Trip Report Calypso Galapagos
28th of November – 5th of December 2019
Thursday 28th of November 2019
Calypso liveaboard
Dive and Drive the World
Check dive at Isla Lobos
5.30 From the balcony of our room in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on the Island of San Cristobal we see the Calypso has anchored in the bay. At 7.30 we walk over to the jetty to take a closer look and make some pictures when we see a Calypso zodiac arrive. We ask if either we or our luggage can go on board a.s.a.p. They’re willing to take our luggage if we bring it at 10.00 to the Muelle Tiburon Martillo. We have to wait until 12.30 before we can board the ship. But that’s ok. Without our luggage it’s easier to move around town. We pay one last visit to our favourite bakery to buy ‘it’s warm and something like a croissant’ voor 0.25 USD and Vanilla/Chocolate cake voor 1USD apiece. We walk over to Playa Punta Carola and have a late breakfast.
We’re picked up from the Muelle Tiburon Martillo at 12.30 and taken to the ship by zodiac. The first thing we notice is that the dive deck is enormous with at the back 4 big shower heads. We have 2 tanks each. Next we’re shown our upstairs room number 6. Oh my, it is beautiful. We have a huge window, also in the big bathroom. Lots and lots of storage space and everything is brand new. The Calypso had its maiden voyage august 2019. When the other passengers have arrived we get a short introduction from Paolo the dive guide. Then a fantastic lunch buffet (Italian style spaghetti) awaits. Next we go sailing to Isla Lobos for a check dive. We pass Playa Punta Carola, Tijeretas and Playa Baquerizo.
Dive 1: Check dive at Isla dos Lobos
Time: 16.00
Viz: +/-
Water temp: 21C
Depth: 6,5 meters
Dive time: 27 minutes
Wow, this water is cold 21 Celsius and the viz is crap, 5 – 7 m. Within 2 minutes a turtle passes by, next a school of fishes and 2 big parrotfish. Then a sea lion entertains us for the rest of the dive assisted every once and a while by his sea lion friend. Note: A single 7mm wetsuit is not warm enough here
After the dive we sail back to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno where we anchor. We have a fire drill followed by the introduction of the 11 crew members and the guests. 15 guest on this trip, an international mix from Germany, Switzerland, England, Canada, USA, China and Japan. We are the only Dutch.
For dinner we have a huge turkey, after all it is Thanksgiving. Guest number 16 arrives, a big sea lion climbs on the dive deck. Soon to be followed by a smaller one who also makes its way up the stairs.
Lights out by 20.30 because from tomorrow on there’ll be 4 dives a day.
Friday 29th of November 2019
4 dives at Isla Marchena
5.00 We wake up after a bumpy ride to find that we have still not reached our destination. No land in sight. No sun either. Because of the current against us, we’re behind on schedule. 6.00 dive briefing with info on currents and safety. Each of us is given a Nautilus Lifeline, Dive Alert and a dive flag/SMB. Dive times will be 50 minutes 30 meters max. All dives will be made with Nitrox.
Dive 2: Isla Marchena – Punta Espejo “La Bahia”
Time: 7.22
Viz: +/-
Water temp: 21C
Depth: 22 meters
Dive time: 50 minutes
Practise negative entry. Viz 5 – 7 m. Some fish, a moray eel or 2, sea stars, sea cucumber. Note: 7mm wetsuit plus 7mm body with hood and gloves is better. Due to the viz, temp and average sea life we’re glad when the dive is over.
On the positive site, the sun is shining. For breakfast a big variety of fruits and you can chose your egg and ingredients at the buffet. The chef cooks it on the spot.
The Calypso is anchored in a quiet spot and we have a long zodiac ride to the little rock for the next dive. When we arrive we see a sea lion on the rock and dolphins surround the zodiac.
Dive 3: Isla Marchena – Punta Espejo “el Pinaculo”
Time: 10.25 
Viz: +
Water temp: 22C
Depth: 15 meters
Dive time: 54 minutes
We roll in fast but the dolphins are gone. The viz is better here about 10 m maybe due to a bit of current. For the next 40 minutes we look at garden eels in the sand and sea stars. Finally it gets more interesting when we arrive at a rock structure covered in fish. 1 Octopus. While we start our safety stop the dolphins come back and they keep circling. It’s a large school of bottlenose. Even when we’re in the zodiac they swim next to us. Must be about 40 of them and 1 sealion joins the pod.
