Trip Report Diving in Cocos Dec. 2020 Trip Report

[Dan]

I do know that new procedure have made it safer. We have kept in touch with the crew we had (they were the ones present during the incident) and I agree that staying together, keeping your eyes open during the safety stop and boarding the panga is critical. On the other hand, having hammerheads around you during the safety stop was a ton of fun!

Rob

We didn’t get such luck this time. We saw Silky, Silvertip & Galápagos sharks coming to check us up during safety stop, but no hammerheads.

 

[drrich2]

Excluding the cost, I would choose Galápagos, which is more bio-diverse. You won’t see penguins, marine iguanas, mola-mola, Sealions in Cocos.

Thanks. I'll add a follow up, and hopefully won't get anything wrong. Unlike Cocos, the Galapagos Islands include quite a number of islands, some large, and in a week you don't go around anywhere near all of them, so you likely won't be positioned to see everything.

My trip was weighted toward more dives by Wolf Island and Darwin's Arch; he didn't go where one would see Galapagos penguins or dive with marine iguanas. We did see some sea lions. Not mobs of them underwater, but it happened.

But the Humboldt Explorer is based out of San Cristobal Island, and I saw plenty of marine iguanas basking on the rocks covering the shore line, and there were a bunch of sea lions there, too. Some live-aboards operate out of San Cristobal and some out of Balta; I don't know what topside viewing opportunities the latter offers.

 

[Dan]

I felt safe on the boat. Even the Okeanos Aggressor 1 fearless leader, Captain / DM Mauricio Marin, was wearing a mask when he was giving a dive briefing.

 

[Dan]

One issue I have with ensuite bathroom is it’s so tiny. It’s size is just enough for you to sit on the toilet. Shower is mounted on the corner of door frame. So when you want to take a shower, you have to straddle over the toilet or sit on the toilet. After the first day of showering in the ensuite bathroom, I started to shower on the dive deck. It looked like I wasn’t the only one who chose to do this.

 

[Meggie]

Excluding the cost, I would choose Galápagos, which is more bio-diverse. You won’t see penguins, marine iguanas, mola-mola, Sealions in Cocos.

During this pandemic situation, Cocos gets my vote due to short (< 4hrs) nonstop flight and being more sharky. I tried to get to Galápagos right after Christmas with the 50% off offers by some liveaboards and had to give it up trying with long layover international flights in Panama & Guayaquil with total travel time of > 11 hours and no available domestic flight to GPS.

34 hour sailing to Cocos in December 2020 with Okeanos Aggressor 1 wasn’t as pleasant as with Argo in September 2018. May be the weather change (from raining to dry season) in December is rougher than in September (raining season). Okeanos Aggressor 1 may also be not as stable as Argo. The constant side-to-side swing during the crossing from Puntarenas to Cocos on Okeanos Aggressor 1 made me sea sick. The sea sickness medicine did not help. It was OK on the return trip. With Argo I slept like a baby. Sailing in Galápagos was no problem for me. I didn’t even take sea sickness medicine then.

What liveaboard did you do in the Galapagos? Thank you!

 

[Dan]

What liveaboard did you do in the Galapagos? Thank you!

Galapagos Master.

 

[divergirlLinda]

Wow, Dan! Thank you for this amazing review! We are headed to the Cocos on January 17th to start our 10 day trip from January 18-28 aboard the Okeanos II. I have been to the Galapagos several times, the Socorros several times, and even Malpelo. It will be interesting to see how the Cocos compare.

 

[Dan]

Wow, Dan! Thank you for this amazing review! We are headed to the Cocos on January 17th to start our 10 day trip from January 18-28 aboard the Okeanos II. I have been to the Galapagos several times, the Socorros several times, and even Malpelo. It will be interesting to see how the Cocos compare.

Have fun!

I’ll be back to Socorro for 2nd time in a couple of days, on Jan 7-15 with Nautilus Belle Amie. Just did the PCR drive-thru swab test this morning.

FYI,

*On a sad note, I was advised that a mechanic on the Okeanos (Aggressor) contracted COVID on one of their last trips- (though no one else had symptoms he did have a negative PCR and quarantine before boarding the boat so it is believed an asymptomatic passenger passed it along) - his symptoms appeared on the passage back to the mainland and he passed away shortly thereafter. Thoughts for him and his family and his former colleagues on the boat. That being said, its just a reminder that we can't be too careful still, especially when it comes to protecting dive and boat staff whose economic vulnerabilities mean they often must assume greater risks in the name of their livelihoods.

You may want to be vigilant in the boat about the COVID-19 protocols.

Stay safe!

 

[Meggie]

Wow, Dan! Thank you for this amazing review! We are headed to the Cocos on January 17th to start our 10 day trip from January 18-28 aboard the Okeanos II. I have been to the Galapagos several times, the Socorros several times, and even Malpelo. It will be interesting to see how the Cocos compare.

Is the 8-day Galapagos liveaboard sufficient for a first timer or 11 day is better. I would love to go for 11 days but the price sky rockets on the 11 day trips...

 

[Dan]

I was on 8-day Galapagos Master in December, 2016. How is diving in Galapagos in December? That trip was great as first timer in Galápagos. You’ll be overwhelmed by its biodiversity. Unless you want to see lots of sharks (including Tiger Sharks) then you go to Cocos. If you want to see lots of dolphins & giant oceanic mantas, then go to Socorro.