The Sea of Cortez side of the arch is best for water sports. Along the 20 mile corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo lie many bays with excellent conditions for snorkeling and diving.
Bahia Santa Maria, located next to the Hotel Twin Dolphin and is one of the most popular sites, has no facilities so bring equipment and supplies with you. Most snorkel cruises head for this area, which can also be reached by car, taxi or bus. Dive sites are well offshore, requiring a boat, found at Chileno Bay, east of Santa Maria.
One popular dive site in this area is called the Blowhole, a 40 to 100 foot dive down the backside of a rock wall covered with gorgonians (sea fans). Guitarfish, small nurse sharks and sting rays are common. Snorkeling is also good in the area, best earlier in the day as winds churn the water and reduce visibility by afternoon. For amenities, Chileno Bay has restrooms and Cabo Acuadeportes Dive Shop has equipment rentals, soft drinks and bottled water.
Nearby Punta Palmilla offers fair to good snorkeling on the bay side between the point and anchored fishing boats. Rental equipment is available from the dive shop near the Palmilla fishing fleet office. Swimming is excellent along the beach near the hotel.
Past San Jose del Cabo and the fishing village of La Playita is the East Cape. The outback nature of the area can be daunting, but charms found here are worth the effort. Punta Gorda is seven miles off the main road, it's the gateway to Gorda Banks. This is also an excellent sportfishing area.
The banks offer challenging diving for strong, advanced divers only. The summit of the banks lies eight miles off shore in 110 to 140 feet of water which plays host to manta rays, hammerheads, gamefish, bullsharks and even whale sharks. Divers can fly Aereo Calafia for a thrilling and adventurous daytrip. Traveling on to Cabo Pulmo, you can visit the only living coral reef on the west coast of North America.
The best route is to follow Highway#1 northeast to La Ribera then south on the East Cape dirt road. The three hour round trip is well worth the drive to this protected marine sanctuary. Cabo Pulmo is a small but fast growing community featuring two dive shops, several restaurants, beach cabanas and an airtank filling service.
Aereo Calafia also offers flights to this area for kayaking, diving and snorkeling. The twenty minute ride with gear, lunch and ground transportation runs about $105. Nomadas del Baja and Los Lobos del Mar both offer combination snorkel and kayak trips here as well.
The Pulmo reef is a unique phenomenon in the Sea of Cortez. When snorkeling or diving, remember not to stand on or touch the coral as this will kill it. The reef is gradually exposed when the tide is down revealing beautiful tide pools.
Not much has changed since Steinbeck and Doc Ricketts were here in 1940, thanks to stringent conservation measures. Diving arrangements should be made in advance and two tank dives cost about $120 per person.
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