After lunch we start moving to the other side of the island. We’re told we’re still behind on schedule. We see 2 zodiacs and think there is another liveaboard but they are local fisherman from San Cristobal.
Dive 4: Isla Marchena – Punta Mejia
Time: 14.12 
Viz: –
Water temp: 19C
Depth: 23,5 meters
Dive time: 45 minutes
Viz is dramatic, less than 5 m. Deep on the sand viz is a little better but it’s cold, 19 Celsius. Thermocline. We spot 3 red lipped batfish within 3 minutes and after some picture taking (no flash ofcourse! because we don’t want to blind the thing just to show off its red lips!) we start to level up. The viz drops but the temp gets warmer. Surrounded by turtles we spot an eagle ray. So glad when we start our safety stop even if it is a green soup surrounding us.
Cloudy skies. There is only little time between the 3rd and the 4th dive. Quite a few bail out because we’ll dive the same site.
Dive 5: Isla Marchena – Punta Mejia
Time: 16.31 
Viz: –
Water temp: 21C
Depth: 17,5 meters
Dive time: 48 minutes
Same spot. Less (sun)light. On the sand again several red lipped batfish. Up turtles, stonefish, moray eels, stingray. I only dive with one glove. When I put my hand up, the water feels warm, down the water feels cold. Very cold. I keep looking at my watch until the dive is finally over.
We hardly have time to rinse before dinner at 18.00. All announcements are made with a weird speaker systems that makes you think you’re in a department store. After dinner we have a briefing. As there might be several boats at Wolf tomorrow the group decides we want to get in the water early. Briefing tomorrow morning will therefore be 5.45. Dive at 6.15. It’s to cold to sit on the sundeck and there is a movie playing in the salon. So we break our habit of spending as less time as possible in our room (only change clothes after diving and sleep) and go to our room. But then this is the most beautiful room we’ve ever had. Dive logs need to be written and backups made. In the room are several USB chargers. 2 ports on each side of the bed and 2 more in the middle of the room.
Saturday 30th of November 2019
4 dives at Wolf Island
Our alarm clock is set at 4.45. Clear skies, we can see the stars. When it starts to get light, clouds move in. Dive briefing 5.45 but it takes a while before we hit the water.
Dive 6: Wolf Island – Shark Bay
Time: 6.42
Viz: +
Water temp: 24C
Depth: 29 meters
Dive time: 60 minutes
The water temp is nice 24 Celsius and the viz great! Fishes everywhere and also playful sea lions. We stay with them for 8 minutes mostly because the dive guide can make movie shots. We’ve seen that before on the trip with the Cocos Aggressor. Guides spent a whole lot of time filming and at the end of the trip you can buy their movie. As we go a little deeper we swim with turtles past hidden moray eels. We stop a few times to look at hammerheads being cleaned. Left, right, above us we spot several hammerheads. Looks like most of them are deep, but that’s apparently not where we’re going. Time to do the safety stop.
Dive 7: Wolf Island – Landslide
Time: 9.34
Viz: +
Water temp: 24C
Depth: 33 meters
Dive time: 54 minutes
Turtles everywhere, but they’re not the reason why we’ve come to this place. Neither is the big school of eagle rays that is supposed to be here but doesn’t show. Galapagos sharks, hammerhead sharks. Finally a massive school of hammerheads passes by. Hooray! Oeps, we might have gotten a little deco time here.
When we surface it’s raining. It’s a long ride back to the bay where the Calypso is anchored in quiet water. On the way we take a closer look at the island. The walls are steep and full of birds. Back at the Calypso we find the Aggressor III parked next to it. That’ll be our next week ride. After lunch the Calypso sails back past the big rocky island in the direction of Landslide where we’ll do another dive.
Dive 8: Wolf Island – Landslide 
Time: 13.27
Viz: +
Water temp: 24C
Depth: 26 meters
Dive time: 54 minutes
The sun is shining when we roll in and we have excellent viz. Turtles everywhere and also the Galapagos sharks cruise by frequently. We go a little deeper and wait until big schools of hammerheads pass us by. When we level up there is another school passing and we can easily get very close. There is hardly any current. We brought are reef hooks but didn’t use them. It’s easy to position oneself between the rocks and hold on with one gloved hand while the other holds the camera. Do watch out where you drop because there could be stonefish, moray eel or turtle. Big waves at the surface and juvenile boobies everywhere. 
