Diving in Darwin’s Paradise.

During Christmas and New Year I spent 3 weeks diving and touring in the Galapagos Islands. My first week was a land tour liveaboard on a 3 masted sailing boat. Snorkling every day with playful sealions gave just a tempting glimpse of what may be deeper below. The second week was a diving liveaboard on the Peter Hughes dive boat Sky Dancer. Diving in the Galapagos Islands is relatively advanced as the islands are volcanoes that rise from the deep mid Pacific Ocean floor and so it is not unusual to be diving above the seabed over 1000m below! The water is relatively cool (considering that the islands straddle the equator), between 23 and 25°C as deep, cold currents flowing from the Poles collide and upwell, bringing nutrient rich water that feeds an incredible diversity of life. The Islands are famous for their endemic giant tortoises and finches, both of which Charles Darwin observed and contributed to his theory of evolution by natural selection. The marine life is also unique in many ways, an endemic species of penguin, the Galapagos shark and the Galapagos sealion to name just a few.

The highlights of the trip included the 5 whale sharks we saw, many over 8m long. The whale shark is the largest fish, it’s a plankton feeder but when one swims past you it is an awesome sight! Scalloped Hammerheads school in the cool upwelling water during the day and we swam within cylindrical schools of 200 – 300 sharks! Galapagos sharks are fast, powerful fish that gave a real thrill when they swam past and we also saw silky sharks, white tip reef sharks, oceanic white tips and black tip sharks! Swimming with dolphins and sealions was a pleasure and for me the most exciting moment was a glimpse, for just a second or two, of a sunfish.

Joining a liveaboard trip can be a risk, especially when travelling solo, however in my experience you can meet some fascinating people and this trip was no exception, out of the 13 divers 9 nationalities were represented and the diversity and range of interests really made the trip interesting!

Where to go next???????

Claire