Roca Partida

An isolated volcanic stub 100 metres long and 8 metres wide that splits into two guano white peaks about 110 nautical miles west of Socorro Island, plunging straight to over 50m on every side. Ledges on the north face hold stacks of sleeping whitetip reef sharks by day, while the surrounding blue draws a near constant rotation of scalloped hammerheads, silvertips, Galapagos sharks, yellowfin tuna and the occasional silky shark or whale shark passing through. Giant Pacific manta rays and bottlenose dolphins use the rock as a meeting point, and February-April brings the songs of humpback whales loud enough to feel through the chest. A single dive often means dropping into hard current, drifting along the wall, then hanging in the blue waiting for the next pelagic to materialise.