat trips and snorkel tours are available from the beach. I’ve dived around Espiritu Santo on several occaisions and I strongly suggest that you at least head out to Los Isolotes. This small island off Espiritu Santo is home to large colony of friendly(ish) sea lions and is a great place to snorkel with these graceful and curious pinnipeds.
If you don’t want to eat “local” in La Paz then you could try the new Applebys which has sadly, recently sprouted up in the centre of La Paz along with a giant Walmart and a Burget King. It’s difficult to escape Americanisation anywhere these days but especially in central and southern America.
I stayed in a couple of places whilst in La Paz. The first along the main beach front area known as the Malecon. This was the Arumburo Suites a complex of three apartments in a building which has several offices above and below and bar on the ground floor. It was a little noisy from the bar at night but clean and fairly inexpensive. It can be rented on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis from about 45 US dollars a night if you rent it for a minimum of 5 nights. The bar downstairs is not too bad and is apparently one of the better bars I’m the town. Right next door is a Hertz hire car office, you’ll certainly need a car if you want to get around here. There are local buses which can get you to some of the beaches, but it’s way nicer to explore locally at your own pace.
The second place I stayed was a real top find (thank you Claudee) and I really highly recommend it. It’s situated about 20 minutes drive from La Paz near to El Centenario. It’s a cassita - little house, in the grounds of a err big house which is owned by Susan and Ira Folger. It has a great little kitchen a pool and use of the Barbeque. The beach is right there at the end of the garden and it is quiet, oh so quiet. I spent many days just sitting and reading or listening to audio books. Susan and Ira have a wealth of local knowledge and are very friendly and very helpful without being on your face. I won’t say what it cost, but certainly was not expensive. I can’t recommend this place highly enough if you want some peace and quiet. Especially as there is a reasonable Internet connection that works very well beside the pool.
Buses between the bigger towns are well priced and clean and pretty much run on time. There are two major bus services aguila which generally used by the locals and is very cheap and peninsula which is a little more tourist oriented and tend to be quicker and make less stops. The trip from La Paz to Todos Santos on aguila cost 93 pesos.
I’ll try and update you on Todos Santos before I get on the boat next week. Ah yes back to work. As usual I’m looking forward to getting back aboard and I’m especially looking forward to diving around the Revillagigedos. That said I’m already pretty sure what I’ll be up to in February when I’m off the boat again. I think I’ll fly to New Mexico and then hire a car for a few days and head to Bosque del Apache. Scott Bourne of the TWIP team goes there each Thanksgiving to photograph the huge numbers of birds that fly in. I’ve dome some checking and it looks like February is still a good time to be there. I can then drive the 650 miles to Denver, Colorado and spend a week or so with my great friends Brian & Jill Miller.
It’s no wonder time flys I always seem to have something planned. That maybe why my “reality distortion field” is beginning to waver slighty. I’ll most likely need to return to the UK over the summer to check on my house there and take care of things like renewing my passport. Hopefully I can find a couple of months work. Earn some real money and get back to the boat around October before the RDF shatters completly and I find myself getting sucked into the real world and trying to find a qualifying position in the rat race.
Have to go now and see if I can find more power crystals to keep the RDF from ripping apart.
Mobile Blogging from here.

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The Buzz Bag

Posted on December 6th, 2008 by Buzz


The Bag
Originally uploaded by buzzthediver

I remember, not so long ago a time when all I needed to pick up as I walked out of the door was my wallet and my keys. Then there was a mobile phone, then a PDA, then a USB stick. I had envisaged a day when all I would be picking up was some sort of PDA / Phone. This would contain my electronic cash and keys would not be needed as I’d get access to all the doors using my fingerprint or possibly my retina.
Well it’s just not happened. I don’t really have keys anymore as I don’t have a house ! or a car ! I do, however, have a backpack full of technology which seems to accompany me everywhere. As you can see from the photograph its contents are by no means trivial. Alright I know it’s my own fault for choosing a hobby (s) that need a lot of stuff. I have various cameras, lenses, and communication devices. None of which I can leave on the boat or in an apartment. Not because I fear for the security or safety of the gear. More because I don’t want to miss an opportunity. An opportunity to play with my toys and to record a changing world.
I suspect that even were I to re-join society at large and move back the UK that I would still cling onto these devices every-time I leave the house. This whole, blogging, flickr’ing thing has seeped into my psyche. I don’t consider it a bad thing. I’ve always had an interest in photography and the Internet and technology. All need to do now is find a way to make a living out of all this stuff.
Hmmm.
Now there’s an idea !
Perhaps I could even get some new toys, essential gadgets to help me. I think I’m going to need a bigger bag, oh and possibly a sherpa.

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Location, Location, Location.

Posted on December 1st, 2008 by Buzz


Baja Beach-15
Originally uploaded by buzzthediver

I’m enjoying being down in the Baja and having time to sit and do not very much at all. I’m making some time each day to grab my camera(s) and fire off a few frames. As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog I try and geotag the majority of the photographs that I upload to flickr. I have been using JetPhoto Studio for this and it has been very useful. During a recent random trawl around the Internet I stumbled across a new plug-in for Adobes Lightroom 2, which I am now using in preference to iPhoto. I’m by no means an expert or even a power user of Lightroom, but I am slowly getting to grips with it’s features.
I’ve been using a plug-in from Jeffrey Friedl for a while now that allows me to export directly from my Lightroom library to Flickr. This is very easy to use, has a bunch of great features and it means that I don’t end up with endless versions of my pictures scattered about my hard drives. The new plug-in I discovered is also from Jeffrey and it takes a GPX XML track log file (via GPSBabel) and injects the latitude and longitude into the EXIF metadata all from inside Lightroom. It makes my workflow for getting my pictures up onto Flickr a lot easier and means I can do almost everything I need to from within a single application.
My workflow after I’ve been out shooting now goes something like this:
Download pictures from camera into Lightroom and discard anything that I don’t think makes the grade. Dowload the track log from my GPS into GPSBabel and output as GPX file. In Lightroom go to Jeffrey’s GPS plug-in and inject the data from the GPX file into the metadata on the pictures I just shot. Adjust and crop the pictures as required. Select the ones I want for Flickr and export them using Jeffrey’s Flickr plug-in. Drink (n) cups of tea depending on the number of pictures and the internet connection speed.
Whatever system you are going to use it’s always worth checking around periodically to see if something new is available.

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