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Roca Rocks!
Roca Partida, aka "Split Rock" in English, is by far the smallest of the island destinations. It's not really an island at all, merely a pretty big rock that's home to seabirds and not much else! Underwater, of course, it‚s an entirely different story than Roca's modest topside presence. It's an impressive pinnacle / seamount, with plunging vertical walls, located dead center in the middle of nowhere, and a giant magnet for pelagic marine life. Occasionally, "Roca", as we call it, is quiet and serene underwater. That‚s rare. More often, it "rocks" to big animal tunes of all types. Giant schools of fish, sharks, whale sharks, and other marine life provide a steady parade of once in a lifetime experiences for visiting divers! A recent trip, several weeks ago, on the cusp between our Humpback Whale Season and Spring Seasons in Socorro, was a veritable rock concert at Roca! Even our most experienced dive guides, with six seasons or more in a row with us, came away in awe of the underwater spectacle of Roca Partida. Literally, everywhere you looked, fish were everywhere . Intermingled with the giant schools of fish were sharks. Up, down, left, and right. So many that the Hammerheads were actually mixed in with Galapagos, Dusky Sharks, AND Silvertips, something we haven't seen in 14 years! Activity was at a fever pitch, even in this very, very fishy place. Maybe it was the weather; it was calm enough for us to anchor out there for a full three days (unusual by itself since we usually only spend a day or two at most there). But the band kept playing underwater, and no one wanted to leave! About the only big animal missing was either a Whale Shark or Humpback Whale (they are almost never seen on the same trip). Well, it took a couple of hours for that to change, and for two days all of the guests onboard had the very special opportunity to snorkel or dive with a Humpback Cow and Calf. For some of the guests, on multiple occasions! Spring Season is in full swing mode now at Socorro, and it is, indeed "rockin". Dolphins, Hammers, Duskies, Galapagos Sharks, giant towering schools of jacks, and more.
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