This was my first dive in the Galapagos, off San Cristobal Island - a monolithic rock 1 mile offshore, called Leon Dormido or Kicker Rock, with a split down the middle. The split has produced a channel with moderate currents that attracts sharks and rays, about 20 meters deep (60 feet). This was my 6th dive, the first after finishing the SCUBA certification back in California this May.
There was a school of 20+ Galapagos sharks, 1-2 m (3-6ft), swimming through the channel as we dove - they went right up near the surface and paid the snorklers a visit! A school of 8 or 10 spotted eagle rays, as wide as the sharks were long, also swam by.
Shot of a green sea turtle with my "waterproof" Pentax before it leaked water and broke. The water was too turbid to see hammerheads, which cruise by the rock walls at 80 feet. Our guide explained that the water is supposed to be colder this time of year (it's 22C or 73F); since the cold and warm currents are still mixing the water is more cloudy than usual.
There was a family from Cuenca on the right (old colonial town in Ecuador), a spanish diver, an american diver, myself, and the two neighboring ozzies.
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