I dove on the Galapagos Aggressor on July 6-13th. There were 13 divers on board, a dive group from Guatemala consisting of members from Guatemala and the USA. Then the other five divers were from Scotland, Germany, and the USA. The trip started from the port at Santa Cruz Island and then went to Wolf Island, Darwin Island, Fernandina Island, Isabella Island, and Cousins Rock. Water temperatures in the outer islands, (Wolff and Darwin) were 82-84 degrees and the visibility ranged from 60-100 feet. The outer islands (Fernandina and Isabella) were 72-75 degrees and visibility ranged from 35-45 feet. Maximum depths were typically between 80-100 feet and there were strong currents in the outer islands. Sea crossings were very rough.
There were typically four dives a day but some days were less due to travel and one day were did a 5th dive (night dive). I became an "iron diver" which is the Aggressor's award for someone who does all dives offered on the boat. I did a total of 20 dives and spent exactly 17 hours underwater. This style of diving was a sit-and-wait approach which was different than I am used to. It was like being a spectator in an aquarium and watching all the "big stuff" go by. The dive guides wanted the divers to hang onto the boulders/reef which went against all my respectful diver instincts until I realized it was for safety due to the currents. For safety, every diver was given a dive flag that when the pole was put together was maybe four feet tall to be seen over the waves or in a distance and each buddy pair also had a GPS Personal Locator Beacon.
This was my first time being up close and practically interacting with dolphins, which was thrilling for me. Other firsts included seeing hammerhead sharks, mola-molas, marine iguanas, and swimming with penguins. Other highlights included many dives with whale sharks, sea turtles, tunas, red-lipped batfish, and a sea robbin with a blue edge. The marine iguanas reminded me of mini Godzillas as they would eat the algae underwater. There was one stop at Bartolome Island to hike to the lookout point and upon return to Santa Cruz on the final day our group visited an area in the highlands to see giant tortoises.
Lindsay Martin