Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Dive Galapagos - hang on, is that a SHARK?????

We arrived in Santa Cruz island in the Galapagos a few days before our cruise to do a bit of diving and soak up the atmosphere. Amid the half drizzle, half sunshine, we did 2 dives at Gordon's rock, apparently one of the best dive sites.

The conditions when we got in were pretty harsh. Apart from the fact the water was 19 degrees - bloody freezing for diving - and we had full 7mm wetsuits with hoods and gloves and everything, there was a very strong current and swell and it made the dive quite a struggle. Nevertheless, the hammerhead sharks, turtles and numerous other fishies meant that we were keen to get onto our second dive. In that we saw more sharks and turtles and, what surprised us was a real treat, were the sea lions who came over to have a quick look.

Tired but happy, we felt a bit seasick on the way back and decided to spend our second day exploring the nearby beaches and wildlife they had to offer - iguanas, sea turtles, birds a plenty. The islands are almost barren, although on closer inspection have low level bushes and trees interspersed with volcanic rocks of varying colours. We are looking forward to our 8-day boat trip as we'll be snorkelling and seeing all kinds of life endemic to the Galapagos.

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