Waking up to this beautiful view (and to the sound of a barking seal)
and drinking my morning coffee while observing the local pelicans
cleaning themselves. Today I'm going diving. More later.
In the late morning we visited the highlands of Santa Cruz
and learned about the geology of the island thru the craters formed by
volcanic activity. Then we proceeded to a private farm and trekked
thru deep mud looking for giant tortoises in the wild, which we did
see. They were HUGE.
Then @2:30 I was met by Jimmy and my guide Santiago where we suited up
and I went for my (2nd) dive in my life. As we approached the 1st dive spot, we got up front and personal with a blue footed boobie and frigate family that were on the cliff along side us.
What a world lives below us. The first dive (where we tested the equipment and I got somewhat oriented) I saw a shark and some adorable clown fish.
There I was surrounded by a wall of fish, including a school of barracuda. Surreal.
I loved the dark quietness of the sea and was most conscious of my breath. (Later, my
guide told me I used much less air than most divers which is from my
yoga). Another highlight was the sea lion that swam past us and then
stopped, looked me right in the eye, and then swam off. The dive
lasted 1/2 hr but felt like 5 minutes. I want to do it again.
And so, we ended our day watching the sunset and feeling grateful to be a
citizen of the world in such a magnificent place.
Hasta luego galápagos.
those were great underwater pictures. Were the clown fish around sea animinies? The Pacific baracudas are much smaller than the Atlantic Baracuda and stay in schools. When I was diving down in the Gallopagoes the California sea lion loved to come up and nip my yellow swim fins.
ReplyDeleteHAVE fun
Gary
Hi Gary. The clownfish were around sea urchins but they weren't the black spiny ones. My guide teased them a bit and the fish would swim off with the urchin in it's mouth. Most entertaining.
ReplyDeleteThe sea lion was adorable, but I had read that they can sometimes come and tug on your regulator which I think would have freaked me out considering I am new at diving. I enjoyed the eye to eye with him though. Maybe a dive in Florida now?
Most proud of you for getting the dive in! It is a spectacular world down there isn't it. Looks like you are having the trip of a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteGreetings to Larry.....looking forward to all the details. Fort Pierce is quiet without you two!
Dave (and Shauna and Dylan)