Malpelo Special Expedition | Sea Hunter | July, 2023

Sandra Bessudo

We kick-started this special expedition to Malpelo, Colombia by setting sail from the charming town of Golfito, in the southern part of Costa Rica. Bathed in the warmth of the sun and the serene flat sea, the journey across was as smooth as could be.

Day 1: First Dives at Arrecife and La Nevera

Sandra Bessudo

Upon arriving at Malpelo, our inaugural dive led us to Arrecife, a remarkable underwater structure with vivid hard corals and healthy colonies of Phosiolphoras coral. We were greeted by two graceful Galapagos sharks and a couple of friendly white tips – a real treat on our first day here!

Our second dive took us to La Nevera, a bustling cleaning station filled with king angelfish. The hammerhead sharks that utilized the station were a sight to behold. As for our third dive, we explored D’Artaniang, featuring impressive rock formations, an array of snappers, white tips, and two more Galapagos sharks.

Day 2: Return to D’Artaniang and More

Sandra Bessudo

We started our second day by revisiting D’Artaniang, which was full of morey eels. Another dive at La Nevera showed us many hammerheads, now in small groups. The day’s third dive was at Bajo El Mounstro, an extensive rock formation descending into deep waters. We moved around the rock, eventually managing to navigate to the main rock and finish at La Cara Del Fantasma (the Face of the Ghost).

Day 3: Bajo Suani and Bajo Junior Dives

Sandra Bessudo

Day three we explored Bajo Suani, Bajo Junior and Bajo El Anclé. At Bajo Suani we saw massive scorpionfish, king angels and barberfish as well as almaco jacks, skipper jacks, whitetip reef sharks and so many wahoos during the drift. Not as active, Bajo Junior still showed us some fish and two magnificent eagle rays. Bajo El Anclé was a rock formation slightly separate from the main rock, proving to be a challenging dive due to strong currents. We still managed to see lots of fish and eels there, and jacks hunting.

Day 4: La Catedral and Return to Bajo Suani

Sandra Bessudo

Our diving adventure at La Catedral reminded us a lot of Cocos Island’s epic arch at Big Dos Amigos. This one was full of jordan snappers! The next dive at Bajo Suani was as lively as before, filled with fish, snappers, scorpion fish, morey eels and creole fish. Our third dive at la Pared Del Naufrago, a vertical wall descending over 40 meters, offered sightings of two eagle rays and a school of snappers.

Day 5: The Best of Malpelo, The Most Active Dive Site of All

Sandra Bessudo

Day five was perhaps the highlight of the trip. We dove in La Nevera, which was highly active with hammerheads, Galapagos and eagle rays swimming around. Then we explored La Gringa, a rock formation south of the island. Although we didn’t see any sharks there, we saw so many fish and had the opportunity to clean up discarded fishing line from the bottom.

Our final dive began at a place called Altar de Virginia, and took us along the wall to La Cara Del Fantasma. Here, we happened upon a school of Pacific barracudas and one pregnant whitetip reef shark. Visibility was excellent, and the lack of current allowed us to navigate to Bajo Del Mounstruo to finish the trip amidst a school of beautiful creole fish…

Although we’d hoped to see more sharks, the warm water temperatures and lack of strong currents made for a wonderful journey. While we enjoyed the beauty of the rock formations, swim throughs, and seamounts, the abundant morey eels, and expansive cleaning stations packed with fish made every dive an unforgettable journey. Plus, the rare sight of a humpback whale jumping was a delightful bonus! At the end of it all, every diver was brimming with joy, cherishing the time spent underwater and, above all, safe and sound.