We
returned August 12th from our Compass diving trip. There were 14 of us traveling
together so we filled the boat.
The diving was fantastic. We passed on a few of the
nature walks in favor of spending more time at Darwin and Wolf Islands. The
water was about 73 and 68 to 70 further south. We saw schooling female hammerhead
sharks (too may to count but they were between 7-10 feet), mating turtles, whale
sharks (awesome! in groups of 7 or 8, maybe 15-20 feet long), free swimming
morays, all types of rays, Galapagos sharks and more small schooling fish than
anyone could count. The current was stiff. We used reef hooks on the barnacle
covered volcanic rocks. We made 3-5 dives a day depending on where we were,
but made no night dives.
We did three nature walks. Our dive master was also
certified by the Marine Park as a naturalist, and she knew every plant, bird,
animal and reptile. She was extremely informative. We also spent an afternoon
at the Darwin Research Center. Throughout the islands we saw the giant tortoise,
marine iguana, land iguana, penguins, blue footed boobies, sea lions, frigate
birds - it was wonderful. It was amazing that there is so much life on such
barren land.
This dive trip is not for novice divers. There is no
pretty coral to see. The vis at best was 40-60 feet. The water was cool (68-73)
(7mm wetsuits, gloves and hoods are necessary) and the current was swift. The
weather was overcast all week and the seas generally rough between islands.
The folks at Compass took really good care of us; we all had a ball.