Diving in Puerto Vallarta MX

[lostnbrownsmead]

Hello Everybody can any one recommend a dive shop in Puerto Vallarta? My Ship is stopping there for mid patrol break and I get to go diving

Thanks Jay

[sparky]

OH SURE RUB IT IN MURPH

I hope the vis is so bad you bump your head on a the boat when you try to get back in the damn thing. ](*,)


Im not the least bit jelious can you tell
I hope you have a good time and send us lots of pictures to droll over

ill see you when you get home

Sparky

[lostnbrownsmead]

I went Diving today with Valarta Adventures. Had a very nice dive at Mareitas Island. We saw moray eels, several sea horses and a small nudibranch and much more. on the way out to the dive site we saw a humpback whale breaching real cool. the vis varied from 30 to 40 ft. water temp was 66 degrees, brr in a 3 mil I think tomorrow Im going to use my drysuit. Valarta Adventures was a nice dive operation. They used a large catamaran for the boat so it at first I was a little concerned because of a of the snorkellers on the boat but they used several pangas to support the divers and it worked out rather well. We had 5 divers and a dive master for the first dive and 6 divers, a dive master and a videographer for the second dive. On the second dive we swam thru several holes in the rock faces and saw a zebra moray. and lots of fish.
It was a very nice Day for diving. Tomorow I will be Diving with Chicos Dive shop. I will let you know how it goes.

Jay

[sparky]

OH MAN: you have the best dive trips when your not diving here I am so jelious


HEY WHERE AARE THE PICTURES????????????????

[DiverDown]

wow thanks for the dive report murph.. one of these days i will dive tropical.. u get any pics?????

[Tangfish]

Awesome! Thanks for the dive report, keep em coming

[lostnbrownsmead]

When I get back from this mornings dive I will post pictures. Sparky I found a pretty nudibranck that I will post a picture of. I am learning the best settings for the camera so today I am going to try different settings.

Jay

[sparky]

Cool on the nudi you kow those little guys are my favorite critter

i knew it would not take you long to figure out that camera, but we got some good shots when we dove with it

I realy need to get me one of those things beats my 35 mill hands down
I was a little worried about getting one till I seen the resolts we got with yuors.

Sparky

[Dave]

TOTALLY COOL, I'm with Sparky,,,Where's the pics????

[sparky]

Jay was haveing some trouble getting a post to this thread.
And sent me his dive report in a email so now im shareing it with you guys as jay had requested me to do


From Lostinbrownsmead:
I went Diving with Chicos Scuba at Los Arcos. The dive site was nice with
lots to see but the visibility 5 to 15 ft at times and maybe 25 at times so
not so good. We swam out by the wall and it sure drops off from 50 ft to
the abyss. I saw my first sea snake and Stone fish unfortunately I did not
have my camera set right so the flash did not fire so I have a bunch of
green pictures (anybody know how to fix that ](*,) I saw a lot of moray
eels and puffer fish and several small sting rays. I dove with two people
from England and my dive buddy was from Wisconsin (He was great at pointing
out things to photograph). The dive operation was good but the dive master
was in to big of a hurry to swim around the dive site, as I like to go slow
and enjoy the scenery and now take pictures. The second dive we had to swim
through a small canyon where the current was really going fast against us.
In the canyon there were lots of puffer fish just trying to stay out of the
current, and occasionaly they would get swept out and you would see them
swimming against the current but going backwards. Well our time in Peurto
Vallarta is at end and we have to head out to go to work. I will post
pictures tonight


Jay

[lostnbrownsmead]

Thanks Sparky for posting the dive report.

I have posted a few pictures from my dives more to follow as our Internet allows. (wrong ships course for satelite reception).

Jay

[John Rawlings]

Thanks Sparky for posting the dive report.

I have posted a few pictures from my dives more to follow as our Internet allows. (wrong ships course for satelite reception).

Jay

OK....I give up....where do you find the photos on this site?

[sparky]

hey john try this link it might help

http://www.nwdiveclub.com/gallery/v/
you have to join the Gallery separate from the forms
i dont know why

but you have got to post some of your grate shots here as well

Sparky

[Tangfish]

wow, those are some terrific photos, I like the yellow DUI suit too!

[John Rawlings]

Hi, Jay!

One of your photos is entitled "Camo Fish" and you ask if anyone knows what it is. Well, it is a "Large Banded Blenny", and is also known at the "Panamic Fanged Blenny". Its scientific name is Ophioblennius steindachneri. It is called "Chupa Piedra" or "Trambolliti Negro" in Mexico and Central America. They can be found from Baja, California in the North to as far south as Peru.

Three absolutely excellent books for looking up fishes on the Western Coast of Mexico and the Seaof Cortez are:

Reef Fish Identification - Galapagos, by Paul Humann.

Reef Fish Identification - Baja to Panama, by Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach.

Sea of Cortez Marine Animals, by Daniel W. Gotshall.

All three are packed with information and full color photographs.

Best regards!

John

[lostnbrownsmead]

Thanks I will update the title on the fish.

Jay

[lostnbrownsmead]

Now that I am taking pictures I will have to buy some fish ID books so I can properly title to fish that I find. John thanks for the book titles.

I just posted several more pictures. So much to learn on how to use my camera.

Jay

[John Rawlings]

Ahhhhh......you're taking me to Mexico in my mind with your photos! For 6 straight years I traveled down to the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California) and photographed everything from the tiniest of shrimp all the way up to Blue Whales. It's been a long time since I was down there and I miss it!

Regarding the shots you have just posted:

"Blue Fish" is an old friend of mine! It is a Giant Damselfish, Microspathodon dorsalis, or, in the local lingo, "Castanuela gigante". They are big....they are blue....and they are curious!

"Small Blue Fish" is a juvenile Cortez Damselfish, Segastes rectifaenum, called "Jaqueta de Cortes" in Baja. They are this gorgeous flourescent blue when they are young and turn dull and brownish as adults.

The stingray is a Reef Stingray, Urobatis conentricus, known as "Ray Redonda de Arrecife" down South.

The urchin is pretty common and has a common name to go with it. It is a "Brown Urchin", Tripneustes depressus, and can be found from La Paz in the Sea of Cortez to the Galapagos.

The Sea Star also has a rather dull name. It is a "Tan Star", Phataria unifascialis, and can be found from the upper North of the Sea of Cortez all the way down to Peru. They can be identified by the two orange stripes going down each arm

The sea cucumber is called a Giant Sea Cucumber, Isostickopus fuscus, and also is quite common from the Baja Peninsula dpown to Ecuador, including the Galapagos Islands.

One other book I forgot to mention is Sea of Cortez Marine Invertebrates, A Guide for the Pacific Coast, Mexico to Ecuador, by Alex Kerstitch. It MAY be out of print now.

All of the books I have mentioned are paperback/softcover. They are all available from many sources, but I KNOW that they are available from Sea Challengers Natural History Books, a local company located in Gig Harbor, Washington. Their web site address is:

http://www.seachallengers.com/

- John