Eric Ault’s Galapagos Report (Cont.)

At Wolf Island, diving on Nitrox really comes into play. I have a Nitrox computer and usually wear a second air-only computer as a back-up. The back-up was totally “bent” after the second dive at Wolf and spent the rest of the trip in the bin with other unused equipment. Our fourth dive of the day was made at the anchorage on the West side of the island next to a long line of cliffs inhabited by seemingly thousands of nesting seabirds. The purpose of this late afternoon dive was to view the elusive ruby-lipped batfish. Well, the batfish may be elusive most places, but here at Wolf Walter found at least twenty of so. With their bright red lips in a perpetual frown, these fish are among the strangest I’ve ever seen.

We over-nighted at Wolf leaving before breakfast to make the 20 mile cruise to Darwin Island. Like Wolf, Darwin is completely surrounded by steep cliffs, but is even smaller in size. Diving at the Island is done at the foot of Darwin’s Arch, a rock formation sticking out of the water about one half mile from the island. This is usually the place where whale sharks are almost guaranteed, but not during our visit. Water temperatures warmer than usual seem to have discouraged the giants. A mobula ray, a relative of the manta, was sighted at the end of one dive, however. After the second dive, Divemaster Walter polled all guests and a return to Wolf was mandated. (This turned out to be a good move as later discussions with Aggressor II which stayed at Darwin revealed that they saw no whale sharks.)

Accordingly, after lunch we returned to Wolf for a late afternoon dive. A lot of people opted out of this dive much to their chagrin. The four or five of us who went quickly descended to about 60 feet where we found a major thermocline. We struggled to hang on to the wall in current that can only be described as ripping, the stiffest we faced during the entire week. Apparently, these conditions are much to the liking of hammerheads. After only a couple of minutes a huge school of these sharks appeared, so many that they faded off into the distance. It was just like being in your own private documentary film. Suddenly, the hammerheads parted and two big dolphins swam through, as if thumbing their noses at the sharks daring them to start something. After they passed, the sharks returned to continue the show. I consider it a real privilege to have seen such a natural wonder.

July 4th found us still at Wolf for three more dives amid the hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, green turtles and schooling fish. The crew had decorated the main lounge in Red, White and Blue in honor of our national holiday. In the evening we all celebrated our Nation’s birthday with a champagne toast on the upper deck. In lieu of fireworks, the crew even set off a few aerial flares for our enjoyment.

After “navigating” overnight, we found ourselves at Bartolome Island at a dive site called Cousin’s Rock. This site featured sea horses, schooling barracuda and squadrons of patrolling eagle rays. A number of sea lions played on one side of the rock, mugging for the video camera. In the afternoon a few of us opted for a snorkel with the local penguins while others took a panga ride along the shoreline of the island. The penguins proved to be elusive in the water, though a couple of them preening on a small rock permitted me to approach within a few feet for some pictures. Late in the afternoon we all boarded the pangas for a trip to the island. Bartolome, with its red volcanic rocks mostly devoid of vegetation reminded me of pictures from the planet Mars. Frozen lava flows and the remains of lava tubes are everywhere. A climb up wooden walk-ways and steps leads to the summit of the 300-400 foot high high volcano. The view from the top was spectacular overlooking neighboring San Salvador Island, the anchorage and the “Splinter,” a spire of rock claimed to be the most photographed place in the Galapagos.

On Wednesday morning we did one last dive at Gordon Rock where we fought our way through the current to see more spotted eagle rays. A shore excursion was made at South Plaza where the low-lying vegetation exhibited Fall colors. Our final trip ashore was made on Santa Cruz Island at the town of Puerto Ayora to the Darwin Research Station, home of giant Galapagos tortoises. Eggs from endangered tortoises on some of the islands are brought to the research station for hatching. Young tortoises need protection from birds and especially from rats. Once they reach an age of two years (looking for all the world like army helmets) they are large enough to fend for themselves and can be released back into the wild. The station has a number of mature individuals, many of them at least 50 years old having been confiscated from private individuals when the National Park was formed in the 1950’s. Visitors are welcome to get right into the pens with these animals for photos and an up-close visit.

Following dinner at a Puerto Ayora restaurant, we made our way back to the Aggressor which set sail for one last time back to San Cristobal. Next day we departed for Quito and our Friday morning return to Chicago. What’s a dive trip without airline problems, right? Needless to say, we had our share on the return trip, but eventually we made it home safely.

Colleen and I would recommend this trip, but it is in many ways advanced diving. It’s helpful if you’ve done some cold-water diving but this is not a necessity. Most divers wore a 5 mm or a 5/3 mm suit with a hooded vest for sites with lower water temperatures. You do need to be comfortable with your skills and be able to do a safety stop in the blue without benefit of safety line or reference point. I would strongly recommend Nitrox certification, too. Otherwise, either your bottom time or the number of dives you can do will be limited. All in all, this was a great trip. I would strongly consider a return visit in hopes of seeing more whale sharks. Any volunteers? ♦

« November, 2007, Trip Information