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Dive Review of Quino El Guardian in
Mexico (Western)/Sea of Cortez

Quino El Guardian : "Bunk Bed Was Like a Coffin", Sep, 2024,

by Dean C, CO, US (Reviewer Reviewer 6 reports with 8 Helpful votes). Report 13101.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations For Subscribers Only Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude For Subscribers Only Environmental Sensitivity For Subscribers Only
Dive Operation For Subscribers Only Shore Diving For Subscribers Only
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ For Subscribers Only
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced For Subscribers Only
Comments Bunk Bed Was Like a Coffin

I spent a week diving on Mexican Liveaboards’ boat Quino El Guardian in September 2024 in the Sea of Cortez. The itinerary started in Puerto Peñasco and made it as far south as the Midriff Islands. The boat wasn’t even half full with only 7 passengers out of 18 berths. There are a few reasons for this which I’ll highlight below but it worked for us. It was a good week of solid diving but not mind blowing like Socorro, Malpelo, or Indonesia. It is a worthy trip nonetheless and conveniently located to the Western US.

With diving locations like Punta Diablo, Friday the 13th falling at the end of the itinerary, and a tropical storm on the prowl in the Sea of Cortez may sound like a recipe for loads of drama. Happily, there was none other than repositioning to the north a day early to avoid the storm. When we returned, Puerto Peñasco was closed to outbound traffic which did delay the departure of their sister ship Rocio Del Mar.

The diving was solid but lacking in a lot of bigger creatures other than sea lions which were the stars of the trip. They are always entertaining as they sveltely twisted and turned around us. They seemed to smirk at our lack of mobility as they zoomed past and greedily hogged the attention of videographers. Locations like Nudi Cove delivered for macro photographers with many varieties of the colorful critters. We even spotted a couple of frog fish. One was a lemon-yellow color hiding in the black coral, this, of course, was also a matching yellow color. In another location, a frog fish with a purplish tone was hiding in a seam of a rock formation. Finding it was an impressive discovery by one of our divers.

A few hammerheads were visible in the distance but they quickly turned tail when they were spotted unfortunately. No other sharks were seen except whale sharks on the last day. Snorkeling with them was part of the itinerary. Always rewardi ... Subscribe to get the full story. For Subscribers Only  Active subscribers continue reading here
Websites Quino El Guardian   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Caribbean, Indonesia, Fiji, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, Florida, California, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Red Sea, and other inland reservoirs.
Closest Airport Phoenix Getting There Colorado to Phoenix. Van to boat in Puerto Peñasco

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm, no currents
Water Temp 84-91°F / 29-33°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 10-70 Ft/ 3-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Dive as a loose group and limited to 50 min dives.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks > 2
Turtles > 2 Whales 1 or 2
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish For Subscribers Only
Small Critters For Subscribers Only Large Fish For Subscribers Only
Large Pelagics For Subscribers Only

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter For Subscribers Only Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's For Subscribers Only Shore Facilities For Subscribers Only
UW Photo Comments Provided a camera table with charging stations in the center of the dive deck that had air hoses for drying cameras. Could get crowded. Rinse bucket could be bigger. ... Subscribe to get the full story. For Subscribers Only  Active subscribers continue reading here
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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