Meet the Author: Susan Speck

I decided to write the book after I had been going down to Baja and diving the Sea of Cortez for 20 yrs. This body of water is so different from others around the world that it just seemed to capture me not only physically but emotionally and somewhat spiritually. The marine life is different and this great peninsula hugs the desert coastline, offering an incredible beauty like no other.

I think my book is different because it does describe the different dive sites along with other relevant information, such as: boat ramps for people traveling down by vehicle, lodging, places to eat and a little history about each town.

I don't think I have a favorite dive. Every dive is unique unto itself. Whether its a wall, a reef, a flat sandy bottom or just the open blue, you'll always find life.

I'm always open to anything. But I think that I would like to start exploring even more of the Pacific side of Baja.

I can't think of any that have been really bad. We did do one dive from a sailboat off Baja at night. There was a hole in the island that went through to the other side which we did not know we had gone through. Well, when we surfaced after the dive, there was obviously No Boat! We pondered for awhile trying to figure out what we had done to make the captain ditch us in the middle of the Sea of Cortez. We snorkeled around looking but couldn't find the boat. Finally after we swam away from the island a ways, we saw a little light over on the other side of the island. We then realized we were on the wrong side. We did have enough air to go back down and figure out where the hole was that we had swam through. We made it back to the boat around midnight and boy, the hot rum toddy was the best I ever had!

At this time, a couple of partners and myself have opened a dive operation in Loreto Baja (Dolphin Dive Center) at the Villas de Loreto resort. We plan to do some real exploratory trips out to the islands just offshore. Many of the areas are so new and undiscovered by divers. Remote areas have always been my favorite anyway. Eventually, I plan to write another book on many sf the unseen places in Baja. (Back roads etc.)