When it comes to diving, Galapagos is not the colourful coral jungle that you will find in the Great Barrier Reef, but it gives you the opportunity to swim with bigger creatures than just a couple of fish. The two sites you should aim to dive while staying on Santa Cruz are Gordon Rocks and Seymour. Both sites are areas where hammerhead sharks can be found along with sea lions, sea turtles and rays.
There are plenty of dive shops to pick from and we had to stop by a few to find an agreeable combination of price and preferred dive sites. We ended up at Academy Bay, located on the waterfront, which offered a two dive trip for $140 (the rate appears to have gone up to $180 according to the website), neither the cheapest nor the most expensive shop, but their equipment and boat were good.
Spinning around with sea lions in North Seymour
On the way out to the dive sites of North Seymour I was amazed to see a dozen or so rays breach meters out of the water and spin around in the air, not something I thought rays did. We were slated to dive two sites, Mosquera and The Point. Jeff and I, both experienced divers, buddied up for the fun dives while Jess and Gill stayed closer to the surface for an intro dive. Many of the sites are not meant for novice divers to exceed a few meters and dive masters usually like people to have a minimum number of dives under their belt so it’s always a good idea to bring your dive log along in your luggage. If you don’t have the diving experience you may be tempted to lie about it, but you probably shouldn’t for the safety of yourself and your group.
One part of the North Seymour dive had the strongest currents I have ever experienced and the few minutes our group was separated was absolutely terrifying since backtracking in those currents feels like pushing against hurricane force winds. My dive master left me all alone clinging to a rock for what felt like an eternity in order to find the group stuck on the other side of a ridge, not knowing where we were. If I let go I would have be sucked away in the current, so I hung on for dear life without a living soul in sight, with the exception of the sharks who had starting swimming circles around me. Luckily I like sharks, but isolation and uncertainty are two emotions I prefer to experience on dry land with an unlimited air supply.
Mosquera was a much calmer dive and we eventually lost count of the number of hammerheads that came in and out of visibility. Like all the creatures of the Galapagos they seemed completely unbothered by us. During the times we didn’t have hammerheads to marvel at, schools of rays gracefully skimmed the ocean floor. As we came closer to the surface a few sea lions came to inspect us, swimming form diver to diver like excited puppies.
Chilling with hammerheads
Naturally, a day of diving can cause one to work up an appetite so after retuning to Santa Cruz, washing up and getting free copies of the photos taken by our dive master from the shop, we hit the “food street” about three blocks up from the waterfront. If you are worried about not knowing what you are ordering, don’t worry as most restaurants provide a photographic guide of dishes on the walls. The ironic thing is the food looks 10 times better in real life than in most of the pictures they have chosen to post.
