Undersea Hunter Group
Registered
From the very first dive we knew we were in for a very exciting week! At the check out dive we saw a tiger shark chasing a turtle. Then at the very end of our dive the tiger shark was eating the turtle (who was fighting for his life at the surface).
The second day we explored the south side of the island. We went to both Dos Amigos and had very good dives at the bigger of the two brothers. A strong current was hitting the site, which was favorable to see sharks. Hammerheads and Galapagos were going back and forth giving us plenty to watch. At night we had the traditional night dive at Manuelita Coral Garden, and as usual, the place was packed full of whitetip reef shark action! Dozens of them were hunting for their next meal and a few of them got very lucky!
The third day we dove Alcyone, where we saw the first big school of hammers and a whale shark! While at Submerged the divers were having relaxed but very colorful dives packed full of life. The other hotspot during this trip were Dirty Rock, where we went the fourth day. Hammers were at the cleaning stations and in the blue, delighting all the divers. At Punta Maria there were just a few Galapagos sharks gathering at the cleaning station, but that would completely change in a couple of days...
The fifth day we did both dives at the legendary Alcyone, and the first of both dives was specially good, while we were holding onto a rock at 90ft the hammerheads were schooling right in front of us. At the second dive there was nearly no current, and because of that, there were just a few hammers getting cleaned by king angelfish and barberfish.
In the afternoon we decided to dive Lobster Rock and find the endemic rosy-lipped batfish. We were successful and found the little guy right below the thermocline at 80ft. The water temp was around 72F, a good temperature for this very distinct creature. The photographers in the group took their time getting the best angle of the little fish.
Day 6 was one of the best day. Both Punta Maria and Dirty Rock were full of action! At Punta Maria around 8-9 Galapagos sharks were circling the cleaning station, completely ignoring the divers staring at them, we just left the cleaning stations when our computers were telling us that was time to ascend. We had to do so leaving all those sharks behind. Dirty Rock was full of action again, particularly during the second dive.
To conclude the awesome week we returned to what had been the best spots, Alcyone and Dirty Rock, but it wasn't till the very last dive that we encountered every divers dream. We were doing our last dive at Manuelita when a 20ft whale shark swam above our heads. Then he turned around and swam through the whole group twice, giving every diver a brilliant opportunity to get very close to such a gentle and giant animal.
Cruise Director Jim
Dive Conditions: Calm
Visibility: 60 ft / 18 m
Water Temp:78°F / 26°C
Currents: Mild-Medium
Surface Conditions: Calm
Weather: Cloudy
Crossing: Calm both directions
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