ABOARD THE ASTREA

---

GALAPAGOS TWO

ANTS: The Deciding Factor

I am resting on my bunk. The door is open, as is the window, the better to catch the cooling ocean breeze. Outside the lights from another dive ship periodically come into view as our dive yacht, the Astrea, drifts around her anchor. The waves lap against the hull and the gentle rocking will soon lull me to sleep.

So what about the ants?

I had two double beds in my room at the hotel in Puerto Ayoro. I discovered that the coverlets harbored small, biting, red ants. When I left for my dive with Albatros dive shop two ladies were spraying my room and furniture. When I returned, exhausted, there were more ants. I set about finding a way to soak my underwater camera in fresh water. Half an hour later there were still ants. I itched just thinking about them. I let the management know it was still a problem and while they were trying to remedy the situation I went out to see about tomorrow’s dives. I planned to dive off a beautiful wooden sailing vessel, since I have never had that opportunity before in my travels. When I checked the itinerary I discovered they were going to Gordon Rocks, as were all the other dive shops, the same dive I did today.

In the back of my mind I was wondering how to sleep in my room without getting bit by the multitude of scurrying little red demons. I decided to check out another nearby hotel for accommodations since I didn’t want to book more days at my current hotel. Obviously the sprays weren’t helping. The manager of the new hotel asked me where I was staying and what the problem was. I explained about the ants. He thought a bit and then told me, “Lady, we are on an island and there are ants everywhere.” Mulling that over in my mind, I re-thought the expense of a dive liveaboard. I decided I was worth the money; I just didn’t want to continue to deal with the ants.

I went into one dive shop which advertised last minute openings on liveaboards. They had none. I was discouraged and on the way back to my hotel, by now it was quite late, I happened to glance into a storefront and saw the young lady I had talked with the day before about scheduling a live-aboard trip. I asked her if she still had an opening and she said she did. So I booked an eight day trip on the Astrea. The plan was to meet the divemaster at the shop at 7:30 am the next morning, sound familiar?

I went back to my hotel and packed up my things and told the desk I would be leaving early in the morning. I checked the comforter and the ants were still teeming so I removed it and checked the sheets. They were clear. I slept fitfully but ant free, dreaming of sleeping in a bunk rocked gently by waves and not an ant in sight.

The next morning I dragged my dive gear to the restaurant across from the dive store. I had breakfast, then met Louis, the divemaster and we drove to the ferry. It was not as comfortable as the bus. We picked up the other divers at the airport and then met the zodiac that took us to the Astrea.

We were welcomed aboard and went to the main salon where we were assigned rooms and introduced to the staff. Since there were only five of us we each had a small cabin of our own. The staff outnumbered us two to one. Once we had settled into our cabins we met at the dive staging center at the back of the boat and suited up for our check out dive. Afterwards we did our first dive. I couldn’t take the camera because Louis wanted us to focus on his instructions. At dinner we chose our own seating arrangements and this was an opportunity to learn about the divers we were seated next to. The other divers were, Zara, twenty eight years old, traveling by herself, and the only other woman aboard; Louis, the divemaster was a newlywed, his second marriage. Then there was Trevor, an Irish man with larger than life adventures and dive experience. Anthony was a young Frenchman with an international romance, on again…off again, and Elmer, solemn and quiet, was from Germany. After dinner we grabbed our drink of choice and moved to the cushioned sofa at the far end of the salon where Louis explained the dive plan for the next day.

Each day, after our last dive, the captain would move the boat to the next island.

Our first dive the next morning was at Bartolome Island. After coffee in the morning, we suited up and transferred to the inflatable zodiac. It was a tight fit, three divers on each side. It was necessary to fold my camera into my chest to protect it from the surge of water which could break the seal, as we all fell backward into the swift, choppy water (usually I enter the water, then reach up and the boat captain passes the camera to me, after which I submerge carefully). We swam to the island and arrayed ourselves on the rocky wall and watched for large marine life swimming below us…hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, white tips, turtles and bat rays. What we saw were some large schools of fish, turtles in the distance, and sea stars and eels below us in the rocks.

We came back to the Astrea and had a big breakfast. The second and third dives were at Cousin Island. This island was a haven for turtles. The reef was awash with turtles, snoozing and munching. It was a photographer’s paradise. After the second dive we had lunch, a short rest and did our third dive. Dinner followed and included some of my favorites…avocado, artichokes, grapefruit and veggies, as well as sea food and meat. Stuffed, I was more than ready for bed.



Diving is very relaxing, but getting in and out of the zodiac and the transfers from the boat and back wore me out.

---

Photos

THE ASTREA AWAITS
Our approach in the zodiac.

TWO ZODIACS
In our case one was for divers and one was for search and rescue, or exploration.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Bathroom, or head, is off to right. Great digs for one person...truly tight for two. I was very comfortable.

EEL AND PAL
Very colorful bottom and many eels.

ANGEL FISH AND FRIEND
I like this photo...I call it "Book Ends."

ANGEL
More cooperative photo subject...he's looking at me.

MORE COLOR
These fish are cooperative subjects.

TURTLES...TURTLES...TURTLES
Cousins was a vast reef with numerous docile, resting turtles.

PHOTOGRAPHERS DREAM
Attention!

GRUMPY
I must have interrupted his nap.

PEEK-A-BOO
An unusual point of view.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Fantastic dive experience
Glad you were able to get away from the red ants.

[Never too old]

Aboard the Astrea
Isn't it funny...I am just now realizing that I need to acknowledge the comments about my blog. And I remember the red ants. What measures we'll take to escape our problems..No red ants.

[D MJ Binkley]

Love it
Perfect

[Never too old]

Aboard the Astrea
I so appreciate your continued support and kind words.