Los Arcos

After last week’s appetizer we are going to focus on Los Arcos, situated to the south of Banderas Bay. This is a great spot for an introduction to the Pacific Ocean’s marine life. The site is ideal for snorkelling, trying diving for the first time and for the more experienced scuba divers. It’s also close to down town Puerto Vallarta, so great for a half day excursion.

Along the shallow side, you can easily cruise along watching the butterfly fish, angel fish, puffer fish, turtles and more. These can be seen by both snorkelling and scuba diving making it a great playground for the whole family.

Most Butterfly fish are extremely colourful and observed in pairs, just like us, although they pair for life! They feed on small invertebrates and coral polyps that they pick off the coral using their long, thin mouths. They are closely related to the angel fish family, which are also beautifully coloured and an amazing site to see. Both species are classed as medium sized and can be found in shallow water on the reef top.

If you do fancy taking the plunge and putting on some Scuba (Self Contained Underwater Diving Apparatus) then you can see everything for longer and there is much more to see. Nudibranches, or sea slugs, are what got Sue hooked on diving. She first got obsessed in the red sea, where they are in abundance.

They are so colourful and there are more than 3000 species worldwide with new ones being discovered every year.

They are slug size have a pair of tentacle-like horns on top of their heads acting as sense organs.

They are cannibalistic and possess both male and female organs at the same time.

I think Sue likes them for their brightness in colour and diversity, but you’ll have to ask her!

Nudi’s don’t really have common names but before we headed for Puerto Vallarta we saw that Kevin Lee had photographed the Oxynoe panamensis seen below.

This photo was taken at los Arcos in July 2004, in 25ft of sea water on the rocky reef in amongst some sea plants.

It’s just ½ an inch long and I don’t think we can leave here until we have spotted one ourselves.

Obviously there are lots of underwater creatures, that can be found in every ocean and sea and we will keep you posted on this diverse area.
Marie & Sue