Day 5 – After Dark: Dancing with Mobulas at Ensenada Grande

Martin Gomez   Oct 05, 2026

A Week in the Sea of Cortez Aboard the Valentina

Day 5 – After Dark: Dancing with Mobulas at Ensenada Grande

After three daytime dives at San Francisquito, the Valentina turned south and carried us back toward Espíritu Santo Island.

Our destination for the evening was Ensenada Grande, a beautiful protected bay where sailboats, both large and small, often seek shelter for the night. Its calm and protected waters make it an ideal place to anchor, rest, and enjoy the quiet of the Sea of Cortez after sunset.

But beneath those calm, dark waters, Ensenada Grande was hiding a secret.

And to reveal it, all we needed was light.

A lot of light.

Setting the Stage

The plan sounded simple.

Powerful underwater video lights would be placed on the sandy bottom in relatively shallow water, at less than 20 feet deep.

Then we would wait.

The lights act almost like a beacon in the darkness, attracting tiny organisms—plankton and krill—toward the illuminated area.

And that plankton attracts something much larger.

Mobula rays.

Once the lights had been positioned, we gave the process approximately 20 minutes to work.

Little by little, the concentration of plankton increased.

Dinner was being served.

We just needed the guests of honor to arrive.

And they did.

Out of the Darkness

At first, a shape appeared at the edge of the light.

Then another.

And another.

Suddenly, the darkness was alive.

The mobulas had arrived.

They approached the illuminated area to feed on the plankton, gliding effortlessly through the water.

Soon they were no longer arriving individually.

They were coming in groups.

At times, schools of more than 30 mobulas moved through the light together.

They approached.

Turned.

Disappeared into the darkness.

Then came back again.

And again.

Watching them was almost hypnotic.

Their movements looked less like swimming and more like flying underwater.

Turn Off Your Lights and Don't Move

 

 

This was a very different dive from everything else we had done during the week.

The most important rule was simple:

Stay still.

We descended to the bottom and positioned ourselves sitting quietly behind our dive leader—once again, Lorenzo.

We were instructed not to use our individual dive lights or camera flashes unnecessarily.

There was a good reason.

The entire encounter depended on keeping the plankton concentrated around the main video light. If divers began shining lights in every direction, the plankton could disperse.

And if the food moved away…

so would the mobulas.

So we descended, found our positions and waited.

No chasing.

No swimming after the animals.

No trying to control the encounter.

Just sit quietly on the bottom and watch.

Sometimes the best diving requires doing almost nothing at all.

Lorenzo and the Underwater Lighthouse

In front of us was Lorenzo with the main light.

In the darkness, it looked almost like an underwater lighthouse.

The beam illuminated the plankton, and through that light came the mobulas.

One after another.

Sometimes several at once.

Sometimes an entire group.

They passed above us and in front of us, their silhouettes appearing suddenly from the black water before becoming completely illuminated.

Then, with a few effortless movements of their wings, they disappeared back into the night.

Seconds later, another group arrived.

It was an extraordinary spectacle of light, darkness and movement.

We divided the divers into two groups, giving each approximately 20 minutes underwater.

Twenty minutes doesn't sound like much.

But when you are sitting on the bottom of the Sea of Cortez at night while dozens of mobula rays fly through a beam of light directly in front of you, time seems to work differently.

And the Mobulas Weren't Alone

The light and plankton attracted other visitors as well.

Pufferfish appeared around the illuminated area, along with bottom-dwelling rays and other small marine animals taking advantage of the activity.

There was always something moving at the edge of the light.

But there was no question about who owned the stage that night.

The mobulas were the stars.

Elegant.

Fast.

Graceful.

And completely free.

This wasn't an aquarium or a controlled animal encounter.

We were sitting on the bottom of the Sea of Cortez in complete darkness.

They could leave whenever they wanted.

Instead, they kept coming back.

Back to the Valentina

Eventually, our 20 minutes were over.

It was time to leave our underwater theater behind and return to the surface.

We climbed aboard the Zodiac and headed back toward the Valentina, still talking about what we had just experienced.

But apparently, the crew had one more surprise waiting for us.

We climbed aboard and were greeted with something wonderfully simple:

Hot chocolate topped with marshmallows and freshly baked bread prepared by Chef Oswaldo.

After a night dive, it was perfect.

Warm chocolate.

Fresh bread.

Friends sitting together aboard a boat anchored in a quiet bay of Espíritu Santo.

And everyone talking at once about mobulas.

It made me wonder:

What was actually the best part of the night?

Was it sitting underwater while more than 30 mobulas flew through the light in front of us?

Or was it climbing back aboard the Valentina, tired and happy, and being handed a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and a piece of freshly baked bread?

Maybe the answer is simple.

Both.

Because trips like this aren't made memorable only by the big encounters underwater.

They're also made memorable by the small moments afterward.

The warm drink.

The food.

The laughter.

The conversations.

The people you shared the experience with.

Our Last Night Aboard

Eventually, the conversations began to quiet down.

Dive gear was put away.

Cameras were checked.

The last pieces of bread disappeared.

And one by one, everyone headed toward their cabins.

This would be our final night sleeping aboard the Valentina.

The next morning, we still had two more dives ahead of us.

Then the boat would begin its return to La Paz.

Our week at sea was almost over.

But lying in our bunks that night, with the Valentina quietly anchored in Ensenada Grande, it was difficult not to replay the images in our minds.

The darkness.

The beam of light.

The plankton.

And dozens of mobulas appearing from nowhere and flying through the water in front of us.

What a night.

The Mobula Night Dive

 Location: Ensenada Grande – Espíritu Santo Island
 Depth: Less than 20 ft
 Powerful underwater video lights used to concentrate plankton
 Two groups – approximately 20 minutes each
 Schools of 30+ mobula rays at times
 Pufferfish and other marine visitors
 Lorenzo leading the encounter
 Hot chocolate with marshmallows after the dive
 Freshly baked bread from Chef Oswaldo
 Our final night aboard the Valentina

We had started the day watching hundreds of barracudas dance in the sunlight.

We ended it watching dozens of mobulas fly through the darkness.

And perhaps that is the best way to describe the Sea of Cortez.

You never really know what the next dive will bring.

But every once in a while, the ocean gives you a night you know you will remember for the rest of your life.

Next: Day 6 – Two Final Dives and the Journey Back to La Paz.