Day 4 – Las Ánimas & San José Island: In Search of Hammerheads
Martin Gomez Sep 30, 2026
A Week in the Sea of Cortez Aboard the Valentina
Day 4 – Las Ánimas & San José Island: In Search of Hammerheads
During the previous night, while we slept aboard the Valentina, the boat continued its journey north.
Our destination was San José Island, and more specifically one of the dive sites we had been especially excited to visit:
Las Ánimas.
The main attraction—and certainly the encounter everyone was hoping for—was the possibility of diving with schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks.
After missing them at Los Islotes, we had another opportunity.
Maybe today would be the day.
But the Sea of Cortez had been experiencing some unusual conditions.
And those conditions were changing what we were finding underwater.
88°F Water!
One of the biggest surprises of the trip was the water temperature.
We were seeing temperatures approaching an incredible 88°F.
The water was so warm that wetsuits were almost unnecessary.
For most of these dives, a rash guard and board shorts were all we needed.
There is something wonderfully liberating about diving without a heavy wetsuit: less weight, less bulk and an incredible feeling of freedom underwater.
But there was another side to those warm temperatures.
Conditions associated with unusually warm water in the region meant that some of the larger pelagic animals we had hoped to encounter were simply not around in the numbers we wanted.
The visibility, however, was excellent.
We regularly had more than 50 feet of visibility, and at times it seemed closer to 80 feet.
Warm, blue and clear water.
Plenty of marine life.
But the big pelagics remained elusive.
Lorenzo Leads the Search Again
Once again, Lorenzo's decades of experience in the Sea of Cortez became especially valuable.
We descended and followed his lead, moving away from the reef and searching the deeper blue for the silhouettes everyone wanted to see.
Hammerheads.
We watched the open water carefully.
Every distant shape attracted our attention.
Every shadow deserved a second look.
We searched.
And searched.
But once again…
no hammerheads.
It can be easy to build a dive around expectations.
We knew hammerheads had been seen in this area. We knew they could be here.
But this was not an aquarium.
This was the open Sea of Cortez.
Wild animals decide where they want to be.
And today, the hammerheads had apparently made other plans.
Fortunately, Las Ánimas had something else waiting for us.
The Sea Lions Save the Day… Again
Just as they had at Los Islotes, the sea lions quickly became one of the highlights of the day.
But there was an interesting difference.
At Las Ánimas, we had the opportunity to observe not only the familiar California sea lions that are common throughout the Sea of Cortez, but also animals identified to us as Guadalupe fur seals.
The story we heard was that a group of Guadalupe fur seals had arrived in the area following a hurricane and eventually remained around Las Ánimas, sharing the area with the resident sea lions.
That gave us a fascinating opportunity to observe them side by side.
California Sea Lions vs. Guadalupe Fur Seals
California Sea Lion
Guadalupe Sea Lion
Between dives, we climbed aboard the Zodiac with Cristian, our inflatable-boat captain.
Cristian was incredibly skilled at handling the Zodiac around the rocks, waves and coastline, allowing us to get a closer look at the animals from the surface.
These excursions became almost as interesting as the dives themselves.
With both types of animals in the area, we could begin noticing some of their differences.
Their bodies and faces did not look exactly the same.
Their behavior was somewhat different.
And even the sounds they made were different.
Sitting in a Zodiac beneath the rocky formations of Las Ánimas and listening to the animals calling from the rocks was another reminder that a Sea of Cortez expedition is about much more than simply checking dive sites off a list.
There was always something to observe.
Something to learn.
Something unexpected.
A Reef Under Stress
There was also a more concerning side to what we observed underwater.
The unusually warm water was having a visible effect on portions of the reef.
We could see areas showing signs of coral bleaching, a reminder of how sensitive marine ecosystems can be to prolonged heat stress.
We also encountered crown-of-thorns sea stars, animals that feed on living coral tissue and can cause significant damage when their populations become unusually abundant.
It created an interesting contrast.
On one side, Las Ánimas was full of life.
Schools of fish moved around the reef.
Sea lions played around the rocks.
The visibility was excellent.
The water was almost unbelievably warm.
But at the same time, the reef was showing us signs that such warm conditions can come at a cost.
As divers, we were not only there to enjoy the underwater world.
We were also there to observe it.
And sometimes what the ocean shows us is beautiful.
Sometimes it is concerning.
Often, it is both.
Life Between the Dives
By Day 4, life aboard the Valentina had found its natural rhythm.
Wake up.
Coffee.
Briefing.
Dive.
Breakfast.
Rest.
Dive again.
Eat.
Get back in the Zodiac.
Explore.
Dive again.
And somewhere in between all of that, laugh with your friends, compare photographs, talk about what you saw and wonder what the next dive might bring.
The days were beginning to blend together in the best possible way.
We were no longer thinking very much about schedules back home.
Our clock was now controlled by the dive bell.
When it rang, it was time to go diving.
One More Challenge Before Returning to the Valentina
After our final dive of the day, someone apparently decided that four dives were not enough exercise.
So we added one more activity.
A swimming race back to the Valentina!
From the Zodiacs, it was into the water one more time.
But this time there were no tanks.
No regulators.
No BCDs.
Just swimmers heading toward our floating home.
After spending the entire day underwater, it was a fun and slightly competitive way to finish another adventure.
Somewhere behind us were the rocks of Las Ánimas.
Around us stretched the Sea of Cortez.
And ahead of us waited the Valentina.
Dinner.
A shower.
A place to sit and talk about another incredible day.
And eventually, a very welcome bed.
Sometimes the Ocean Changes the Plan
We had traveled to Las Ánimas hoping for one of the iconic encounters of the Sea of Cortez:
schools of hammerhead sharks.
We didn't find them.
But the absence of one animal didn't make the dives unsuccessful.
Instead, Las Ánimas gave us excellent visibility, incredibly warm water, abundant fish life, another day with sea lions, an opportunity to compare different marine mammals, Zodiac excursions around the island and a firsthand look at how changing ocean conditions can affect a reef.
That's the beauty of diving in the open ocean.
You enter the water with a plan.
The ocean decides what the dive will actually become.
Day 4 – Dive Log
Location: Las Ánimas – San José Island area
Mission: Search for hammerhead sharks
Water temperature: approaching 88°F
Visibility: 50+ ft, occasionally approaching 80 ft
Exposure protection: Rash guards and board shorts—no wetsuits needed!
Abundant schools of fish and reef life
California sea lions
Guadalupe fur seals observed in the area
Signs of coral bleaching
Crown-of-thorns sea stars observed
Zodiac exploration with Captain Cristian
And a swimming race back to the Valentina to finish the day!
No hammerheads again.
But by now, we were learning one of the most important lessons of this expedition:
Never judge a dive by what you didn't see.
There was still a lot of Sea of Cortez ahead of us.
And we weren't finished searching yet.
