THE GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELIGO

(To view the pictures of this trip simply click on the thumbnails. These Images have been extracted from the DIVEPAINT DVD “Galapagos Adventure”.)

The volcanic islands of the Galapagos lie on the equator 600 km off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. In April 2005, we took a 10-day dive cruise aboard the 28-meter trimaran “Lammer Law”. Our trip would take us to the remote northerly islands of Wolf and Darwin renowned for some of the best diving in the world.

There were 16 divers on the trip and we were fortunate to have naturalist photographer and guide Jonathan Green on board to escort us on a number of island visits and to act as our underwater dive leader.

Birds and animals in the Galapagos National Park have virtually no fear of people and you can easily take close up photographs without the need for powerful telescopic lenses. This was the start of the breeding season and Frigate Birds, Blue Footed Boobies and the Waved Albatross were busy with their courtship displays and nesting birds were everywhere, even to be discovered sitting on eggs in the middle of the nature trails. Large colonies of Sea Lions lazed on the beaches of the southernmost islands or played in the crystal clear waters. Marine Iguanas shared the rock ledges with the brightly coloured Sally Lightfoot Crabs, the Iguanas basking in the tropical sunshine to digest their diet of algae that they graze from the rocks in the shallows.

Several strong oceanic currents sweep the Galapagos Islands. Cold currents such as the Humboldt come from deep on the ocean floor and sweep up the sides of the islands to mix with the warm surface waters. The seas around the islands are very turbulent and rich in nutrients that attract a wide variety of marine life. Although the islands lie on the equator the water temperature varies from 16° C - 23°C and the seabed is devoid of corals and bright colours that are typical of the tropics.