Two more cool days at the equator. Chilled at the boat yesterday morning, getting caught up on some life chores. Then dropped off our laundry ($1 per kilo) and went to a menu del dia lunch (octopus and rice). After lunch we took a long walk past the stadium, airport, and quarry to Playa Las Loberia, a spectacular beach with dramatic surf, cold water, and a swimmable
lagoon. Robin went swimming, I did not. Then on to get fitted for SCUBA today, which involved three different offices (two apparently unrelated SharkSky Tours offices, and the Blue Evolution diving center that actually operates the boat). Because we haven’t been diving in five years we paid extra for a recertification dive.

Today we headed off in the motor catamaran, did our perfunctory refresher dive at Isla Lobos, and steamed up the coast to Playa Cerro Brujo, close enough to shore to see the bright red throat displays on the frigate birds in their nests. Playa Cerro Brujo is a magnificent beach with white sand, lava rocks, iguanas and a choreography of diving boobies in twos and threes. All in the shadow of a volcanic crag rising from the sea, with Kicker Rock (aka Leon Dormido) on the horizon.

After an hour on the beach we went out to Kicker Rock for our dives. I came to diving later in life and have never been an expert, so we were both a little anxious. We dropped into an abyss of schooling fish, too dense to see through, then swam around the wall of the rock. Sea turtles, check, yellow fin tuna, check, white tipped sharks, check. We swam back to what looked like a deep dark cave, but cave diving was not on the program, and we swam right into it, but it turned out to be the obscure inside of that school of fish.

I was have trouble with bouyancy, and spending air swimming down when my bouyancy vest was empty but I was still floating. I let Carlos the dive master know when I was at 1000, and he seemed unconcerned even though everyone else still had 2000. I let Carlos know when I was at 700 (reserve!) and he still seemed unconcerned. At 300, Carlos grabbed me and put his buddy regulator in my mouth, and that is how I finished the dive.

The second dive was more or less a repeat of the first. The current was too strong to dive in the channel that splits the rock. Again, I had trouble with bouyancy at the end of the dive as my empty tank turned into a floatation buoy. This time my air actually ran out as I tried to catch Carlos to let him know I was low. Buddy regulator again, just in time, but we were somehow already most of the way through our safety “stop” (more of a safety swim, it seemed), and we soon surfaced.

I was shivering cold at the equator again for the boat ride back. I will dive again, but I will want a little more clarity from the dive master on what to do when I am at reserve but the dive master seems intent on continuing the dive.

Had an interesting conversation back in town with Manuel at the SharkSky Conservancy office we booked this weeks tours with. He is a commercial fisherman as well as working the tour office and running science support boats. The protest in town was indeed a fishermens protest, they wanted a bigger fishing zone in the Galapagos reserve. Manuel assured me that the fishermens demands were not contrary to the conservation goals for the Galapagos, and fish stocks are protected through monitoring and closed seasons (though no catch limits). He is trying to market sustainable fish, with camera and GPS monitoring, but is finding little market for his more expensive fish. When we asked about whether Puerto Baquerizo had any sewage treatment, he laughed and changed the subject to how cruise ships dump garbage offshore, which blows onto the Galapagos beaches. Manuel would make a great Waterkeeper - I gave him the link, but he is already working with several international conservation organizations. He was joined in the office by his wife, Lorena, who booked our tours the other day, and was doing her homework for a degree in clinical psychology,, and their daughter, who was just doing homework.

The fishermens strike is over, by the way, so tomorrow and Fridays tours are on. The strikes on the mainland are protesting the high price of gasoline ($2 USD per gallon), so I have mixed feelings about that. Gasoline needs to be too expensive to burn if we are going to save our climate, or strictly rationed.

We picked up some indeterminate fresh fish from the stall across from the market ($5 for two pounds). Back at the boat we finally made contact with our friends on Freydis by radio - beers on Saturdqy. Even though they are three boat lengths away, you are prohibited from jumping on your own kayak to paddle over and say hello to your neighbor boat. Robin was able to get their attention to get them on the radio.