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Go Galapagos!
09/05/2008 - By Staff Writer
Sea Lion Pup, Galapagos Islands
Sitting at your desk at work? Bored? Dreaming of your next dive adventure? Here’s a vision to sustain you through the quarterly meeting...
You’re sitting on a chunk of lava flow on an island in the Galapagos. It resembles a science fiction landscape. Colored with the blacks and browns of scorching volcanic heat, this land mass thrust out of the ocean five million years ago seems both ancient and raw. The desolation is cut only by sparse green shrubs, sprouted out of cinders, absorbing the bright, glinting sunlight as it reflects off the sea.
It’s time to dive.
The Galapagos Islands are located nearly perfectly upon the equator, 600 miles west of Ecuador. They stand like a royal court of the sea, reigning over the confluence of five ocean currents: the South and North equatorial currents, their countercurrents, and the equatorial undercurrent. These five forces come together to create an underwater ecosystem unlike any other, populated by life unlike any other.
Most people know the Galapagos because of Darwin’s explorations there, and/or Kurt Vonnegut’s eponymous novel. There’s a nearly infinite amount to learn and explore in this unique region—and much of its fascinating diversity lies underwater. The diving here is both excellent and challenging. Water temperatures varies from 60°F to 75°F. Visibility changes quickly. Check the weather before you go—El Nino has an especially strong effect on the Galapagos, and precipitation is highly variable from one year to the next.
One terrific way to get to know the Galapagos is through a diving liveaboard. Based on a fully stocked scuba vessel, you can experience three dives a day in addition to a shore venture. Some boats even offer an on-board naturalist, to help you learn anything and everything you want to know.
These waters are especially known for their density of animals. Expect to find sea lions, fur seals, green turtles, eagle rays, moray eels, Galapagos sharks and scalloped hammerheads as part of “average” dives. Don’t be too surprised if you also find leopard flounder, red-lipped batfish, marine iguanas, and Galapagos penguins. Yes, penguins. On the equator.
Pretty much any random spot in the Galapagos would make a good dive. That said, there are some truly spectacular dives worth your attention. They include Tagos Cove, Cousins Rock, Roca Redonda, and Gordon Rocks. Look for iguanas diving next to you, as they submerge to chew algae from the rocks.
In between dives, treat yourself to a land excursion. Unlike other dive sites where stepping off the boat means returning to civilization, stepping ashore in the Galapagos is more like entering a new world, as wild and unique as the one below the surface. Five of the islands are lightly inhabited; most sites look as if they have not seen humanity. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself face to face with a 150 year old tortoise, calm and wondering before you. Climbing over ridges of volcanic lava, bright orange Sally Lightfoot crabs scuttling at your feet, you can watch sea lions playing in the surf. Look for the vampire finch on Wolf Island, flamingos on Santiago, and Opuntia cactus on Santa Fe.
The wonders of the Galapagos have been explored by many, yet we’ve only scratched the surface of their mystery. They continue to reveal new secrets. Which ones will they show to you?
