The Big White Marble

The impressive features of the canyons held our interest for a full three dives. And I think we could easily have spent another three dives exploring that site, but with so many more areas to investigate we couldn’t afford to spend any more time there.

In all, the canyons, or the area to the right upon exiting the lagoon, cover at least an acre or more. It’s a massive expanse of gigantic volcanic rocks and ancient fissures, some wide enough for a small car to pass through, others barely large enough for one man.

I’ve dove the area also referred to as “the canyons” at Puerto Gallera, but I think Claveria’s canyons puts them to shame, at least they do so visually. The canyons of Claveria are more extensive, convoluted, complicated and maze-like, and many of the walls are much higher. Of course PG’s versions have multitudes more of fish life, something that Claveria COULD correct if they ever put into place any meaningful protective measures. I’m just not very hopeful in that regard.

If not for my camera all the wonderful things I see while diving would evaporate from memory almost as soon as my head breaks the surface. I’ve said that before, and I’ll probably say it many times more because it’s so true. I’m at the point now that I do not want to dive WITHOUT my camera. It’s like, what’s the point? In fact, on our third day of diving, when I realized that we had left my Canon back in the room, Don offered immediately, “No problem. Let’s go back and get it. We’ll be back in no time.” God bless him, HE knows!


The BIG WHITE Marble:

I’ll never forget the first time we saw it. We were exploring a portion of the canyon labyrinth when we came out of a channel into an open area. Something very white, very large and very round caught my eye on the other side of a fallen pillar-like slab of pinkish rock.


‘What the heck IS that?’ I screamed in my head. I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

My first sighting of it was from a distance, so I didn’t realize exactly how large it really was. I sensed that it was probably big, but its size isn’t what caught my eye, since it was still too far to get a real feel for its true bulk.


No, it is the bright whiteness that catches the eye, especially since most of the surrounding rock is much darker, or should I say has more color other than white. Its appearance dazzled me, drawing me close, but my fascination exploded as I saw it was also round, like a smooth river stone, only more spherical.

Finally, right on top of the thing, as I saw how large it was, I began to realize that I was looking at something really special.

‘Okay, WHY is there a huge, white round rock down here? Where did it come from? HOW did it get like this?’



I LOVE a mystery! I began to try to figure it out.

Next: The possible origins of the big white marble.