"Under the Sea...

...Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me"

 

The Galapagos Islands are known for their land creatures: sea lions, marine iguanas, land iguanas, giant tortoises, finches, etc., but when people think of the Galapagos they often forget about the immensely diverse life found under the sea. Being in the center of the Pacific Ocean, the Galapagos Islands are affected by multiple currents coming from Panama, Peru, the mainland and Australia. These currents combine to make water that is insanely cold but rich in nutrients. When we first arrived the water was around 18 degrees Celsius (64F) and as we approach the warm season it has been getting into the lower 20sC (low 70sF). 

 

Since my arrival in September, I have done a lot of scuba diving and I am currently working on the next level of dive certifications. The frigid water requires many more wetsuit layers than I was used to with diving in the Caribbean, but it's now becoming second nature. The 2.5mm shorty on top of the 5mm full only takes 2 minutes to put on now opposed to 10!

 

When I first arrived, I expected to find coral reefs and lots of colorful fish, similar to the Caribbean, since the water is so nutrient rich, but there are only coral reefs on the northern most islands. The fish here are unique, but not nearly as plentiful as the Caribbean, and most dives are done along rock walls that continue down into the abyss.

 

This past Saturday, we had our final dives for class (yes, we had a dive included in each class!) and visited the site Leon Dormido (aka Kicker Rock) for the fourth time since I've been here. I was reluctant to go back to the same site for a fourth time, but I am so glad I did, as fourth time was the charm!

 

On our way out to the rock (about a 45 minute boat ride) we found a pod of wild Galapagos Dolphins. There had to be over 100 of them! We convinced the captain and our dive master to let us snorkel, and the 10 of us quickly stripped down to our bathing suits and jumped into the water with snorkels and masks without thinking twice about putting on wetsuits. The first shock was that the water was so warm (at least compared to September); we didn't get cold without wetsuits! Secondly, the dolphins were amazing! The like riding the bow waves that the boat creates, so the captain kept bringing them back around to us. We cold hear them talking to one another and they were so close to us. It was a truly unforgettable experience!

 

On our first dive, we did the same dive that I had done 3 other times, but this time the visibility was the best it's been (about 40 ft). As we swam through the channel, we were surrounded by hundreds of Galapagos, white tip and black tip sharks! They were so elegant and neat to watch; we sat on the bottom for 10 minutes just looking at them.

 

my friend Abby who turned 21 that weekend - there is a shark behind her

 

The second dive was the best dive I have had here. We convinced the dive instructor to go to a different site on the rock that has had hammerhead sharks recently with the warmer water. Upon descending to 50 feet we were greeted by a large hammerhead in the distance, but the best was when we rounded a corner and there was a huge (10+ ft) scalloped hammerhead shark right in front of us! He circled us and stayed fairly close for a good minute or so, putting on an awesome show. We were all so excited; we definitely went out with a bang!

huge school of fish on the second dive

The final dive I have for my advanced certification is a night dive. Definitely nervous about it but supposedly we just sit on the bottom in the pitch black with big lights and wait for the sharks to come. Just your typical diving experience...NOT, but it should be interesting. The sharks feed at night, so hopefully I will make it out alive and be able to enjoy my last few days in paradise. Until then, Chao!