What makes diving in the Galapagos different is the sharks. The deep water, sheer drop offs, and proximity to major ocean currents brings some incredible ocean species.
Back in Miami, we made friends with a diving enthusiast at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club. Robert 'Commanding Officer' Bondy told stories of his many trips to the Galapagos Islands to dive with sharks. The concept sounded like a reckless adrenaline rush at the time.
However, here on the island, diving to see sharks is one of the big things to do. It's not pitched as a thrill-seeking adventure, but rather as another opportunity to see exotic creatures. In truth, that's exactly what it was and it was certainly worth the trip.
We were picked up from our boat in the anchorage and taken out to Kicker Rock in the morning. Along the way we cut near shore and got to see some of the frigate birds performing their mating rituals (the males inflate a giant red pouch under their necks). We did a check dive next to a sea lion nesting colony and once at Kicker Rock we did two dives, both to about 80 feet. The first was a drift dive through a channel in the rock. The second was a wall dive around the northern tip.
EYE of the World doesn't have an underwater camera so we don't have any photos, but here's a list of the animals we saw:
Galapagos Sharks (~3 ft long)
Black Tip Sharks (~5 ft long)
White Tip Shark (~6 ft long)
Hammerhead Shark (~11 ft long)
Eagle Ray
Octopus
Moray Eel
Sea Lions
Not to mention the countless fish.