havecarryonwilltravel

Scuba diving in the Galapagos is hard work. Every dive has its challenges, from surge to current to deep dives.

Roca Redondo

Surge is when the water moves first one way and then the other. Sort of like rocking. We watch the fish and, when in Rome, we do what they do. Pause when the surge is against us and kick like hell when the surge is with us. Many of the surges we have encountered are so forceful that we glide 15 feet forward only to lose just as much going back, so we hold onto a rock to stop ourselves from moving backward. Sometimes the power of water is so strong it rips us from our perch and we freefall losing the ground we had just gained. Surges can be fun as long as they are not to wild.

We have experienced some pretty heavy currents here too. Kicking against the current, we use up a lot of air to make very little progress. Often it is just easier to crawl, our arms doing the work and our legs just dangling with our stomachs inches above the rocks looking like a herd of lizards. We are learning to be careful what we grab onto. We do not want to harm what little coral and wildlife there is down there. It is easy to dislodge a shell creature or rip a piece of coral from its home.

We are doing a series of deeper dives within a day. Nitrox, which is 32% oxygen instead of 21% in air, is available so we are using it. This is easier on our bodies and allows for longer bottom times and shorter surface intervals.

With the dives being so difficult, we are so busy concentrating on the dive it is hard to see the fish. We cannot take time to look because we are busy holding on, crawling along or kicking hard. We have opted to leave our cameras on the boat for many dives due to the conditions.

This hard diving is very tiring. We are falling asleep after lunch while writing our dive logs. We are falling asleep at 9:00 pm. We sleep well, or as well as we can on a moving boat, and still wake up tired.
Two more days of diving and we will see what challenges are to come in the Galapagos.

Darwin’s Arch

Darwin’s Arch. The photographs of the arch are known across the world. It is also the location of all our dives today. It is renowned for its schools of hammerhead sharks. The divers on the boat are all excited about finally seeing these unique sharks.

The 15 divers have been divided up into two groups. One group is called the dolphins and one is the sharks. We are in the sharks group along with R from Washington DC, K from Texas, P and A from Vancouver and I and R from Munich. The dolphins comprise of four Russians, two from NYC and two from Moscow, a Belgium, a Chicago “copper” as she likes to call herself and a New Yorker.

The dive deck is divided in two halves, sharks on one half and dolphins on the other. With 8 on our side, there is lots of room to move and gear up. We each have a specific station where our tank and BCD sit and below is a basket to keep the small stuff like booties, mask, gloves and dive computer.

Our dive stations

About 10 minutes before the slated dive time, we start to gather on the dive deck to gear up. This involves checking the percentage of nitrox and psi of gas in our tanks and recording these on a sheet. We hook up our octopus and make sure straps and buckles are ready to go on our BCD.

Next we wrestle on our 7 mm wetsuits. This was a big chore until one of the crew suggested we wet the inside of the wetsuit legs and arms, wet and soap down our legs and arms, and VOILA! how easily greased legs and arms slide into the wetsuit.

Murray gearing up

Then come gloves, dive computer, weight belt, BCD with tank and mask around our neck ready to put on. With 7mm wetsuits, more weight is required than our regular 3mm wetsuits we use in the Caribbean. I am using 14 pounds of weight in a belt. Add that to the weight of the tank and other gear and that is a lot of extra weight to hoist around. Each time we perform this ballet of donning gear, we get faster at doing it as the routine becomes familiar and well-practiced.

Once we are all geared up, the panga (zodiac) pulls along the side of the mother ship, and with help from some of the very strong crew, we gingerly step from the boat to the panga and sit on the side. Fins are passed over to the panga in a basket and then handed out. We don these right away. Cameras are handed over next and we are ready for the panga ride to the dive site.

Stepping to the panga

Once at the dive site, we put on our masks, the dive master counts down 3 – 2 – 1 – GO! and we all back roll into the ocean at the same time. Sort of like the navy seals. We descend quickly and regroup on the bottom.

We search for the elusive hammerheads over 4 dives and are disappointed when we find a scant few at Darwin’s Arch.

Today we experience some of the toughest diving we have ever encountered. We dive a number of sites off Wolf Island. We hope to see hammerhead sharks. On one dive we back roll off the panga in calmer waters, descend and swim (with our right shoulder to the wall) a bit down the wall. We reach a point and the surge, going up and down the wall as well as along the wall, is massive. We swim with the surge and when the surge changes direction, we grab onto a rock and hold on for dear life. So much for taking pictures. This continues for about 10 holds and we hit a depth and place along the wall where the current changes to a manageable intensity. The other dives today are similarly challenging and our skills are tested.

Trumpet Fish

We keep looking for schools of hammerheads to swim past in the blue but they seem to be elsewhere today. This is THE SPOT to see hammerheads. Where are they?

We do see another sea lion who gives Murray a good look before twirling away in the current. We also see Moray Eels, lots of them. Turtles. Spotted Eagle Rays. Puffer fish, Trumpet fish, Star fish. The currents and surges give no opportunity for seeking out small stuff like gobies, crabs, slugs and blennies.

It was a day of hard diving, learning and wishing for hammerheads.

We are posting 2 posts a day to catch up for when we were in the “no WIFI zone”. Check below for another new post.

My sleep in is interrupted by a grinding noise, then a sloshing sound, and the bed is rolling from side to side. Up to this point I have slept solid and now it is an on and off thing. We’re moving towards tomorrow’s dives and it is the first night on the boat for a couple of landlubbers.

The day starts with a land tour of Bartolome Island. Not much there really. A walkway over desolate solidified lava to the top of a fairly short volcano. There is a cactus or two and some other scrub, the occasional lizard but that is about all. The view includes some of the adjacent islands and we get an idea as to the layout of the territory.

Bartolome Island

We get back on the Panga and tour the shore line. Our first sighting of the blue footed booby is just around the corner but the highlight is a short Galapagos Penguin standing on a rock preening. The only time northern folk get to see this bird is in the zoo so to see them up close and personal is a treat.

Blue Footed Booby

On the mother ship, after lunch, we prepare for out next dive. The gear is different than what we use in the Caribbean. The wetsuits are 7mm thick. They are not only a struggle to get on but require you to about double the amount of weight you need to carry. Everything is more awkward and takes longer. Most on board do not deal with this amount of gear and everyone struggles.

Both dives today are at Cousin’s Rock. A relatively easy place to dive and it is obvious practice for the next few days. One dive we go clockwise and the second dive is counter clockwise. We see most of the same animals only in reverse order. A few white tip sharks nodding a bit before a evenings work (they are nocturnal), a couple of large eels, a small group of eagle rays and quite a few very large tortuga. One extremely big fellow I’m guessing 6’ long and about 4’ wide.

Hawksbill Turtle

Neither dive is difficult but as I mentioned I think they are practice for the more technical dives in our near future. After the second dive today everyone is feeling more confident.

As I write, the boat is again on the move and when we awake in the morning we will be above our next dive site.