Galapagos

Humbling, is the only accurate description we are able to use for this magnificent environment, the vibrant life and sheer abundance is refreshing scenery. The Galapagos Islands are full of some of the worlds most loved and feared creatures, the biodiversity and healthiness is a privilege and pleasure to be able to have visited, scuba dived, been invoveled in scientific research  and explored.

On our three part expedition we first explored the national parks land and water through only snorkeling, to best understand in a short time the ecosystem, the environment and also the abundance and beauty, but also the struggles of this remote Archipelago. These islands are fed by multiple currents of the Pacific ocean. There is an image that the Galapagos is an unspoiled and thriving place on earth with no need for assistance, however that is not entirely true. The extensive hard work and financial struggle between the National Park responsible for the islands via their annual budget from the main land Ecuador to the hard pressed work of the Darwin research centre not just fulfilling their research however also trying to stay financed via donations keeps this as an interesting topic on board between outside eyes and conversation with our local guide and fellow scientists. The second week of the adventure took us on one of the original dive boats in Galapagos, the still beautiful MY Nortada on a weeks voyage around the underwater Mecca of Darwin and Wolf, a world class dive site that has an abundance and variety of marine life like few other places in the world. The impressive species that school here in their numbers that make it so mind blowing, we witnessed the schooling hammerheads and volume of sharks that allow the figures to show that this is the shakiest place on earth, or as corrected by Dr Pelayo, “the solar system.” The current and thermocline make these two little Rocks sticking out of the vast ocean a vibrant and abundant area for nutrients and life, and alongside the altering thermocline that deepens and rises season dependent; you get to forget about the cold waters you are in and loose yourself in a sea of sharks.