Blog - The Day I Met JAWS

On July 24th of 2015, I joined a 10-day diving expedition that took place throughout the Mexican Pacific coast, along the Baja California peninsula. During this offshore trip we had 3 destinations planned, Rocas Alijos as the first stop, followed by the kelp forests at San Benito, finishing off with 3 full days at Guadalupe Island, the best place on earth to observe great white sharks in the wild.

The expedition was organized for up to around 30 guests divided into two large, fully equipped liveaboards. Although I had been diving for a while, this was my first experience off the grid, so far from shore, living, breathing, eating and sleeping in one. For the unfamiliar readers, the term liveaboard, refers to any boat designed primarily for living aboard, including all and any activities that will take place during that time.

The trip started off with a flight to La Paz, BCS, where I met with the whole group. We took a short drive to the hotel and stayed there for a single night, preparing for our departure to Puerto San Carlos the next morning.

I was beyond thrilled for this expedition, but at the time, I was also feeling a bit on edge, specially because I was not accompanied by any friend or relative, unlike others in the group. All this tension mixed with something I ate, got to the point where I started feeling sick, making me spend the entire night throwing up, unable to meet with everyone else for dinner. Fortunately for me, I got better right on time just before the departure the next day.

Once we arrived to San Carlos, we took a small boat ride to our corresponding 100ft plus liveaboard where each guest was appointed to their room. Surprisingly, the one I was first assigned to, suddenly started leaking, so for the rest of the expedition I had to change to a room that was right at the bow, which was a lot of fun during one particular night when the sea was a bit too rough. It almost felt like trying to sleep during a roller coaster ride. No complaints though, I was there happily getting familiarized with the ups and downs these experiences are made of.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

From the moment we left San Carlos, it felt unreal. Navigating so far from shore, in the open ocean, never felt so liberating. It’s worth mentioning that this was also one of my first approaches to photography and although the gear I brought with me was as basic as it could get, I loved the idea of capturing every part of the trip and materializing the whole experience through images and videos which I could then share with family and friends.

Rocas Alijos

24 hrs later we reached our first destination, Rocas Alijos. A small group of volcanic isles that descend deep into the ocean, located somewhere around 190 miles (300 km) west from the nearest coast. This site was 100% exploration, with no expectations whatsoever and despite the zero protection from fishing boats, we were lucky enough to spot a few juvenile sharks, turtles, moray eels and a wide range of fish.

On our second and last day here, as we ascended from a dive, late in the afternoon, we started to notice sharks were beginning to show up on our safety stop, around 15 ft from the surface. I was hoping that we could stay there with them for a while, but unfortunately we had to leave if we wanted to be on time for our next dive site according to schedule.

San Benito

And there we were, after another day or so, we reached San Benito, a site well known for their distinctive kelp forests which are basically kelp formations attached to the seafloor that eventually grow to the water surface and in time form impressive fantasy-like landscapes. One big ecosystem that is home to numerous cold-water species. I was very impressed with the dives here, but the water was cold, and without the proper underwater thermal protection, at 16ºc, it felt worse. Temperature underwater feels very different, and trust me when I say this, 1 single degree makes all the difference. I somehow managed to enjoy it as much as I could.

After we got the news that one of the crew members had a situation going on, we rushed to the nearest land site for a medical team to pick him up, while we finished the day improvising our dives there. The team made sure everything was OK before we started heading out to the final stop of the expedition.

Isla Guadalupe

Guadalupe. Where do I even begin?

For those who have never heard of this place, Guadalupe Island is a remote, oceanic island located 250 miles (400 km) southwest off the coast of Ensenada, recognized for its unique volcanic surface and the large population of great white sharks that come here seasonally every year, not to mention the impeccable conditions it offers. This was my first time visiting the island and from the 3 stops throughout the trip, this was the one I was most exited to see and for obvious reasons.

Guadalupe may have spectacular landscapes and pristine conditions, but cage diving with white sharks (topic for another day) is the primary activity here, organized in a way so that anyone can go down there and see these animals first hand. This experience is open to everyone, no diving experience needed.

In order to maintain the sharks close, bait is tied to the end of a rope, which is thrown into the water and maneuvered by the crew. Two types of cages, attached from the boat, are available to participants. There are one or two that stay on the surface and one additional cage that goes down to a depth of 35 feet, exclusively for certified divers who want to see the sharks from another perspective.

Shortly after dropping the anchor in the north bay of the island, where we stayed for the last 3 days of the trip, one of the crew members spotted the first shark. The excitement was all over the place. We are talking about the same species that portrayed the infamous shark from Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’, so it was perfectly clear that I was eager to leave the fictional character behind and meet the real shark.

All these years, the great white has been that one species that has represented every single thing we were taught to fear from sharks, and yet that same fear has been misplaced completely. Personally, I was always faithful to the idea that sharks were not the monsters from the movies, but one thing I learned from this experience is that knowing and seeing are 2 very different things.I was blown away. You would never expect such politeness and cautiousness from an animal of that caliber, but after countless hours underwater with them, you realize that they are far more than just a super predator with sharp teeth.

That’s what I was most impressed with, but this place seemed to have it all, the landscapes, the dives, the sharks, the unreal conditions and even the island itself has a unique energy of its own. And for the record, I’ve been multiple times to Guadalupe ever since, and it never gets old.

The expedition eventually came to an end with no less than a happy crew and some euphoric guests. Shortly after sharing photos and exchanging Facebook accounts, I recognized that this whole experience was a success mostly because it had the right people to share it with, and just to be clear, I’m not making the rest of the stuff any less exciting, but having friends or family around makes it a whole lot better.