DIY snorkelling around la Paz?

[p.blz]

Currently on a surf trip, have a rental car and gear...can anyone suggest a spot where we can just pull up and get in the water and see some wicked marine life?

Thanks in advance.

[Patarero]

If you want to drive a ways south, Cabo pulmo, one of the few remaining reefs on the coast. Check spearboard for better beta closer to la paz.

[TBS]

Sadly, there isn't. There's a lot of pollution in close and a lot of working vessels. And the water is churned this time of year

Spend the money to get a boat out to los Illotes and play with the sea lions. Many times you can get a cheap rate if there's already divers going out.

Edit - Cabo Pulmo is cool - town is off the grid and only living reef on west coast of North America. It's a Mexican National Park There's a turtle rookery there too.

[iceman]

Looking at the satellite image, if you are in La Paz, for closeness I'd head out Rte 11 towards Punta Ballandro, where it more or less ends. The whole way out there on your left are these funky little bays and beaches and rocky points, barely a structure in sight. There's a big ferry terminal and a hotel maybe 20 miles out of La Paz and then nothing pretty much. I'd say just drive out there and see what's what.

[stalefish3169]

Playa Balandra and Playa El Tecolote are probably your best bets for DIY. They are about 20 minutes north of La Paz. However, I highly recommend you go out to Isla de Espiritu Santu if you have the means. I did the snorkeling with sea lions day trip with Punta Baja Tours in November and it was amazeballs... Seriously one of the coolest things I've ever done. They also do snorkeling with whale sharks which sounds nutty rad!

[BmillsSkier]

Just curious re: snorkeling with sea lions. Don't Great Whites tend to eat sea lions? Did you get the feeling you were snorkeling with their dinner?

Without ever having snorkeled there, or with sea lions for that matter, I can assure you that the mental image of a White rocketing up from the depths straight for the surface of tasty man and seal meat would be the only thing on my mind the entire time.

[p.blz]

Thanks for all your help guys, will have a look sometime in the next few days and report back.

[digitaldeath]

dope thread

[Patarero]

If you do opt for the tour route, check out Palapas Ventana to the south. Good time of year for whales, whale sharks and that type of stuff.

[Timberridge]

Just curious re: snorkeling with sea lions. Don't Great Whites tend to eat sea lions? Did you get the feeling you were snorkeling with their dinner?

Without ever having snorkeled there, or with sea lions for that matter, I can assure you that the mental image of a White rocketing up from the depths straight for the surface of tasty man and seal meat would be the only thing on my mind the entire time.

In which case think of it as p.biz sacrificing himself to save that one sea lion who's not quite as fast as the other sea lions. His family will be comforted in the fact that his death was not without purpose.

[TBS]

Just curious re: snorkeling with sea lions. Don't Great Whites tend to eat sea lions? Did you get the feeling you were snorkeling with their dinner?

Without ever having snorkeled there, or with sea lions for that matter, I can assure you that the mental image of a White rocketing up from the depths straight for the surface of tasty man and seal meat would be the only thing on my mind the entire time.

FWIW, I was diving with the sea lions at los Illotes, not snorkeling. We did have a couple on the boat who were snorkeling.
Saw some sharks there but no great whites. Was mostly concerned with the bull lions, who were quite "territorial" about their brood.

Some photos

[BmillsSkier]

In which case think of it as p.biz sacrificing himself to save that one sea lion who's not quite as fast as the other sea lions. His family will be comforted in the fact that his death was not without purpose.

It makes for a very noble engraving on the tombstone.

"He died, so that they may live"

[stalefish3169]

Just curious re: snorkeling with sea lions. Don't Great Whites tend to eat sea lions? Did you get the feeling you were snorkeling with their dinner?

Without ever having snorkeled there, or with sea lions for that matter, I can assure you that the mental image of a White rocketing up from the depths straight for the surface of tasty man and seal meat would be the only thing on my mind the entire time.

I definitely feel way more scared of sharks while surfing at home in Orgeon. haha There are White Sharks in the Sea of Cortez, but I believe they are pretty rare.

FWIW, these are the GOOG photo results from right where I went.

[BmillsSkier]

I definitely feel way more scared of sharks while surfing at home in Orgeon. haha There are White Sharks in the Sea of Cortez, but I believe they are pretty rare.

FWIW, these are the GOOG photo results from right where I went.

Cool looking place and not what I was expecting. (I was thinking diving with sea lions in more of a California environment I guess)

On a related note, how cool are sea lions? They're like the Border Collies of the ocean - fast, agile, smart, friendly. If I had an above ground pool and a reliable herring guy I'd pick up a couple.

[stalefish3169]

Cool looking place and not what I was expecting. (I was thinking diving with sea lions in more of a California environment I guess)

On a related note, how cool are sea lions? They're like the Border Collies of the ocean - fast, agile, smart, friendly. If I had an above ground pool and a reliable herring guy I'd pick up a couple.

Yeah, the place is amazing!

Here are some more generic GOOG images. The day that I spent there was one of the only ones in my life when I truly regretted not having a GoPro.






The small little island nubbin' on the far left is the sea lion colony.

[plugboots]

Pay for the boat ride/tour to Espirito Santo. We went in 2013 and I filmed a lot of snorkelling with a shitty video camera. Here's some seal footage:

There's also some pretty good DIY snorkeling near Cabo, 2 hours south.

[p.blz]

Ended up taking the boat out to isla espiritu santo which was a great day in a fantastic setting. Unfortunately, due to high winds and rough seas, we were not able to do the snorkelling with sea-lions deal and were limited to about 15 min in the water over some coral in one of the protected bays. It was a cool experience to be sure, and the guides made the best of the conditions, but pretty light on the actual snorkelling.