Fish, turtles, rays …and sharks – The Tales of Two Travelling Turtles

Fish, turtles, rays …and sharks

Going snorkelling in the Galapagos Islands

I don’t know what possessed me to dive down and have a closer look at the group of hammerhead sharks wafting through the murky depths below me. Normally, any mention of sharks and I’m straight out of the water! But a group of half a dozen of these strange creatures were gliding along majestically, didn’t look too hungry, and curiosity got the better of me. Snorkelling in the Galapagos is full of unexpected moments like this.

The islands are blessed with astonishingly abundant marine life – and sea birds too – as they are at the intersection of three marine currents which provide a lot of food. There’s the warm El Niño from central America, but the other two are cool: the Cromwell equatorial undercurrent and Humboldt current that comes up the South American coast from the Antarctic. So, despite being on the equator, for most of the year you have to wear a wetsuit when snorkelling.

A Spotted Eagle Ray at Kicker Rock

Lunch!

The range of marine species is simply astonishing. Further around the San Cristobal coast from Kicker Rock, with its rays and sharks, is a bay teeming with turtles. A boat-load of us snorkellers turned up, plunged into the water, and there they were, grazing on seaweed on the rocks, seemingly oblivious to the multi-coloured plastic-bedecked humans floating around them.

There’s a particularly spectacular snorkelling spot off Isabela Island called Los Tuneles – flooded lava tunnels where below sea you swim through tunnels with a huge diversity of fish, and where above sea there’s an extraordinary landscape of rocks, cacti and nesting birds, such as the extraordinary blue-footed boobies.

But the most charming moment came when we were snorkelling off the shore next to the harbour in Isabela. Instead of the usual colourful fish, we found ourselves swimming with lots of cute tiny versions. Why? The bay’s shallow waters are a fish nursery. We were in Kindergarten with the little ones!

by Chris