Galapagos Series - Diving Galapagos

Before arriving in the Galapagos Islands both the anticipation and curiosity for this part of the world was high. As the Divers amongst us know, the best way to see underwater life is to dive.

Yes, I will admit that snorkelling has its advantages and provides opportunities to experience the wildlife to some extent (ie, like an injured seal flapping about on the surface) but this was no place to skimp on experiences and the diving did not disappoint.

We randomly met an American dive instructor who directed us to a few better hostels on Santa Cruz Island and quickly identified that she worked for a quality dive center and tour company.  We then established that the best dive locations were Gordon Rocks and Seymour Norte.

Gordon Rocks

Departing the next day to Gordon Rocks, we were joined by a group of students on an Open Water Course, which made for a full load for the boat. So without trying to brag too much, it was the most amazing dive experience that I have ever had! The underwater formations were awesome and the wildlife was both plentiful and radness! The marine life accepted you in their territory and were generally happy for you to come relatively close. On the other side, the larger Hammer heads were quite happy to come a check us out as well.   On this dive I saw hammer head sharks, manta rays, turtles, sea lions, white tip reef sharks and then thousands of fish and smaller life.

Teeming with marine life

For our second dive, we were to dive between the underwater piers that connected Gordon Rocks. Unfortunately this dive was cut short due to an accident with one of the other divers.  One of the girls diving in our group got caught in a current and whilst exerting herself to return to our group passed out underwater. Thankfully after retrieving her from 30M and calming down the boyfriend (who was at a point of being a hinderance), she was breathing on the surface and come to shortly after. She has made a great recovery and hopefully will get back in the water.

Seymour Norte

The second dive was at Seymour Norte. This diving experience was definitely more about the great underwater landscapes, including a sandy bank which had thousands of small Galapagos garden eels who caught small organisms in the currents. We also saw a sting ray school, more hammer heads and a sea lion who decided to try and catch some dinner in the school of fish we were swimming through.

The diving on both sites was amazing, and hopefully the pictures give you a glimpse of the amazing marine life in Galapagos. There are a lot more photos that will be loaded to the Dropbox account for you to look through. Unfortunately the video adventures will take a while to load and you may not be able to see these until our return.

Dropbox Link

After these two days of diving it was hard not to keep going back for more, luckily our 14 Day program gave us many more great opportunities, so stay tuned… 

Galapagos Series – Santa Fe and San Cristobal Island

Our day trip to San Cristobal was less about the island and more about the awesome snorkelling around the island.

The first stop was at Santa Fe which was pretty uneventful.  We saw a few fish but the current was quite strong so we got back on board and waited for our next stop.

The next snorkelling spot was a place called Kicker Rock was a small cluster of rocks in the middle of the ocean with a small channel between two of the rocks.  It was fantastic snorkelling.  We saw sea turtles, reef sharks and a sea lion having a rest.

Our last snorkelling spot was just off the coast of San Cristobal and was home to a colony of sea lions.  It was mainly young playful pups who let you swim up close and play with them in the water.  They were so friendly and curious and not at all afraid to have us all there in the water with them. 

Following this we headed to San Cristobal for lunch and learnt that the island is home to one of the biggest colonies of sea lions.  Sea lions were everywhere and they were not afraid to make their presence known.  Here sea lions get right of way and first choice of seating.

The Galapagos Series – Floreana Island

Floreana Island in one of the southern islands two hours away from Santa Cruz.  We booked a day trip to explore the island and the surrounding waters.  Our first stop was up to the hinterlands.  We hopped on to the roof of our tour bus (where the cool kids hang) for the quick drive up the hillside.

We were dropped off at the start of a trail paved with jagged rocks, perfect for the slippery thongs Marc and I were wearing.  We weren’t quite sure what to expect as we followed the path but were pleasantly greeted by two giant tortoises having sex!  Apparently it can last anywhere from 45 minutes to four hours.  And considering the pace and the obstacles the male tortoise literally has to get over, it’s not really that surprising.

After we had watched the tortoises doing it for long enough we continued up the path to some pirate caves and some other stuff that is nowhere near as exciting as tortoises doing it.

This is when it decided to bucket down and Marc and I made the call to rid ourselves of our pesky footwear and take on the sharp piercing rocks.  Luckily there weren’t any serious injuries, just muddy shoes and a few grazes.

We headed back to the boat and were greeted by a sea lion and her pup lounging on the wharf.  Super cute!

Our next stop was a snorkeling site where we saw tropical fish, Galapagos penguins and a sea lion.  The clarity of the water wasn't great so the average photos are even more average than usual and not really worth showing.

On the way back to Santa Cruz we were followed by a large pod of dolphins whom swam along with us for half an hour or so.  Definitely a Galapagos highlight!

The Galapagos Series: Santa Cruz

As most of you know I like animals.  I prefer them to be fluffy and fuzzy but I am partial to the odd feathered creature or a smooth skinned mammal.  We hoped Galapagos would be my Nirvana.  Surrounded by animals 24/7, everything all natural and stuff.  Santa Cruz Island was a great introduction to what the rest of the Islands are like.

Santa Cruz is the most populated of all the Islands and where we decided to base ourselves for most of the time.  Besides roaming the paved streets looking for restaurants and trying to find last minute accommodation, we didn't actually see too much of the island.  The first two days Marc spent diving (see his diving blog posts) and I explored the areas that were public access (most of the time you need to be with a Galapagos National Parks Guide).

The best part of Galapagos is that the animals are really tame and not at all afraid of humans.  We are meant to keep at least two metres from the animals but if you are standing perfectly still and a sea lion happens to walk over to you it's not really your fault!!

On one of our strolls along the main road we stopped at an area where the fishing boats berth to clean and gut their catch.  Here we observed with much delight sea lions sneakily trying to steal fish either from the shore or directly from the boats.  Personally I feel they have a right to the fish, but the hardworking fisherman aren't always as excited to have a sea lion hop on to their boats.

It really was amazing to just be strolling along and happen upon a sea lion relaxing on a pier or even on a bench (just like a homeless person!).

There is a beautiful beach on Santa Cruz called Tortuga Bay.  There is a surf beach side and and the other side is a calm lagoon.  I got up relatively early on one of the days Marc was diving and headed off on the 45 minute walk to the bay.  I arrived around 8am and lucky to have it pretty much just to myself.

Deserted surf beach at Tortuga Bay

Mangrove Island

All to myself!

Tortuga Bay didn't disappoint in the animal department.  They may not be soft and fuzzy but it was awesome just to be able to get so close to wild animals.

First Marine Iguana spotting for the trip

Pelican

Stay tuned for our next Galapagos Series instalment!