The juvenile boobies land on the front and top deck railing of the boat. They often use their neck to help them get in position. Some have better skills than others who fall onto the deck. We helped them for a while by throwing them overboard so they could fly away, but after one bit me I left it to the crew to sweep them away with a broom.
Dive 9: Wolf Island – Shark Bay
Time: 15:57
Viz: + (15-20m)
Temp: 23C
Dept: 30 meters
Dive time: 52 minutes
Our last dive of the day we do at Shark Bay where we start with the sea lions. But they don’t want to come and play so we soon start to look for sharks. And there are plenty. Big walls of hammerheads pass by in front and above us. Turtles everywhere too. One actually hits me on the head with his flipper when it swims over me while I lay flat on a rock. 10 meters further I almost collide with one again. On the safety stop a small school of big eyed jacks starts circling me and a large sea lion swims by.
Once in the Zodiac Gerard known to the crew as Mr. Pollo because of the lucky pollo he carries along all over the world (see Soccoro trip for this story) is handed the walkie talkie. He calls the Calypso and orders a cerveza. When we arrive at the vessel all the crew is waiting for us with a conspiratorial smile on their faces. And yes, there is our waiter all dressed up. He steps into the zodiac with an ice-cold beer on a tray for Mr. Pollo. Lots of laughter.
Back on the Calypso we sail back to the quiet bay. Lots of birds fly in from sea to spent the night on the island. Finally we have a sunset. There is only little wind and it’s not cold. We have a wonderful meal including a birthday cake on the sundeck while we watch the divers from the Aggressor III do a night dive. We don’t envy them. We have a little 70’s revival party on the sundeck.
Sunday 1st of December 2019
4 Dives at Darwin Island.
We wake up at Darwin Island 4.45. It’s dark but we see the lights of another boat next to us. It turns out to be 1 big fishing boat accompanied by 4 smaller ones. This doesn’t make us happy. It gets more light and we start to see the island and the Arch. All the birds are getting ready to leave. 5.45 briefing. The Calypso stays anchored and we take a zodiac ride to the Arch where we’ll do all dives. 5 to 7 minutes is what they call here a long zodiac ride. Guess they’ve never been to South Africa. The sea is quiet and there is little wind. Very cloudy. The Aggressor III is approaching but has not yet lowered its zodiacs. 
Dive 10: Darwin Island – the Arch
Time 6.30
Viz 10 – 15m
Water temp: 24C
Depth: 22 meters
Dive time: 56 minutes
Current: yes
We roll and crawl to the edge of the plateau. There is some current here and the viz out in the blue and down in the deep is not great because of the lack of sunlight. But big hammerhead sharks cruise in front of us and over us 2 – 3 at the time. This is the first time we use our reef hooks. It’s beautiful to see the sharks getting cleaned by the angelfish. Fish everywhere, a big school at the surface, 2 porcupine fishes, puffer fishes, turtles. Near the Theatre we swim out into the blue hoping to see a whale shark but we don’t. 
Back on the boat it’s time for breakfast. I don’t really like eggs for breakfast. I prefer yoghurt and cereals, but the yoghurt they serve has a funny taste and the sugared and brightly coloured cornflakes are not really my thing. Luckily there is a huge variety of fruits for breakfast every morning. And they always have something different on offer as well. Yesterday we had pancakes and I asked them to save me some for today which of course they did. The sun comes out and they are filling up the jacuzzi.
Dive 11: Darwin Island – the Arch (sand)
Time: 9.35
Viz: +
Water temp: 25C
Depth: 31 meters
Dive time: 53 minutes
We roll left of the Arch and land on the rocks next to the sand. Huge amounts of fish and lots of hammerheads. A little one cruises the sand hunting small fish. Cold water rises from the deep and the viz that was very good starts to drop. We slowly start making our way to the Theatre to find the same fishes there as this morning; the pufferfishes, the 2 porcupine boxfishes, the Galapagos shark, the turtle still eating. Many little yellow fish spawning. We end our dive in the blue.
