Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos Islands are an isolated archipelago of roughly 125 volcanic uplift islands. They straddle the equator and are located approximately 600 (1000km) miles of the coast of Ecuador. Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine rated the Galapagos the #1 diving destination in the world. The extreme currents and cold water contribute to the diversity in the marine environment. In addition, make diving a challenging experience.
From Undercurrent: Galapagos Islands Update: On August 23, Ecuador’s President, Rafael Correa has supported liveaboards’ proposal to continue dive trips until December 31 and all Galapagos National Park dive trips through 2007 will operate. The GNP will issue new diving permits for 2008, but local fishermen will be given priority, which may mean fewer Galapagos dive trips. . . .No changes were made to Correa’s lifting of the ban of taking shark fins “caught accidentally.” hundreds of sharks are now being slaughtered daily.
I started my trip in Guayaquil. My plan was to spend a few days on the central coast of Ecuador prior to our departure on the Galapagos Aggressor II. My first stop was Montanita, a popular destination on the international surfing circuit. Due to pacific storms the conditions were far from “epic”. My accommodations at Charos Hostal were comfortable and clean. Charos is located right on the beach and I highly recommend this place (www.charoshostal.com). The next day I caught a bus to Puerto Lopez—the gateway to Machililla National Park and port for boats going to “Isla la Plata.” Puerto Lopez is a small fishing village centered in a picturesque crescent shaped bay. During June to September hundreds of Humpbacks pass this area on their annual migration. Isla la Plata is approximately 15 km off the coast and part of the National Park. It is home for many indigenous birds including: albatross, blue footed boobies, frigates and others. Isla la Plata is also renown for large mantas and excellent diving. They call the island: “the poor mans Galapagos”. I was luck enough to get on a combination dive and whale watch trip. (all day trip $95.00 including equipment--$35.00 whale watch only)
Isla la Plata: Dived with Exploramar divers (www.exploradiving.com) Dive one. Maximum Depth 110 ft. (35 meters) my rented equipment didn’t include a computer but the instructor had one. We followed his profile dive and spent most of our time at 60 ft. Visibility was over 10 meters, close to 40’. The fish life was prolific and included cornet fish, stone scorpion fish, 3 turtles and two manta over 3 meters. The second dive was 25 meters. On this dive we hit very strong currents and similar underwater sea life including more trumpet and cornet fish, 4 large mantas 4 turtles, several large morays.
After a full day of diving and whale watching I took the bus to Ayampe and stayed at La Tortuga Eco Lodge. They offer inexpensive cabañas on the beach. (latortuga.com.ec). It was a full days bus ride back to Guayaquil.
Galapagos Islands
The next morning, I met up with the Galapagos II representative
and the other divers. Aero-gal few us to Baltra, where we were met by the Aggressor crew and shuttled to our boat. The first dive was that afternoon, a non-impressive “check out” dive. Dive Two (day 2) was Mosquera point. Visibility over 15 meters maximum depts. 70ft. Very little current, sea life included: 2 green turtles, 2 white tipped sharks one Marble Ray, a Mola Mola (sunfish). The topography was a rocky ledge.
Dive 3, same spot maximum depth was 56 ft. Same Marble Ray and fish but this time we played with a bull sea lion (not normally recommended)
Dive 4 and 7. Land Slide (I call this dive the amphitheater), Wolf Island, visibility over 80 ft (25 m). Fantastic dive. Strong currents. 4-6ft swells with consistent surge. We dropped to rocks and held on tight to watch the show. Hundreds of hammerheads, black tip, white tip, silky and Galapagos sharks. Large schools of eagle rays “floating” in the currents. Huge morays were abundant through out the rocky structure. Saw 5 green turtles.
Dive 5-6 Stark bay, visibility 60-80 ft. moderate currents. Saw several dolphins, more sharks.
Dive 8,9.10 Darwin Arch. 85 ft, visibility over 80 ft. moderate currents. Again, more hammerheads, Galapagos blacktip. Pod of dolphins. Eagle rays, Creoles. Several curious sharks came with in a meter of my camera. Prolific fish population. The week before six whale sharks was seen at this site.
Dive 11Wolf Island Land slide. Again sharks rays prolific fish. My dive partner was low on nitrox and wanted to go back towards the pangas. We hit the blue water current and were separated. Huge swells, strong surge and no boat or “buddy” in site. I was drifting farther away. My dive alert was useless. The wind made it difficult to keep my dive flag vertical (if needed all divers had gps tracking devices). I felt a “bump” on my fins. When I looked under the surface there were six silky sharks circling my feet. I temporarily fended them off with my dive flag; it was still a little scary until I saw Walter and the panga about 40 yards away coming to pick me up. I was very happy to get in that boat.
Dive 12-13 Cousins Rock; Visibility 70 ft. An old eroded crater made a nice rocky cliff dive. The many cracks and crevices were full of suprises. Including 2 seahorses and a frogfish. We saw two young sea lions chasing a shark.
Dive 14-15. Gordon Rocks. Visibility 50 ft +. Interesting dive site between two rocks. This area can get a strong surge”, especially if there is any swell. Many rays, octopus, and several sea lions were observed at this site.
We had several land excursions on 3 different islands. New rules prohibit land excursions on some of the islands, as they are open to tour boats only. We did see the marine iguanas, land iguanas, boobies, frigate birds, albatross, and many sea lions. Since there are no predators, the wild life on the Galapagos have
no fear of people.
On our last day we toured Santa Cruz Island and Puerto Ayora. We visited the national park headquarters and the Darwin Center but the highlight was a private ranch about 10 km out of town. The new owner had relocated the domestic goats and cattle (grazing animals compete with tortoise habitat) and opened his land to the national park. The ranch is now a refuge for hundreds of giant tortoises.
Galapagos Aggressor is a first class operation and one of two operators who have permits for land and dive excursions. (www.aggressor.com)
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