Diving in the Galapagos

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After the amount it cost us to dive here (500 pounds in total for 8 dives each) we were looking forward to it and hoping that it would be worth every penny. We weren’t disappointed and would have paid double the price.

Our first dives were around the island of Floreana about 90 minutes south from Santa Cruz. And this is what we were hoping to see.

What the dive shop said about the dive site.

This site is one of the best in the central islands to see coral colonies, such as pebble coral and endemic black coral, sea turtles, sea lions, enticing gauntlet of sea horses, stingrays, eagle rays, turtles, long nose hawkfish, barracudas, pelagic fish, white tip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks, and hammerhead sharks.

We didn’t get to see all of the above but pretty close! The diving was a lot different to what we’re used to, firstly full thick 7mm wetsuits, gloves and hoods as the water is freezing. You definitely have to have a bit of experience as there are lots of currents to navigate which made the diving harder than usual and a lot more to think about.

Usually on are previous dives we see loads of bright colored coral but here it’s more about seeing the marine life as there was no coral as such, just lots of volcanic rocks. The dives are known for their large life, i.e., sharks, turtles, rays etc, and we weren’t disappointed, and we saw lots of huge eagle rays, white tip sharks and Galapagos sharks. My favorite was the huge shoals of fish, you could totally submerge yourself in them by swimming through them and they would then surround you and all you could see were fish. It was brilliant watching the shoal dive and dart in unison in a number of different directions.

After the first dive you have to rest for an hour before we dive a second dive, on previous trips this usually included just being sat on the boat or if you were lucky a stop at a beach. This time is was totally different we stopped close to the Island and got the chance to snorkel with a group of Sea Lions and most of them pups and we had a great time. We would be diving, twisting and turning and they would mimic everything you do, even when you blow bubbles at them they would come to within an inch of your face and blow bubbles. You are not allowed to touch them but even if you wanted to it would be very hard as they are so quick and fast. The touching rule didn’t stop some of the more curios ones as they would slide under your body hit you with there fins like they were playing tiggy it! Sometimes we would get a bit to close to shore and the mothers of the very young pups would get very close to warn you off, that was scary, as they are huge and seeing something so big coming very fast at you and then veering off last second got your heart racing a bit. It was an amazing experience and something we didn’t expect to be doing on the dive so a bonus.

For the second dive we were on cloud 9. It was all very similar to the first dive but a bit more challenging as there were a few swim throughs and going into under water caves were the white tip reef sharks were hanging out, we saw about 5 of them just lying there all huddled together. A lot of the sea lions we were playing with earlier also decided to join us and followed us for about 20 minutes of the dive. This time they didn’t get as close, we must look a bit scary with all are dive gear on and a constant mass of bubbles! We still didn’t get to see any Hammerhead sharks so a bit gutted about that but the two dives were still the best dives we have done for the abundance of life we seen.

Next was the 8 day boat cruise, so check out the other blog.

After the boat cruise we had a day to chill out and then the next day was the first of 3 more days of diving and we were really looking forward to it.

What the dive shop said about the dive sites for the next two days.

Santa Fe. This island is a solid structure of basaltic lava rocks about an hour away from our base. The 4 dive sites here generally have excellent visibility and mild currents, making these sites ideal for novices. At the same time, the animals and topography (including
a spectacular arch) make them interesting for intermediates and experts. We can see stingrays, eagle rays, garden eels, turtles, sea lion colonies, morays, pelagic fish, and maybe white tip reef sharks and/or hammerhead sharks.

North Seymour is an uplifted island of lava flow about 90 minutes north of our dive base. There are 5 dive sites suitable for all levels of divers, although sometimes the currents can be strong. These sites have the most different species per square foot of sandy bottom. We can see cleaning behavior, a large garden eel colony, sea turtles, sea lions, fur seals, eagle rays, yellow-tailed grunts, big-eyed jack, and frequently white tip reef sharks and hammerheads. Occasionally, Galapagos sharks can also be seen here.

The two days of diving were a lot different from the first dive at Floreana. Due to the strong currents the dives were mainly drift diving and a lot of the time we would have to hold on to rocks and steady ourselves and just watch everything swim past us. What was good about this is that you concentrated on a small area and got to see a lot of the smaller life that you can easily miss.

When holding onto rocks you have to be careful not to touch things that can sting, like Sea Urchins and the Scorpion fish (see picture). Other things we saw were Green Turtles, Stingrays, Eagle Rays, White Tip and Galapagos Sharks, and lots of smaller life too like Nudibranchs and minute shoals of juvenile fish. The cleaner stations were interesting as you got to see the larger fish 50 cm or so get cleaned by the smaller fish. The larger fish get rid of annoying parasites and the smaller fish get a meal, so a result all round! We managed to get fairly close to some Green Turtles and one swam underneath Michelle, brushing against her as it went by. We saw one Hammerhead, and that was from a distance so we were a bit gutted as we couldn’t tell what it was until the dive master told us back on the boat. I know it seems strange because they look very different from anything else but from the side there head just looks like any other shark.

Our last day of diving and our final chance to see Hammerhead sharks and I was getting a bit anxious as felt the whole diving would of been a waste if I didn’t see one, stupid I know but when you have your heart set on something! Going from what the dive shop said it looks like we have a good chance, fingers crossed.

Gordon Rocks, The cone formation is a world famous dive site about one hour from our base. There are 4 dive sites in the area, but only two are for novices. The other two sites are for intermediates and experts because there can be strong currents and surge. The Gordon Rocks dive sites are mostly walls with a deep bottom. Blend in and blow few bubbles and you may be blessed with a hammerhead sighting! Hammerhead sharks are the main attraction of Gordon Rocks, where they often conglomerate in large schools. You won't be able to stop looking at this aquarium as you're likely to also see reef fish, large pelagic fish, golden rays, stingrays, eagle rays, turtles, morays

The final day of diving was amazing and would be hard pushed to pick a more perfect day. With in minutes I got my wish and saw my first Hammerhead Shark, at first it was only one about 10 meters away but clear enough to get a good view and then he left and brought back a few of his friends and it looked awesome watching about 7 of them circling our group from above and below and also within a few meters of us and then shot off as I must of got a bit close. It was perfect because you got to see them from every angle and my favorite seeing them from below me looking up as the light shining from the sun made it the perfect silhouette of it’s body and head and you could see how beautiful and unique they are.

We surfaced and just as we got on the boat and took our gear off the captain in Spanish shouted whale, everybody was looking on the horizon for a spurt of water or fin coming out of the water then he shouted no whale shark and pointed about a 2 meters from the boat, everybody was like wow and totally amazed the thing was huge and then swam right under the boat and at one point I thought it was going to hit us, it was about 10 meters long! Next was just a blur as the dive masters were shouting quick get in, I grabbed my mask and ran to the opposite side of the boat and dived in and nearly landed on top of it! I was joined by most of the boat and then we snorkeled with it for a few minutes before it disappeared into the depths! After we got back on the boats the dive masters were as excited as us as they have never seen one in this area before so a total surprise!

Next was the second dive and we were all searching for a whale shark! But had to settle for 8 or so hammerheads, where one got to within about 1 meter of me! This dive was slightly better as the Hammerheads stayed with us a lot longer so could relax and just watch. From the 2 dives the biggest Hammerhead was about 3 meters but mostly about 1.5 - 2 m and great to be so close to so many large creatures. A great day of diving and something I will always remember.

Before the dives Michelle was a bit nervous and scared of being so close to so many large sharks, after what she saw she was quite the opposite and found them cute and loved the dive. Next will be to try and get her to dive with great whites!

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