Final Days in the Galapagos

Saturday, June 14

It was not easy getting up at 5:45am for my last dive in the Galapagos, but I did it. With a wicked headache, I joined up with the rest of the dive group and headed back to Gordon Rocks. As we jumped in the water for our first dive, I could tell it was going to be a much different day from my last dive at Gordon Rocks. The current was incredible strong and the swells were creating large waves that threw me and the rest of the divers all over the place. I happened to be in a spot with a very strong up-current as well, so I had to fight to get below the surface...I ended up using a fourth of my tank just getting down to 20m. The current remained incredibly strong below the surface as well, which forced us to alter our dive plan and swim outside of the rock formations, which prevented us from seeing any hammerheads or other sharks. Because of the conditions, we moved our second dive to Plaza Sur where we had a nice, relaxing dive. We got to see a large marble ray (probably about 2m across), a large scorpion fish, a group of three eagle rays, and lots of fish. While it wasn't how I wanted to end my diving experience in the Galapagos, I can't really complain as I had 3 great days of diving before today.

I leave tomorrow morning to return to the mainland of Ecuador. I will hopefully be staying the night in Guayaquil so I can see the first match of the finals for the Copa Libertadores between Liga de Quito and Fluminense. I will then try to catch a morning bus on Monday to get to Quito, where I have my flight back to the US on Tuesday afternoon.


Friday, June 13

I spent most of the day on Friday at a nice beach just outside of town. It was a nice relaxing day. In the afternoon I went out to Bill's boat, Fuerte, to join him and the rest of the crew for a few drinks. We then all had dinner on shore. Bill, Julia, Will, and Alan are heading off to Isabella in the morning, so this was my last chance to seem them. Bill, Julia, and Will called it an early night after dinner, but Alan and I bee lined it for Limon y Cafe for a few more drinks before he had to set sail. I was scheduled for my last dive in the morning, so I was hoping not to stay out late or drink too much...easier said then done. Alan was able to convince to stay with him and continue our drinking escapades until the bar closed...around 2am.


Thursday, June 12

I took the morning boat back to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. I then spent a good part of the day getting photos uploaded and hacking away on the internet. In the evening, I went to the Charles Darwin Center to see a movie called Sharkwater. The movie was made to bring to light the shark killings that are happening world wide and the problems it is and will cause to our environment. It was an incredible film and I would strongly encourage everyone to see it and tell their friends about it. I will find more information about how you can see it and will post that shortly. After the film I met up with a friend of my parents' who had sailed their boat from the British Virgin Islands to the Galapagos, Bill Strong. Unfortunately his wife, Shelby, had to return to the US and wasn't able to join him for the Galapagos leg of their travels. But, I had dinner with Bill, Julia (the chef on board), Will (Julia's husband the captain of the boat), and Alan (a South African friend of Julia and Will who was joining them on the boat for a few months). It was great catching up with all of them and hearing about their travels through the Panama Canal.