Punta Maria

Punta Maria is the connoisseur's Cocos dive: a deep boulder ridge off the island's western side where the marbled rays gather in numbers that outdo anywhere else on the island, layered over the rocks like shingles waiting their turn at the cleaning stations. Hammerheads track the ridge line in steady processions, Galapagos and silky sharks patrol higher in the water, and everything happens at 25 m and change with current pushing across the top. There is no shallow portion to retreat to, so bottom time is short and the briefing matters. Divers who hit it on a running tide rank it with Alcyone.

اللحظة التي جئت من أجلها: Marbled rays en masse, processional hammerheads, a wilder and less-visited corner of the island

التضاريس: Boulder ridge dropping away on both sides

التيار: An exposed ridge that only really works when the current runs - which is also when it is hardest.

المخاطر: Sustained depth with no shallow option; current over an exposed ridge.

نيتروكس: يستحق الأمر هنا: الملفات الشخصية تقع في النطاق الذي يُمدّد فيه الهواء المدعّم (نيتروكس) وقت الغوص دون توقف تمديدًا ملموسًا، مع التدريب اللازم لاستخدامه.