I opted out of taking a cruise to a few of the Galapagos Islands because I was short on time and money. And was more interested in seeing what was under the water. Well it turns out I set the bar pretty high, the Galapagos are world renowned for their biodiversity above and below water. Also there was promise of seeing sharks, hammerheads and lots of them...
My past history of diving has been isolated to the Puget Sound, logging about 20 dives there and getting my open water and advance certifications. When I heard we were guaranteed to see sharks I was excited nervous and confused. I was going to swim in the ocean with SHARKS! No cage no speargun no shark spray(doesn't exist!) defenseless in the water with animals that could eat me. Not only do they have a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, a head shaped like a hammer(awesome), they can easily out maneuver me and can come from any direction and while the visibility in the Galapagos is much better than the Puget Sound it's not crystal clear and you can't see for hundreds of yards. But I numbed all this with a bit of booze, *Caparainas my drink of choice in the Galapagos
I had a pleasant buzz and crashed pretty early 9 or 10pm, only to wake up at 3am in a cold sweat and a feeling of what the eff am I doing. I tried to go to back to bed but my nerves were racing, and anxiety was high. Knowing this is (hopefully not) a once in a lifetime experience and I had payed a steep 25% of the diving fee in deposit there was no turning back. I got up at 7am walked to the dive shop hopped in the back of a beatup pick up and drove to the boat.
Our dive guides and a british bloke.
Before we got to the dive site we did a shallow test dive, to make sure everybody knew there shit, and wouldn't freak out if your regulator knocked out of your mouth or there was a leak in your mask. Well as I was climbing up the ladder I saw 20 yards out a sharks fin about 6 inches out of the water just lingerin around, I think it was a white tip reef shark. Second wave of anxiety commence, got reaaaal nervous. The best part of it was when I asked the guides "what do I do if a shark comes at me?" They just laughed and laughed and didn't say a word... "Fair enough" I said. Turning to the Australian couple/my dive partners next to me I asked "Can you believe these guys?" These two were scuba veterans and were super excited about diving, told me "Whatever you do don't freak out and lose your shit down there, we're really looking forward to this dive." Great moral support. Popped on the mask, bit down on the regulator and fell into the water. Turns out it was great did one more dive the first day and on the second day dove twice more. Saw tons of sharks, fishies, turtles, crabs, sealions... When I wasn't at the bar I was in the water for the remainder of the trip I even swam in 7 feet of water with reef sharks dove down into their den(is that what it's called) and poked my head in. Anyways enjoy the picture show.
Australian.
My past history of diving has been isolated to the Puget Sound, logging about 20 dives there and getting my open water and advance certifications. When I heard we were guaranteed to see sharks I was excited nervous and confused. I was going to swim in the ocean with SHARKS! No cage no speargun no shark spray(doesn't exist!) defenseless in the water with animals that could eat me. Not only do they have a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, a head shaped like a hammer(awesome), they can easily out maneuver me and can come from any direction and while the visibility in the Galapagos is much better than the Puget Sound it's not crystal clear and you can't see for hundreds of yards. But I numbed all this with a bit of booze, *Caparainas my drink of choice in the Galapagos
I had a pleasant buzz and crashed pretty early 9 or 10pm, only to wake up at 3am in a cold sweat and a feeling of what the eff am I doing. I tried to go to back to bed but my nerves were racing, and anxiety was high. Knowing this is (hopefully not) a once in a lifetime experience and I had payed a steep 25% of the diving fee in deposit there was no turning back. I got up at 7am walked to the dive shop hopped in the back of a beatup pick up and drove to the boat.
Our dive guides and a british bloke.
Before we got to the dive site we did a shallow test dive, to make sure everybody knew there shit, and wouldn't freak out if your regulator knocked out of your mouth or there was a leak in your mask. Well as I was climbing up the ladder I saw 20 yards out a sharks fin about 6 inches out of the water just lingerin around, I think it was a white tip reef shark. Second wave of anxiety commence, got reaaaal nervous. The best part of it was when I asked the guides "what do I do if a shark comes at me?" They just laughed and laughed and didn't say a word... "Fair enough" I said. Turning to the Australian couple/my dive partners next to me I asked "Can you believe these guys?" These two were scuba veterans and were super excited about diving, told me "Whatever you do don't freak out and lose your shit down there, we're really looking forward to this dive." Great moral support. Popped on the mask, bit down on the regulator and fell into the water. Turns out it was great did one more dive the first day and on the second day dove twice more. Saw tons of sharks, fishies, turtles, crabs, sealions... When I wasn't at the bar I was in the water for the remainder of the trip I even swam in 7 feet of water with reef sharks dove down into their den(is that what it's called) and poked my head in. Anyways enjoy the picture show.
Australian.
Gordon's rock was the dive site... Infamous for it's schools/packs of hammerhead sharks.
One more last thing, the guide had the underwater camera... which was good and bad, I didn't have to worry about snapping tons of photos and could focus on enjoying the moment/not being eaten by sharks but he didn't take all that many pictures... and the ones he took weren't the greatest. Next time i'll have a gopro(I really want one) and just record the whole time in HD.
Here's the video I patched together. Enjoy!
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/404t79hL_Tk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
My rad german friend, surfer, traveler, linguist, and awesome person
Queue Jaws music...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Yep thats a fish
and a shark
and a turtle
weak ass camo guys...
Craziest camoflauge
SShit. looking through all these pictures I can't wait to go again.
Galapagos, I hope one day to go back. I miss it and still dream about it now and then. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to jump at it.
One more last thing, the guide had the underwater camera... which was good and bad, I didn't have to worry about snapping tons of photos and could focus on enjoying the moment/not being eaten by sharks but he didn't take all that many pictures... and the ones he took weren't the greatest. Next time i'll have a gopro(I really want one) and just record the whole time in HD.
Here's the video I patched together. Enjoy!
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/404t79hL_Tk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
My rad german friend, surfer, traveler, linguist, and awesome person
Queue Jaws music...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Yep thats a fish
and a shark
and a turtle
weak ass camo guys...
Craziest camoflauge
SShit. looking through all these pictures I can't wait to go again.Galapagos, I hope one day to go back. I miss it and still dream about it now and then. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to jump at it.
