Apart from an occasional over-achieving wave, the seas are calm, considering the time and place. We make the 26-hour journey across 260 miles of open ocean, heading southwest of the Baja Peninsula to the Revillagigedo Archipelago, also known as the Socorros. The boat gently rolls from side to side under the blue skies, each hour getting us closer to our destination.

Finally our first stop appears on the horizon. As we approach Isla San Benedicto we are greeted by playful dolphins, riding the bow. As one of the divers leans over the edge to take a picture, a dolphin jumps out of the water and falls back in, soaking the photographer. We make our way to the check out dive as the island towers over us, rocky slopes raked by millions of years of erosion creating a landscape straight out of a science fiction movie.

Socorro is a prime destination for pelagics, known best for its graceful giants: the Pacific mantas. Photographers from all over the world come here for some of the best manta encounters. I am not disappointed.

We are anxious to get in the water after the long boat ride. The dive site, El Boiler, is a cleaning station, where endemic Clarion Angelfish help rid mantas of parasites. I get in the water full of anticipation. We swim around the top of the rock, where the cleaning station is located and are not surprised to see one of the mantas slowly swimming overhead. These giant creatures seem to be fond of interaction with divers and will swim right above you, getting tickled by bubbles. They are known to recognize individual divers, and if they enjoy the interaction, they will come back for more. It’s a great opportunity for close-up photos (although at times you will try to get away, to fit the whole manta in the frame).

It’s not uncommon, as we learn the next day, to have more than one manta cruising around at a time. The guides know the mantas well and can tell them apart by the distinct patterns on their bellies. My favorite is the black manta--one I call the Black Devil. It seems to enjoy my bubbles and blocks me from coming up to the surface from just a couple feet of water several times, making me laugh, thus making more bubbles.

The experience of being up close and personal with mantas is surreal and exhilarating. Once you shake off the amazement though, you realize that there is so much more to dive sites around San Benedicto.

El Boiler is a great place to look for eels of all patterns and sizes, octopuses and flounders, as well as hammerheads and Galapagos sharks.

El Canon, another of San Benedicto’s dive sites, is the place for scalloped hammerhead encounters, dolphins passing by and an occasional manta ray. What you might not expect to find in this big animal hot spot is a tiny frogfish. I’m not expecting it, so I’m surprised when our dive guide, Dave, points one out. I had been trying to get a shot of an octopus that was just about to move out of its hole, and I wasn’t paying much attention to my surroundings. I was so focused I didn’t notice the critter posed right in front of my lens.

El Canon is a semi-circle with sand in the middle and a rocky edge. Off the rocks, deep down below, you can see the shapes of dozens of hammerheads swimming by in schools. Due to currents, the water at El Canon can be quite murky, which causes boosts of adrenaline when a curious lone hammerhead suddenly emerges from the gloom.

As we are swimming along the edge of the rocks, we hear a distinct whistling sound - there are dolphins in the area. Soon enough the familiar shapes start darting around us. They are in the mood to play, stopping in front of the lens, turning upside down and performing their favorite trick: suspending themselves motionless just below you and watching you sink with them, unaware of your depth changing until your ears let you know you’re getting deeper and deeper. Then a school of jacks comes into view and the dolphins lose all interest in the divers, finding chasing the fish around more amusing. These highly intelligent creatures need constant entertainment to stick around.

After a couple of days at San Benedicto, we start a long boat ride farther out into the ocean. Our destination: Roca Partida. This island, reduced by millions of years of erosion to a rock sticking out of the water, is surrounded by hundreds of miles of the Pacific. It is a beacon for underwater travelers, as well as home to a healthy population of white tip reef sharks, eels, urchins and reef fish like damsels, hogfish and big schools of jacks.

The east side of the rock is a more gentle slope, with small shelves and spaces filled with white tip sharks, stacked on top of each other, their tails moving with the surge. Size seems to matter here-- the bigger sharks occupy some shelves, while the smaller ones stay together on others.

Months of May and November bring warmer water along with the great ocean migrators: the whale sharks. One whale shark is a treat, and occasionally you will see two on the same dive. The small whale shark we see is very curious and passes through the group many times, giving everyone plenty of photo opportunities and a chance to swim side to side with the biggest fish in the ocean.

Not every dive takes place on the rock though. The action is in the blue. When nothing is going on directly on the dive site, the dive guides swim out into the great wide open. Though having no point of reference, like a bottom or a wall, can be confusing, it’s worth it. There’s a good chance of seeing huge schools of skipjacks or big yellowfin tuna, and strong currents that sweep around Roca attract Galapagos sharks and hammerheads.

One afternoon I am putting my wetsuit away when I hear Dave calling, “Baitball!” I quickly get back in my wetsuit, grab the camera and scramble into the panga. We make our way toward the horizon, where dozens of birds are diving into the water - a good indication there’s a big school of tiny fish just under the surface. Baitballs are at the bottom of the food chain and attract all kinds of predators, like dolphins, marlins and silky sharks. They fall apart fast, so we know we have to get in the water as soon as possible.

We roll in amongst the diving birds, and as soon as the bubbles clear out I see a silky shark speeding my way. I put the camera between us, and it hits the dome the minute I press the trigger. My adrenaline levels instantly shoot up. I realize there are silkies darting about all around me. Dave is in the water shooting away, right in the middle of the action, with sharks going through the little fish and straight into the camera.

When the water clears out, we climb back into the panga and start for another flock of birds over the water. We jump in as soon as the panga stops and are rewarded with not one, but six marlins swimming around. As soon as the baitball moves, we are back in the panga. Every splash into the water brings new sightings, until what is left of the baitball falls apart. Tired but happy, we make our way back to the boat.

The Socorros are known for mantas and you may think that once you’re done interacting with those amazing creatures, you have seen the best. Don’t miss an opportunity to get in the water though--the persistent will be awarded. We saw more action here and were surprised by more sightings in a week than we could imagine. Every dive brought something new to the table, with more photo opportunities and amazing encounters than I could hope for.

The secret to capturing the best of Socorros is to never miss out on an opportunity. This is the ultimate wilderness, where the conditions change by the minute, like the ever-moving baitballs. If you’re not there, you’re going to miss it.