earned. There’s really only one dive site, Darwin’s Arch, but it’s a keeper. Pretty much any pelagic can show up here. Be ready. We are. Fully briefed, amped up,
we take leave of the Galapagos Sky mothership and pile into the zodiacs. It’s bumpy, blustery and whitecapping; wind and current fight each other as we near the drop zone. We’re keen to escape the slop, so countdown and backroll into the briny depths. Before I’m clear of the bubbles, I can sense that the show has already begun. We are directly overtop a school
of steel pompano, flashing like jewelry polished bright. A wall of bonito tuna is below and just outside, with a few silky sharks patrolling the perimeter. Powering sideways across the current, we plummet like boobies after baitfish to reach the Theatre, a platform in 60 feet (18m) at the edge of the wall, which provides a panoramic view of the blue. Our shelf is currently occupied by two sea turtles being cleaned by a crew of barberfish, a dour-faced lunker of a scorpionfish and plenty of testy moray eels wandering about seemingly homeless. Lovely. Curious hogfish sidle in close, hoping my deathgrip on the reef dislodges a barnacle or two. A few Galapagos sharks watch my back from the reefslope. I’m in the thick of it.
GALAPAGOS TRAVEL INFORMATION
SEASONS: Galapagos is a superb year round destination. Conditions vary widely depending on location and season. January to May is the warm season with air temps 75 to 86°F (24-30°C), afternoon rain showers but also lots of sun. Seas are generally calm, vis 40 to 100 feet (12-30m), and water temps average 64 to 79°F (18-26°C). Some refer to this as the ‘manta season’, as divers see more mantas and other ray species at many sites. Hammerheads are common too, though sometimes a bit deeper. June to December is the cooler ‘garua’ season, drier but at the same time often overcast and misty, with air temps 64 to 75°F (18-24°C). Seas are rougher, water temps cooler ( 59° to 75°F/15-24C) and vis lower (16 to 65 feet/5-20m), but plankton means lots of big animals, including hammerheads, and a very high chance of whale sharks at Darwin.
CONDITIONS AND SKILL LEVEL: Diving is intermediate to advanced, due to cool water (even though you’re on the equator), colder thermoclines, sometimes challenging visibility, and strong currents
and surge. This is not a beginner’s dive trip! Dive within your limits. Pay close attention to dive site briefings and safety protocols before splashing, and follow your guides while submerged.
GEAR: Depending on the season, 5mm to 7mm full wet suits recommended, plus bring a hooded vest just in case. And gloves! Grabbing onto rocks to deal with current and surge is proper protocol here. Surface signaling devices are a must. SMBs on reels and Nautilus Lifeline radios are great ideas.
GETTING AROUND: With 125 craggy volcanic islands and islets, there’s lots of territory to explore. Extended live-aboard expeditions are the optimal way to dive Galapagos, and the only way to get to Wolf and Darwin. Land-based diving ops are headquartered in Puerto Ayora.
TRAVEL REMINDERS: Canadian citizens need a passport, but no visa. There’s a $100 US cash-only National Park entry
fee, and a $25-40 US departure tax leaving Ecuador. Fly from North America to Ecuador (either Quito or Guayaquil), then out to the Galapagos Islands to board your boat. Check with your boat for details. Pack lightly to avoid excess baggage charges.
ELECTRICITY: Same voltage, same plug as Canada/USA
CURRENCY: US dollar!
RECOMMENDED LIVE-ABOARD OPERATORS:
www.galapagossky.com Galapagos Sky is a luxury live-aboard yacht with extensive experience cruising the Galapagos archipelago.
www.aggressor.com Galapagos Aggressor III is a 100 foot (30m)-long luxury yacht with Master and Deluxe Staterooms available. Galapagos has been an Aggressor destination since 1993.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
www.ecuador.travel
www.divermag.com 47
and just outside, with a few silky sharks patrolling the perimeter
A wall of bonito tuna is below
A Fitting Finale The much anticipated rattling of our divemaster’s annoying shaker is like the dropping of the flag for a Nitrox- fueled race. I launch into the blue, sidelong into the current, kicking for all I’m worth in hopes of riding, even if only for a second, the bow wave of the spotted submarine now materializing at the edge of visibility. The titan turns towards us. Time stops. I’m perhaps only five feet (1.5m) away, dwarfed by its presence. Making eye contact with a whale shark is an unexplainable thing, an out of body experience. What is it thinking? Why does a 43 foot (13m)-long fish have such a peculiarly small eye? Is it friendly? Then reality rushes back into
my brain. The current sweeps me along its flank, and the monolithic tail fin propels it beyond my ability. It disappears as quickly as it came. Huffing and puffing, we make our
way back to the rocks. I hunker down, daring to hope that I have chosen agreeable eels as reef roommates, and stare out into the blue of imagination. We wait. We wait for the next act to unfold. For something to come into being, to evolve. This is, after all, Darwin’s laboratory, a cauldron of creation. There’s no telling what magic will be served up next.
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