Text by Jeremy Cuff/www.ja-universe.com
Photography by Jeremy & Amanda Cuff/www.ja-universe.com
Galapagos isn’t a place you can easily visit on a whim, or can likely afford to. Our trip was more than three years in the waiting, giving us time to save up and put the money aside. Our itinerary on the Galapagos Sky liveaboard was different in that it was over ten days rather than the usual seven, allowing more time for visits to the legendary shark action of Wolf and Darwin Islands, plus a unique chance to dive with the marine iguanas…
Galapagos is perhaps one of the world’s most iconic destinations associated with the natural world, put on the map by Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution that were inspired by what he saw during his time there. It has been the subject of countless television documentaries and is intensely studied by scientists who continue to unlock the finer points of evolution whilst others, even today, are still cataloguing new species. Each time you see a lava field bordering the sea, you can imagine David Attenborough standing there talking to his film crew, with marine iguanas scattered all around him.
It’s long journey out to the Galapagos, so we decided not to risk missing connections and “pace ourselves” a bit, firstly stopping for a couple of nights in Miami (Florida) where we enjoyed spending time at the “people watching” hangout of South Beach, before heading on to Quito in Ecuador where we would spend a night prior to the flight out to Baltra in Galapagos the following morning.
Upon arrival at mid-morning, the weather was overcast and surprisingly cool considering that we were sat right on the equator. The environmental sensitivity of the area was apparent even before we left the airport, with each passenger having to walk through a disinfectant before entering, thus attempting to prevent alien species from inadvertently being introduced.
We would get our first sight of the Galapagos Sky liveaboard from the small boat dock on Baltra, where a few booby birds, sea lions and marine iguanas were gathered as if to welcome us. Soon, were climbing onto the ribs to transfer to our home for next ten days, meeting all the crew, settling into our rooms, unpacking our dive and camera gear, and generally getting ready for the action to follow.
But first, there was safety, which was taken very seriously by the Galapagos Sky crew. As many of the areas to be visited were remote and affected by currents, all divers were given a very comprehensive briefing and issued with items that include a horn for attracting attention and a radio tracked “epurb” that can be activated in the event that a diver gets separated from the dive group and is swept away in current. The diving isn’t generally for the inexperienced in Galapagos, with our trip not accepting anyone who’d logged less than 150 dives, or those without a reasonable level of fitness.
Our first dive of the trip was a “try dive” close to where the Galapagos Sky was moored at Baltra, around the wreck of a tugboat (or some similar vessel). The visibility wasn’t great but we encountered turtles, stingrays and a lot of fish. It also gave me an opportunity to get used to the gear and get the correct weighting – my new 5mm wetsuit was a revelation compared to my old one, and despite being in the tropics, a hood was necessary to keep the cold at bay. If you didn’t already know it, you soon find out that the waters around Galapagos aren’t warm in the way you would normally expect in the tropics, but there is quite a lot of temperature variation from one area to another. This results in the curious mixture of tropical and temperate sea life that can be encountered throughout the island group.
The diving began in earnest at Pinzon Island. We were dropped in the shallows, and whilst sorting ourselves out at the surface and on the descent, a sea lion torpedoed around us and between the rocks, and then away. It would be that kind of diving – wild, untamed, unpredictable, magical, edgy and sometimes cold!
We enjoyed two dives here, which is home to what must surely be a finalist for the “Weirdest Fish in the World” contest – the Red Lipped Batfish, which can be found on the sandy slopes at this site. In terms of bigger action, we encountered more sea lions, plus a pod of incredibly fast dolphins at the end of the second dive whilst we were on our safety stop, and some giant mantas too.
Next was Roca Blanca, a small guano covered rock (hence its name in translation “white rock”!) where we enjoyed encounters with turtles, stingrays and sea lions, including some that were feeding on baitfish, barrelling through the silver hordes in the surge dominated shallows. Some divers also witnessed a large school of Cow Rays at this site.
Cape Marshall proved to be a stunning, though chaotic site, with strong currents and huge amounts of action happening all around. It’s basically a drop off featuring geologically recent lava rock, which isn’t visually stunning in the way that a Red Sea or Indian Ocean reef might appear. Where it scores for divers is the incredible amount of activity.
Of the highlights, we swam through “40 minutes of continuous fish” on a drift dive, saw Mobula Ray “wallpaper” (a massive school numbering perhaps several hundred individuals) and Giant Mantas cruising by regularly, including some almost entirely black specimens. Down around the 30 metre mark, there was a very distinct thermocline where the deeper, colder water was much clearer than the water above it.
The theme of big currents, surge, and dives on the edge of some peoples comfort zones would continue as we continued our journey away from the main island group to sample the legendary shark action of Wolf and Darwin Islands. Amanda said at the outset of the trip that she wanted to see “a hammerhead – just one will do”. It would turn out that she came to the right place!