Before we go back to the Calypso we take a photo tour along the Arch. It is so beautiful. Shower and lunch. Sun and clouds and even a drop of rain. The jacuzzi is full and we jump in, Darwin Island and the Arch in the background. The crew bought fish from the local fisherman. The fish is cleaned on the lower deck. Suddenly silky sharks and wahoo’s all around the boat.
Dive 12: Darwin Island – the Arch (sand)
Time: 13.31
Viz: +
Water temp: 25C
Depth: 31 meters
Dive time: 52 minutes
We fall in the middle of a big school of fusiliers. We go onto the sand and wait for hammerheads. A big school passes over us. Beware that on the coral there is some kind of algae that irritates the skin. Everybody itches and some later get a rash in their face or swollen lips. When back at the Theatre we go out in the blue again but no luck with the whale shark.
Back on the Calypso we are welcomed with fruit and pizza. Because we only have a 45 minutes interval the wetsuit stays on. An extra towel is fine for protection against the wind. My feet in the jacuzzi also helps. By the way, towels are numbered and always hot when supplied after the dive.
Dive 13: Darwin Island – the Arch (sand)
Time: 16.05
Viz: +
Water temp: 24C
Depth: 30 meters
Dive time: 52 minutes
We’re dropped on the sand in the middle of a group of hammerheads. For a brief moment they’re everywhere. Then it’s only the turtles, garden eels and the cloud of fusiliers. Every once and a while the cloud divides in 2, panic, when a hammerhead or wahoo swims by. On the sand we pass a magic carpet of a hundred sea stars. A Galapagos shark comes so very close that I have to use my gopro stick to claim my space. The cold upwelling is back so it’s time to swim back to the rocks. At the Theatre we drift into the blue. Under us a big school of trevallies and hammerhead sharks. Big waves on the surface make it more difficult to climb into the zodiac.
Monday 2nd of December 2019 
2 dives at Darwin Island
2 dives at Wolf Island
The alarm sounds again 4.45. Cloudy. Briefing 5.45. No briefing, get ready. Waves, clouds, little sunlight.
Dive 14: Darwin Island – the Arch (sand) 
Time: 6.25
Viz: +
Water temp: 24C
Depth: 31 meters
Dive time: 58 minutes
We roll next to the sand and stay on the rocks. More surge than current. Hammerhead sharks pass, 1, 2, 5 but no big schools. Groups max 10. No big schools of fish either. Over the rocky slopes we slowly make our way to the Theatre. In the other direction thousands of fish make their way over the rocks to the sand. Early morning rush hour! A big grouper swims in front of my face. It clearly wants attention so with my gloved hand I try a belly rub Belize style. It’s appreciated.
Back on the Calypso it’s time for breakfast. Afterwards sundeck is no option because of drizzle and wind. But there is nice seating at the upper deck as well. By the time we’re getting ready to go diving again it has stopped raining and blue spots in the sky start to show. The Calypso sails to the Arch for a photo session, group pics and individual pics are taken. All for the video of course. On the positive site, no (7 minute) long zodiac ride because we’re already on top of the dive spot.
Dive 15: Darwin Island – the Arch (sand) 
Time: 9.37
Viz: +
Water temp: 24C
Depth: 27 meters
Dive time: 56 minutes
The zodiac drops us in the middle of the sand. Plenty of turtles but only very few hammerheads. 1 white tip. After 25 minutes the other group appears, flashing camera lights first. Hmm that could have been a reason why the hammerheads didn’t show. We decide to linger behind and hide in the big school of fusiliers. All of a sudden al the fishes are gone and a oceanic black tip appears. Soon the fish come back, surrounding us again. Than 4 big hammerheads come really close. We hold our breath not to scare them away. We have been holding our breath a lot this trip. We swim back to the Theatre and pass the large schools of bigeye trevally.
On the Calypso it’s 11 o’clock and lunchtime. Not really hungry but hey, burrito’s and guacamole are pretty hard to resist. After lunch we make ourselves comfortable on the sundeck for the 2 hour trip back to Wolf Island. But after 10 minutes drizzle and it is cold too. Lots of birds and all that comes with it. One hits right inside my bag. When we approach Wolf Islands the announcement system lets us know ‘get ready to dive’. Oef, we’re still bouncing around, can’t we park somewhere quiet first? Getting into the zodiac just became more of a challenge as well.
