Hammerheads to Finish Spring Break
Trip Start
Jan 18, 2010
1
26
28
Trip End
Apr 11, 2010
Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Sunday, March 14, 2010
When we actually got out to the dive site, we were very surprised to find that there was not very much of a current. This site is notorious for having strong currents and one diver on the boat, who had done the same site the previous day, said that he had to hold on to the rocks the entire time. When we dropped in the water, even down deep, there was no current which made the dive very pleasant, however hammerhead sharks like current. This was a pretty good dive, we saw a couple of big black tip reef sharks, a few eagle rays, some white tip sharks, a few turtles, and some sea lions. My mom and the guide saw one hammerhead on the safety stop but I was too busy blowing bubble rings to notice.
In between dives we got a great meal of tuna fish sandwiches, oreos, watermelon, and coca cola. The second dive was cool as well, nothing spectacular but very good. We saw a ton of white tip reef sharks and got to the outside of the crater where there were a lot of fish. No big sharks on this dive, which was a little disappointing but all around great day of diving.
When my mom and I got back we got some ice cream and took a nap. We didn't really do a whole lot the rest of that day cause we were pretty tired. I went to the new bar in Puerto Ayora and hung out with the owner and a few people. I met a kid, Dan, who was vacationing in the Galapagos for a month after he finished his masters degree. Pretty uneventful night overall.
The next day Evan and his mom met us at the dive shop to leave for the site Cousin Rock up near Bartolome. This is the furthest north I have gone all trip and it was a 45 drive across Santa Cruz before an hour and a half boat ride from Baltra. When we got to the site the 6 divers, other then my mom and I, did their weight and skills check near Bartolome. My mom and I snorkeled around a little bit while we waited for people. The major things we were looking for on this dive were frogfish and seahorses. As soon as we dropped down Evan spotted a really cool Scorpionish. The site was one of the coolest sites that I have seen in the islands, it had soft corals and some hard corals. In the middle of the dive I see Evan freak out and make the hammerhead symbol so I swam up to him and saw two hammerheads pretty well and another in the distance. It looked like a school but we couldn't tell cause we could only see three of them. We saw some eagle rays on that dive too.
In between dives we went and had a snack and did some more snorkeling around Bartolome. Highlight of that was an octopus and a penguin that we got really close too. We dropped in on the second dive with the intent to find a seahorse and hopefully see the hammerheads again. There was nothing too exciting for the first half of the dives, a moray and some nuptial male bravo clinids. All of a sudden I see Evan freaking out again so I kick it in to high gear and book it to him. I look up and there are between 30 and 50 hammerheads in a school coming over the ledge and heading out to sea! I tried to swim with them but I couldn't keep up for very long. I saw them for probably a good 30 seconds though. About 5 minutes after that an eagle ray swims by and we see about 10 or 12 eagle rays in a school going right by us. They stayed with us for a long time and I got some good pictures. When we were real close to the end of the dive as I am trying really hard to just find a seahorse to top the dive off, I got one better as a Manta Ray swam right by us and made a little loop before leaving. This is a dive that I will never forget, and is definitely my best dive in the Galapagos and my life.
That night Evan and I went out and went to the new bar. Not too much was going on there but we met up with Dan and decided to go to the Rock and be with some of the people we dove with earlier that day. We had a beer and then went to Bongo Bar to see if there possibly were any girls around. There werent very many girls but we ended up talking to a girl named Paulina who was a pretty cool girl and has a sister in Puerto Villamil that works at a bar we go to sometimes.
The next day before taking off on the boat back to Isabela, Evan, my mom and I went to Las Grietas, which are cliffs with really clear water in them. The path there was through very dirty looking salt marshes, so it was hard to believe we were going to make it to the clear water but we did. On the way we saw a random bar next to the salt marshes called "Paradise." It turned out that Paulina, who we met last night, worked there and we talked to her for a little while and bought a coke before continuing on. Las Grietas was really fun, I didn't jump off any cliffs but Evan jumped from the top which was pretty crazy looking. The water was freezing and felt really good.
After the swim we went to one of the nicer restaurants in town and got an unbelievable panini that wasn't even too expensive. It had ham, cheddar cheese, bacon, and a fried egg on it. I think that is ambrosia. After the meal we got our bags and headed to the port for our trip back. The trip was not too bad we met some people studying in San Cristobal who were on their way over for Festival Isabela. When we got back we checked into the hotel and got dinner at Oasis. I had class the next day so I just hung out with my mom and then went to bed.
