Sea Lion Colony

At one of our most southern dive sites, just prior to Los Frailes, the sea lion colony sits on tops of the rocks that descend down to a depth of about 60 feet. For those who have not experienced the thrill of diving with California Sea Lions, this is soething to make sure you check off the list! They are simply fantastic diving buddies, always up for a laugh. However they can often become the annoying dive buddy as they constantly interrupt your perfect framing of a nudibranch.

You start this dive close to shore, following the rocks quickly to a maximum depth of 60 feet. Watching the sea lions playing together and often showing off because you are there, (or blowing bubbles in your face) can only be classes as a once-in-a-lifetime SCUBA dive. The sea lion pups are in the water by May and June, and while they are very excited to see you, the mothers temd to try and keep them at a distance. The large bulls are stunning when you see them on the surface, they are huge (up to 850lb and 8 feet long), yet in the water they are as graceful as their young pups.

The dive is also excellent for all the fish species that are abound. You can see schools of barracuda as there are resident eagle rays that patrol the outer limits of the reef edge. It makes one wonder why these gentle giants are so often blamed for poor fish stocks, just do one dive on this reef and you will be able to tell all the fishermen your meet that this is just not true.

This is a dive for all levels of diving experience. However in late August most of the sea lions leave for La Paz, to ride out the possible hurricanes we imagine. They return at the beginning of October. So if you really want to dive with these giants, keeps those dates in mind. We can always let you know what the situation is with the sea lions, just ask. Also to take note, the colony sometimes heads out on fishing expeditions that can last several days, so as with any dive, your milage may vary.