The trip actually started 2 days before we got to the boat. We had to show proof of our Covid-19-free status. I used an at-home, proctored test to verify my lack of virii.On the drive down to Puerto Penasco, we executed a coin challenge via text. Bob bought the beers.We arrived a day early, and stayed at David’s luxurious narco villa. We also found where the boat was moored. We should have been suspicious when we saw how comfortable it looked floating there all tied up.Bob enjoys the view of the shrimping fleet from the upper deck of the Rocio del Mar.There was a nice view as the sun set on our first night of waiting for the harbormaster to let us leave the port.Steve and Calum continued their tradition of shaving Steve’s head on the first night of the trip.The tanks were full, the gear was set up, but we weren’t going anywhere. Saddest senset ever.I walked off the boat to take some pictures. As I was coming back, I saw Nic strolling on the dive deck.Downtown Rocky Point is known for its art. Here’s a statue of a guy with a big stick and an even bigger fish.At night, the neighborhoods are filled with the sound of stories about the legendary shrimp wrangler, the father of today’s fishing industry.The seven colors symbolize the seven letters in the name of the town.After two nights in the port, the Rocio del Mar’s smaller, slower, uglier sister ship, the Quino el Guardian finally untied from us and floated away.You know it’s time to go when the crew use the crane to move the stairs onto the boat.There were a lot of pelicans the first day, in addition to the boobies. This is my favorite picture of a pelican with a pelican in it.Another pelicanThis is David in my favorite picture of a pelican without a pelican in it.The Quino left ahead of us, but the Rocio’s superior propulsion system soon brought us alongside. We called an impromptu wardrobe change to menace them appropriately.Steve in his pirate gear. Wait… Steve the pirate?The gear looks much happier, now that underway. Rocky Point is back there somewhere.Another big nudibranch. This one’s a giant – it’s probably close to three inches long. And its gills are growing out of its lower back.David swimming past a bunch of very orange coral.A basket starfish wrapped around a bumpy coral.Another anenome. Remember, he’s not an enemy. As long as you don’t touch him.A bullseye guitar fish. These are like the body of a stingray with the tail of a shark. And then for some reason, they can also shock like an electric eel. You don’t mess with the guitarfish.An arrow crab. Thi sone is somehow creepier lookign than most.An anenome disguised as a bouquet of… something.Sea lions are super cute and wicked fast under water. On pretty much every dive, they’s come zipping over and zoom around us.Another sea lion with a bunch of her friends behind her. This was the best picture I managed to get of one of them. She came right at me, and then swerved around me at the last second – That’s one of their favorite things to do. Under water they swim way faster than I can run on land.Crown of Thorns starfish. There must be different varieties of these, because I’ve seen green ones in Fiji.Part of a wall with lots of oceany critters hanging on to it.On the way to the surface at the end of the first night dive, I wound up in the middle of a bait ball. It’s basically a huge school of panicked fish about 1 inch long. I managed to snap this picture with a few of them in focus.Nic with his video setupI’m thinking some kind of anemone. I just barely tweaked the color to make it look like it did in real life.Another smiling eelOne of the few turtles we saw. I couldn’t tell what was goint on with the hermit crabs, but it reminds me of a classic fable.Bob swimming past some cool coralIt’s pretty unusual to see two eels sharing a hole.A festive, spotted nudibranch.Another nudibranch. This one is all spikey. And a bit out of focus. Sorry.I don’t know what this is, but luckily our dive guide managed to identify it as “Some kind of eggs, maybe.”This is the most out-of-his-hole picture I managed to get of a jawfish.A giant jawfish. Regular jawfish are about the size of my middle finger. This guy’s head is about the size of a softball.There are fish out there who love to sit on brightly colored coralThis is what people look like underwaterThis is some kind of nudibranch. They’re called that because their bronchial organs are hanging out all naked.A big clam all opened upThey call this a hogfish because all the good fish names were taken.This octopus has himself tucked into a nice safe spot. He has his arms wrapped around his head, and he can still see out.
