Diving in the Galapagos is INCREDIBLE! During our buoyancy check the first morning out, sea lions were less than 10’ away sunning on nearby rocks. On the way to our first dive site at Gordon Rocks, I frightened all the passengers by screaming when I saw a 4’ manta ray shoot straight out of the water chasing something. Luckily, he surfaced again so that all the other divers didn’t think I was hallucinating.
Eva, my dive buddy from England, and I became fast friends. My favorite thing she said, “women need men like fish need a bicycle.” (She was joking!) She is a very experienced diver and so I felt really comfortable with her, as I had to tell a few little white lies to convince the dive shop to permit me to dive Gordon Rock. The conditions at Gordon Rock are extreme – 15 degrees Celsius, very rough waters, back entry, strong currents. It was well worth the tiny fib about how many dives I have under my belt because within the first four minutes under, we saw a 4-5’ manta ray. I was also the only one who actually saw a hammerhead shark, 6-7’, feet swimming above us because I refuse to just look down when I dive, I like to spin around like a carousel. ;) We saw two green turtles and another manta, in addition to loads of amazing fish. It was a really tough dive, though, and I was spent after it!
We did our surface interval near some rocks where sea lions were chilling out. I snorkeled up to them and they put on a show…twirling, swimming less than 2’ away from me, smiling at me, waving at me…it was amazing…truly, something I will never forget. I watched 7 sea lions perform until I could stand the cold no longer. Our second dive was the worst of my life…very challenging, horrible visibility and freezing water. The dive instructor felt bad, so he gave us a free tank for the following day which was awesome!
Today was great…three dives total. I saw tons of reef sharks, much larger than any in Thailand or Malaysia. We saw two turtles, sea lions came down and performed again, dancing and twirling in our bubbles. We saw several manta rays, eels and loads of schools of fish. The Galapagos is by far the best diving I have ever done!
Tomorrow, I jump on a budget cruise ship bound for the south islands of the Galapagos. I will spend the next 5 days and 4 nights snorkeling and animal watching and I can’t wait! Coming here to wind up my trip has been one of the best decisions I have ever made! Countdown to home: 8 days!
No comments:
Post a Comment