Freediving

We have two very different ship wrecks within Loreto’s National Park: the Diaz Ordaz & the C-54 Agustin Melgar.

The Diaz Ordaz was a large boat carrying loads of salt from the salt mines, located in the north of Carmen island. One day it caught fire and sank very shallow in the bay. The hull almost touches the surface, while its deepest side reaches 11 meters (35 feet). This ship wreck is the only reef in the surrounding area, and has gathered most of the reef life inside the bay.

The C-54 Agustin Melgar is located near Danzante island. It used to be a large II World War minesweeper, deliberately sunken to create an artificial reef. The top side is 12 meters (40 feet), and the bottom goes to 23 meters (75 feet). You can read more about it here.

Loreto is the place in Baja California Sur with more density and more biodiversity of invertebrates, and that includes corals.

Whereas stony coral is hard to come by in the Sea of Cortez, the soft coral thrives and creates large, thick forests. Along the bottom, coating walls and pinnacles, shallow and deep. For the advanced freediver, the black coral forests often offer great rewarding deep dives, where corals tend to be abundant, like the site called Esmeralda, or Punta Blanca in Coronados island. Shallow areas where currents are frequently experienced can offer fantastic drifts and abundant fish life.

Some deep seamounts are only accesible for the most dedicated and advanced freedivers, but the reward often matches the challenge, and the coral forests will offer a whimsical background to the large pelagic life. Examples of this are Mount Eden, with a depth exceeding 38 meters / 130 feet or the Abyss, in Carmen island.

The abrupt topography that has made Loreto so beautiful has also made our undewater seascapes incredible steep and diverse.

Among the different islands contained within the Marine Park, you can find several steep walls and big drops, often teeming with life. Many of these walls are easily accesible and present in every island, providing both easy and challenging sites.

Some walls come with a surprise, like the one in La Lobera, our sea lion colony. These furry fellows will tag along freedivers and make your dives extra fun. Other walls in Coronados island are found in Las Lajas, with several swimthroughs and reef life. Danzante island has a fantastic wall on its north end, the site we call Faro Norte, and reaches depths exceeding 30 meters /100 feet. Carmen island will amaze you with its verticality around the Abyss or El Arroyo.

Esmeralda and Punta Blanca are also a magnificent spot for more advanced freedivers, and offer some of the most stunning coral forests there is.

If there are walls and drops, there must be pinnacles too!

Pinnacle sites are a joy to explore. They always offer great sceneries as you drop, and often are havens of life. Most fish will gather in one side or the other looking for shelter against currents, creating fish hotspots where wildlife density could be quite amazing.

Pinnacles could also be a challenge, as they can drop deep. Some of the best examples are found south of Danzante island, like Neptune’s finger and The Twins.

Other pinnacles are suitable for beginners and advanced freedivers alike, like Piedra Blanca and Picachos, both in Carmen island.

In all cases, expect a plethora of life and differents habitats depending on depth.

Most of us are freedivers because the wildlife we can see and the magical interactions that we can witness. All this happens around reefs, where fish and other marine creatures find food and shelter.

Loreto counts with some of the best fish abundance and diversity numbers of the entire Baja California Sur. There are reefs of all kinds, shallow and deep, abrupt or flat, coral rich or rocky etc. They can be found in every island, although there are some that stand out.

The shallow seamount of La Choya is a no fishing area with a ludicrous amount of life, pelagic hunters and moray eels. Its several peaks and canyons and its shallow depth, between 5 to 15 meters / 15 to 50 feet makes this a playground for all levels, although some currents tend to be present.

Las Tijeras, at Coronados island is also a great spot with great variety. There we find shallow reefs and drops teeming with life, and deeper reefs along vertical walls coated in coral. Good for all levels.

In the remote side of Carmen, there is a reef we call Punta Dijon, and is presently one of the most diverse site there is in the Park. It has canyons, walls, pinnacles and coral reefs, all in single compact spot. Around this island you can also find shallow and easy dives, fantastic for beginners around the sea caves of Arroyo Blanco, and both shallow and deep reefs at Punta Tintorera.

Some other incredible reefs can be found in distant places, like Bajo Sandia in Montserrat island, with swimthroughs and rocky arches, abundant wildlife and sunken anchors. Punta Colorada and Piedra Ahogada, north of the Park, has some of the most pristine shallow coral reefs, full of color and life.