Sharks, of course cannot be guaranteed, but what we found surpassed our expectations. The amount of sharks encountered around Wolf and Darwin during our visit were phenomenal – Scalloped Hammerheads, Silvertips, Galapagos, Silkies, White Tips and Whalesharks. Imagine drifting away with the current from the ledges out into the blue surrounded by sharks (hammerheads and silkies), schooling fish, when a turtle swims through the middle, and moments later, a whaleshark passes underneath! That was our dive number 2 at Darwin, which became one of the most talked about of the trip. Over many following dives, we would enjoy similar crazy shark fuelled dives, whilst clinging to rocks, boulders and cracks on ledges, trying to predict the best spots for the closest encounters, but careful to avoid the many burly scorpionfish that seemed everywhere, meaning you had to be very careful where you settled.
At Wolf, one particular dive got very interesting in an “I wonder what’s going to happen next” kind of way. We watched a sea lion chase and catch a fish, with which it soon disappeared, out of sight. By the time we were at our safety stop, we’d forgotten about the earlier action, but were soon reminded of it when we “found” the sea lion again (a bull) flaying its catch on the surface.
Possession of an underwater camera can sometimes have an effect of erasing all fear, but in this case, we weren’t sure how the sea lion would react to a close invasion of its privacy, especially as it was eating its hard earned catch. It also crossed my mind about the amount of fish blood in the water, and no sooner had I thought about it, we had sharks around us – silkies. We then witnessed a silky shark go steaming in, bold as brass to steal the fish from the unhappy sea lion, gorging it down in an instant with the sea lion in hot pursuit!
The marine iguanas of Cape Douglas would turn out to be, perhaps, the most special of the dives for me, but they made us wait for it. It was especially cool and overcast that day, with these unique reptiles being unable to enter the water until they’ve attained sufficient body temperature. From the Galapagos Sky, binoculars were trained on the heaps of lizards on the rocks and beach, looking for signs of activity.
Eventually, things started to happen, which was the signal to kit up and board the ribs. What followed was amost unique and magical dive in only a few metres of water, at the only place on the planet where this is possible. We could literally approach these fabulous reptiles to within inches, whilst they grazed on the algae upon which they depend. We also saw cormorants fishing and even a Galapagos penguin whizzing past. We later found out that very few people get to do this dive, with permission being difficult to obtain from the conservation authorities.
It’s a marginal existence for the iguanas, where entering the water to feed is a matter of life or death. Unlike carnivorous lizards and snakes that can feed less often, they must eat every day. If they get too cold, or too far away from shore, they won’t make it back, and perish of hypothermia. We actually discovered a full iguana skeleton at a nearby dive site later that day, where we also saw beautiful colours more akin to temperate waters and another new sighting for me, a Port Jackson Shark. Closeby, though not seen on the actual dives was a Sunfish (Mola Mola) which came to the surface close to the boat.
We found the Galapagos Sky itself to be a very good liveaboard, well equipped with good rooms, and friendly and experienced staff, many of whom have spent years working around the islands. We enjoyed the announcement of the dives and mealtimes by the captain via the intercom accompanied by ambient music with words like “welcome to your next dive site, time to enjoy another day in paradise”. It was certainly better than someone ringing a loud bell, a screaming “dive time” at the top of their voice!
Despite the sensational underwater experiences for divers, no visit should fail to include a bit of “land time”. On the last full day, the Galapagos Sky crew took us firstly to St. Bartolome Island where a “boardwalk-style” path has been constructed to lead visitors to the top of the small peak above the bay. The sun was out on that morning, affording us iconic views of the Galapagos in terms of lava fields, islands, channels and scenic bays. Up close you could observe lava lizards basking in the warmth, and back at water level the crew took us for a rib ride along the shore to look for iguanas, bird life such as boobies and the Galapagos penguin (we found a couple of specimens!).
In the afternoon, we had an afternoon excursion on Santa Cruz, to visit an easily accessible site for a sub-species of a Galapagos favourite, the Giant Tortoise. We saw a number of specimens, and got up close with some of the “human tolerant” species of finch. On the road to and from the tortoises, you can’t help but witness what appears to be “finch suicides” – the hapless birds haven’t yet learned the danger of road vehicles. Eventually, finches along the roads will doubtless evolve to perceive the danger and avoid the cars, trucks and buses.
All too soon, we reached San Cristobal for the flight back to mainland Ecuador. Unlike remote Baltra, there’s a town there, which has become a venue for sea lions, which amusingly haul themselves up on benches, on steps, on tarpaulins, on jetties around the towns seafront. Only in Galapagos!
I’ve never liked the clichéd expression “holiday of a lifetime” but in the case of Galapagos, one visit represents pretty good going, and if you do get there it leaves a lasting feeling of being fortunate to be able to visit such a place. There was a maximum of 29 dives available during our trip and I’m glad to say that I did every one of them, witnessing some of the best that diving has to offer. In short, a hugely rewarding trip on a personal level for both of us.
Finally, a special thanks must go to our friend Shannon Conway for making this trip happen, and ensuring that we were a part of it.