Diving or sailing in the Galapagos is so special and awe inspiring the sense of wonder of natures gifts is often beyond the written or spoken word. Whether your viewing the world's solitary lizard that feeds from the oceans or swimming alongside with dolphins, whale sharks, hammerheads, sea lions, or giant turtles along with parrot fish and the penguins you'll be left breathless and speechless most of the time. Many divers take their own underwater cameras to capture these precious moments and also get lost in the maze of varieties of reef fish and Pelagic varieties that inhabit the waters close to shore. |
| Two
main diving options are available within the islands, day trips are the first type available and usually comes complete with all required equipment usually through the touring boats working from Puerto Ayora and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. The other option entails the divers bringing their own equipment while the operators supply the tanks and leads, the latter option is called Live-aboard operations. The day trip adventures are of course arranged at the last moment and booked with local dive shops the day prior as well as cheaper although the islands only closest to the dive store and boat you have booked will be the ones reachable due to distance and time limitations.Having said this, these boats (non-diving ones) still visit national Park sites and a few isolated landing areas as well as visiting the Gordon rocks area, infamous for viewing schools of hammerheads which you will dive into. In
contrast the Live-aboard cruises take much more time to plan and are booked months prior to arriving in Galapagos. This usually includes night dives and up to 2 or 3 dives daily in different locations as well as including weekly plans of what you will do, including the major National parks and the most popular landing sites. The divers are also able through greater time frames to visit the more distant islands such as Darwin and Wolf to the
north. |
| There are specific rules that must always be adhered to under the guidance and auspices of the National Park regulations. If you don't adhere to the various rules enclosed here, they may actually stop you in your tracks and have you banned from further activities and further trips. Examples of prohibition include touching animals, removing samples of fauna, flora and marine plants as well as spear fishing and capturing live animals for souvenirs, also coral collections. From the diving perspective all divers should have sufficient skills and experience from previous trips along with workable equipment because medical care is sparse as well as being able to work in cold waters with low visibility and water surges as previously mentioned in the overview. In addition as the nearest decompression chambers are over 650 miles away, divers must be aware of the risks of rising to rapidly which will result in decompression sickness and so it is highly recommended that the diver stays an extra day on the island in order to recuperate even with slow ascents. |
Santa
Fé.- Inside tranquil waters you can view shallow caves, rock reefs while diving and playing with the seal lines, various fish, rays, moray eels and Galapagos sharks here. Seymour Norte.- You can see many large species here including giant manta rays, sea lions, reef sharks (white tip), hammer head sharks, humpback whales as well as various species of invertebrates. Floreana Island.- There a several islets around this island with their own individual personality and scenery to dive from, for example Enderby has sharks, tunas, turtles and pelagics that swim around this eroded buttress while Devil's Crown has a circle of fragmented pointed lava circling coral reefs. Champion, on the other hand has a small crater with colonies of sea lions who parade the beaches, boobies nestled in the rocky crater as
well as reef fish emanating from the coral. Other islands house whales, sharks, giant mantas, red snapper, sea lions, white tip reef sharks, seahorses, Galapagos sharks, red lipped batfish, moray eels as well as various invertebrates and schooling fish. Gordon Rocks.- This area has a deep bottom sided with wall dives and has more aggressive currents and flows so the diver drifts along side the walls and is not for beginners, it is very famous for hammerhead sharks as well as being home to barracudas, turtles, octopi, Morays, amberjacks, snappers and invertebrates as well as Galapagos sharks, porpoise, white tip reef sharks, mantas and
large whales |
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