FIRST IMPRESSIONS Buenos Aires My introduction to Buenos Aires began on the plane from Panama. My seat mates were a lovely couple returning to their home in Buenos Aires with their youngest son after spending two years in Virginia. They loved the US; she was especially smitten with New York (which I have only visited once). They were so pleasant and proud of their city. The trip itself ran into some difficulties so leaving Puerto Lopez by bus and flying through Panama to Buenos Aires took a walloping 40 hours. I slept a little in airports and on the planes, but only in short segments. When I got here I was so glad to just get off the cramped plane and stretch. Before dealing with money changers, taxis, and hotel check-in, I wanted to relax and ... read more

DIVING PUERTO LOPEZ Day One I popped out of bed and made my way downstairs with my dive bag and underwater camera. Maria, the manager, and self-appointed Spanish instructor ordered me a moto, the trike, and the driver had no trouble finding the dive shop, even though I didn’t know the name. I needed a new mouthpiece for my regulator. I had been getting a bit of sea water with my inhalation and sure enough, when I inspected the silicone mouthpiece there was a small cut in it…just enough to let water enter when I breathed in. I wanted Jorge to exchange the damaged mouthpiece with the mouthpiece from my back-up regulator, my octopus. Instead he put a new mouthpiece on for me and wouldn’t accept any payment for it. A German man and his son, ... read more

ON THE WAY AGAIN Ecuador, Quito to Puerto Lopez I wanted to get out of the city and do some more diving. I made plans to travel by bus to Puerto Lopez, below Quito on the coast of Ecuador. Sometimes called “The poor man’s Galapagos.” In the eleventh hour, I decided on a hotel…Alcazaba. I decided to leave plenty early because finding your way around a bus station can be challenging. My bus was at 10:10 a.m. and it was an hour to the bus station (Carlos, the concierge at my hotel, said to plan an hour) so I decided to be up at 6 a.m. and out of the hotel by 7. Instead, I overslept and woke up at 6:49. I hustled and was out of my room by 7:06. After I paid my bill ... read more

GALAPAGOS - TOO DEEP Our days on the Astrea followed a pattern; dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat. Charging batteries and setting up the camera for each dive didn’t leave a lot of time for other activities. After the evening meal I was ready for some quiet time and sleep. On day two we had four dives planned off Wolf Island. On the last dive we saw eels, turtles, and lots of fish. Toward the end of the dive I suddenly realized I had lost my buddies (we actually dived in a group). I started to come up and then worried that I was too close to the island and might get battered against the rocks so I decided to go toward open water at the 20 foot level. When I found the drop off I ... read more

GORDON ROCKS Promptly at 6:30 a.m. we gathered at the dive store, then walked to the pier and boarded the boat. It was a small cabin cruiser, like most of the others in the bay. Somehow I thought everything would be gilded in the Galapagos. The boat was unexceptional. The dive masters and captain were knowledgeable and the divers were friendly. We all got in the water where our boat was anchored to test our weights because it was imperative that we could submerge quickly when we got to our dive site, due to strong currents and rough seas. Then we snorkeled for a while because two young people were doing an open water course before our dive. We snorkeled close to the rocks where sea lions were playing in the surf. Unfortunately I am not ... read more