Puerto Ayora, Galapagos

Friday, November 26, 2004:

Anyone who is bored by my continuous accounts of diving experiences in the Galapagos should probably skip this post entirely. I am recording the details of my last few dives here while they are fresh in memory so as not to forget them.

Thursday, November 25

After a number of grey, misty days in the Galapagos, the Thursday of Thanksgiving was warm and sunny. Laura and I arrived at the Sub Aqua dive shop (www.galapagos-sub-aqua.com) shortly after 7:00, where we met Sandro, a laid back Swiss-German traveler we have been diving with for the last week or so. Two other divers joined us, a Sacramento woman somewhere in her late 60s or 70s and a mid-40ish American from somewhere else in California. They had a free day off from their boat trip around the islands (most 7-day trips stop for a day in Puerto Ayora mid-way through) and decided to spend it diving rather than seeing the giant land tortoises at the Charles Darwin Center with the rest of their tour group.

We made our way north by taxi to catch the boat on the north side of Santa Cruz island. On boarding, one of the divemasters, Matt (25 years old, a Cornell graduate with an economics degree who started traveling and diving after graduation and never really stopped), briefed us on the topography and gave the standard lecture on underwater signals and safety. When we reached our first dive site, a small white-beach island called Mosquera (covered with grunting seal lions and off-limits to land visitors), the two Americans did a test dive to ensure that they were properly weighted for diving in the Galapagos. The high salinity of the water and the relatively thick wetsuits add to your body´s buoyancy and require a higher offset from weights that are strapped around you on a belt or inserted into your vest pockets. At this point, the Sacramento woman --- who had just told us stories of her grandchildren and several great-grandchildren --- informed Matt that she did not need a wetsuit of any kind (even a thin one) for the dive. She had dived in colder water (the Galapagos waters were about 68 degrees Farenheit but often less, depending on the day and the depth) without one and didn´t see a problem here. We all sort of assumed she was nuts, but she jumped in with her weights and emerged a few moments later, non-plussed and content. I would have been freezing and don´t think I´m exaggerating to say that I think at least 999 out of 1000 others would feel the same way.

After the test, we split into groups. The two Americans from the boat went with the other divemaster on the trip and Laura, Sandro and I went with Matt.

Dive 1: Mosquera

As seen from the boat, Mosquera was not much to look at. A small island with a white beach covered in lolling sea lions and little else. My group sat on the edge of the boat, did a final equipment check and, on the count of 3, rolled backwards over the side and into the cool, turquoise water. Seconds later, Matt gave the signal to descend and we deflated the air in our BCD jackets and sank down to meet each other at a depth of 30 feet.

The water was unusually clear with strong sunlight making its way down and reflecting on the white sand that covered the bottom at approximately 60 feet. We swam out further from the shore to where the 60 foot floor of white sand came to a sheer ledge that dropped off to a depth of more than 130 feet. We stopped at the ledge, then descended to approximately 100 feet.

Within moments several giant green sea tortoises had swam by our path. Several sea lions maneuvered over our heads, hunting for fish. From our depth, a look up at the surface revealed constellations of 1000s of different fish far above us. Schools of surgeonfish and pompanos swam by as well as large schools of baraccuda. There was never a moment that did not provide for glimpses of 100s of different fish.

The highlight of the dive came suddenly when I caught, from the corner of my eye, a mass of large dark shapes swimming past us some 30-40 feet out from the face of the wall. Matt and Sandro did not appear to notice them and I could not get their attention from my position some 15 feet behind them (I did manage to get Laura´s attention). It was a school of at least 10 and probably more than 20 hammerhead sharks. They were gone within a matter of seconds. Just as they passed, a pair of smaller white-tipped sharks swam by in the same direction. As we watched, they began to form a pin-wheel of sorts, the body of each shark arcing to form a half-circle as they bit at each other´s tails.

As we swam on, we encountered a small manta ray swimming above us. We rose to a level of 60 feet and passed over two large stingrays which had buried themselves in the white sand on the ledge of the wall.

When we ended the dive with a safety stop at 15 feet, Laura spotted a large hammerhead and a Galapagos shark swimming near us not more than 20 feet away.

Dive 2: North Seymour

Each dive at North Seymour involves entering the water not far from a shore lined by piles of large, jagged rocks with white foam crashing against them and pushing you into them. This dive was no exception. However, once we descended to 30 feet, the current was negligible and we swam along and further out from the rock wall, descending as we went.

We saw many of the same fish we saw on the first dive, and again saw an enormous school of hammerhead sharks (this time everybody spotted them). Matt counted 35 sharks and then stopped counting because there were just too many more following after them. We also saw a rare Galapagos puffer fish, endemic to the Galapagos. A blue-purple color, the fish simply floated still and stared at us while we examined it. When Matt took a picture with his camera, the fish swam directly into the lense before scuttling away.

