Isla de Socorro

Socorro Island is 400 miles due west of Manzanillo, Mexico. It is a volcanic island which stands 1000 m above sea level and 4000 m above the ocean floor. It is part of a failed ridge system, yet the volcano remains active.

Excerpt from my journal:
'I can't believe what I am seeing right now. I am on a Mexican WW II navy ship, the sun is rising behind me, revealing the impressive uninhabited volcanic island in front of me. Whales begin rising, jumping, and spouting in all directions. The waves crash against large lava flow cliffs, eroding the coastline into a series of arches, caves, tidepools and impressive cliffs. The island is dotted with red and black volcanic cinder cones and covered by lava flows. The sun rises higher and the sun reflects the ocean's deep blue into our eyes. The water seems perfectly clear. We drift past floating sea turtles. The island seems to be paradise.'

The Island was paradise. Our group hiked to the peak of the volcano in preparation for the measurements we needed to do the following day. The group dropped off their heavy packs and equipment in a forest a mile from the peak, I kept going. I was planing on camping on the peak by myself. When would I get a chance to camp on the peak of a pacific island again? Probably never.

The view from the peak was incredible. I turned 360 degrees and scanned the whole coastline. Yep, I was on an island. 50 miles in the distance I could see another island, San Benedicto. Its volcanic cone was protruding from the low clouds. I watched the sunset, snapped some pictures and found a nice flat place to set up my tent on the windy, dark summit.

The wind flapped my tent all night long but I was nice and cozy. I snaked on some granola bars, read my book, and wrote in my journal. I got over 9 hours of sleep and still got up in time to watch the sunrise. I also had to use the thermal camera to record temperatures of the active lava dome before the sun rose and warmed the rocks. Shortly afterwards, I packed my things and headed down to meet the others and begin our field work.

Socorro was awesome. I want to go back to go scuba diving, which is said to be one of the top spots in the world for diving.