The highlight came when our group was approached, then followed by two young sea lions. They circled us for a while and then chewed on the fins of a couple of divers, tugging like dogs do with chew-toys. We swam on a few meters where we encountered a semi-open cave. Looking down, we could see about 7-8 white tip sharks resting in a row together. Some were only 2-3 feet but several were 5 feet or maybe a little more in length. They are not considered dangerous, though the big ones do look like they could take a mean bite out of you if they so desired. As we watched, the sea lions swooped down into the cave and began to chew on the fins of the resting sharks. The sharks began to swim up out of the cave and the sea lions gleefully chased after them, twisting and spiraling acrobatically as they gnawed on the sharks´ fleeing tails.

Friday, November 26

We dove with a company called Galapagos Diving. Its a small operation that does not get mentioned in many of the guidebooks about the Galapagos. Nevertheless, I thought they had a very good, friendly staff and the equipment and boat were more than decent. It wasn´t as sunny as it was on Thursday but it was still much clearer than it had been normally. Laura, Sandro and I were the only divers on the one hour and forty-five minute trip to the island of Floreana. However, the plan was to pick up 4 other divers from a tour boat, take them for the dives, and then return them to their ship. When we reached the ship at 10:00 AM, as scheduled, the ship´s crew informed our divemasters that the passengers were all on the island, taking a tour, and would not be back for another hour. Although this was not the fault of Scuba Galapagos, they still felt compelled to wait for another hour until the would-be divers returned. Irritating, but not the end of the world. The divers were friendly enough: all in their 20s, two from Israel, one from Germany and one from Ireland. None had been diving recently and none had much experience. There it was --- 7 divers on the boat and I had the most experience (divemasters not included, of course).

Dive 1: Enderby (Floreana)

Enderby looks like a jagged half moon/crescent sticking up out of the water. It is, in fact, the crater of an extinct volcano.

The first half of the dive was uneventful. I was starting to think that we would not see anything worthwhile at all. After only 20 minutes or so, the four divers from the tour boat ran low on air and had to surface. Laura, Sandro and I had more than half of our air left, however, and continued along with our divemaster (actually a certified Instructor), Louis. Right after the other divers surfaced, the dive picked up. We approached an immense school of 1000s of shiny silver pelican baraccuda, swimming directly into them. They parted for us and closed ranks again behind us but did not otherwise seem to react to our presence. Looking up as we swam through them, the sky was all but blotted out by their bodies.

We began to ascend to shallower water. As we did so, we noticed that the surface of the water had darkened from clouds rolling in overhead. The current had picked up as well --- we could see strong ripples at the surface. Then, approximately 15 feet above us, we saw a solitary green sea turtle drifting back and forth in the surge, its body rocked one way and then the other. Its arms, legs and head hung loosely out of its shell and it made no effort to move itself, just letting itself be rocked back and forth again. We then noticed a second turtle, slightly further away, also letting itself be tugged back and forth by the water.

Then, at a depth of only 25 feet or so, we saw sharks, lots of sharks. Louis signaled for us to remain motionless at the bottom, clutching onto rocks to remain as inert as possible in the current. Black-tips passed us slowly, two here, three there, a half dozen over yonder. Most were 3-4 feet in length but a few were bigger. There were also Galapagos sharks, some of them closing in on 5 feet. And then: hammerheads. A 9-foot hammerhead shark swam slowly by us not more than 6 feet away. It was unrushed and unhurried, seemingly unaware of us or at least unconcerned. We saw another two hammerheads close up as well. In all, resting in this single location we saw dozens of sharks over the course of 15 minutes or so. There were also large turtles swimming by and an enormous spotted eagle ray with wings that must span 7-8 feet from tip to tip. Unlike other eagle rays, which quickly fled from us, this one ignored us and swam back and forth quite close to us, foraging on the bottom for food.

Dive 2: Enderby (Floreana)

Because the first dive was outstanding and because the other 4 divers missed all of the good stuff, everybody agrees that we should dive again at Enderby rather than moving to another nearby site named Devil´s Crown (Laura and I had already snorkeled there during our boat tour anyway). Again we saw the schools of 1000s of baraccuda and again we saw plenty of black-tip sharks, but no hammerheads. A nice dive, but not quite as exciting as the first.

As my last dive in the Galapagos, I remember the final 5 minutes most vividly. We ascended to a depth of only 15 feet while simultaneously swimming away from the coast. To the north, the water was a light but entirely empty blue. To the south, the same. To the east and west, the same. Below us --- empty blue. Above, blue and the ripples on the surface. Imagine yourself floating in a cloudless, sunless, birdless blue sky, nothing else in sight, the earth below you too far away to be seen, everything just a light, empty blue. And then, in the distance, a single green tortoise appears. Swimming/flying through the nothingness. It fades away again. A minute later, you spot a different tortoise circling you slowly. A second tortoise appears. They glide in and out of the blue with graceful, effortless strokes. There is nothing else in sight.