Dive 16: Wolf Island – Landslide 
Time: 14.06
Viz: +
Water temp: 24C
Depth: 28 meters
Dive time: 60 minutes
We’re dropped next to the island, descend to 20 meters and wait. Lots of turtles, a flounder right in front of us, a few hammerheads and a Galapagos shark. Finally a huge school of hammerhead sharks passes. We move on to the cleaning station and see a big hammerhead come really close to the reef to get cleaned. Than our group goes on a hunt for macro, looking between the rocks. We rather stay and look for hammerheads and we see plenty. We’re having a ball here! We see 2 big schools in the blue and hammerheads together with 3 big Galapagos sharks on the reef. Of course lots of turtles everywhere. Some with long tails.
It’s quite a ride back to the Calypso that is now parked in a quiet bay. Only 45 minutes surface interval. Not enough to change so we sit on the sundeck and watch all the birds. 2 sea lions swim in the bay. Bit of sun and bit of clouds.
Dive 17: Wolf Island – the Cave
Time: 16.42
Viz: +
Water temp: 25C
Depth: 18 meters
Dive time: 43 minutes
The last dive we’re going to do the Cave. Being a bit claustrophobic caves are not really my thing but dive guide Sebastian is the best. He takes me along the whole dive. The caves are pretty big and connected underwater. Looking back into the blue the light is amazing. Lots of live in the cave, a moray eel, a white tip, 2 big stingrays but the very best of it all 2 sea lions!
After diner the engines start for the long haul to Fernandina Island.
Tuesday 3rd of December 2019 
1 dive at Fernandina Island
2 dives at Isabella Island
We sail all night and arrive 5.30 at Fernandina Island. It’s getting light so a good time to roll out of bed. The Aggressor III is again parked next to us. I ask Paolo if in tomorrow’s schedule we’ll also be so close together. It would be great if we could put our dive gear on the Aggressor after our last dive. At first he’s very surprised but than he promises to ask. As it turns out dive guide Sebastian will also jump onto the Aggressor for the next trip. In no time all the crew knows we’ll be on the Aggressor.
Next to the Calypso we have 2 sea lions playing. The heavy clouds that dropped rain this morning are now slowly opening up. Breakfast at 7.00. Panga ride at 8.00. Bird, iguana and sea lion watching. We really look like tourist now with our orange life jackets and camera’s in a zodiac. But it turns out to be a lovely ride. Lots to see: sea lions, flightless cormorant, penguins, blue footed boobies, an eagle and rocks full of iguana’s, a whole lot of iguana’s. The sun is getting warmer and that’s good. The iguana’s need to warm up before they’ll go into the water to eat. That’s the reason why we have this panga ride in the first place, kill time waiting for the iguana’s to dive into the water. The Aggressor has divers in the water. One of their panga drivers shouts mola and yes, we see a big vin above the water. As we get closer the Mola Mola is clearly visible. We get a pretty good video with the gopro. Sun is out full force so now it’s time to go diving. 
Dive 18: Fernandina Island – Cape Douglas
Time: 10.24
Viz: +/-
Water temp: 23C
Depth: 6 meters
Dive time: 33 minutes
They take us to the bay. Our dive plan is max 10 meters. Well I’m having a hard time to get 3m deep. First some Harlequin Wrasse than 1 iguana, a flightless cormorant and another iguana followed by dozens. Also 2 sea lions join the show. We miss the octopi and the penguins that are spotted around the corner.
Back on board a bowl of guacamole and fresh fried tortilla chips awaits us. Followed by a (vega) lasagne lunch. During lunch we’re already sailing to Isabella Island. It’s a smooth ride with the waves and the wind behind us. Both Fernandina and Isabella are pure volcanic islands. The tops are covered in clouds. More clouds move in. When we’ve almost reached Isabella we start to gear up.
Dive 19: Isabella Island – Punta Vicente Roca
Time: 13.36
Viz: +/-
Water temp: 19C
Depth: 25 meters
Dive time: 51 minutes
We roll on the corner and descent fast to the Mola cleaning station at 25 meters. Cold, bad viz. We wait for about 10 minutes but nothing shows. One group swims back to the bay along the wall. Our group goes through an alley. The walls of this alley are really nice, covered in corals. The fish are very protective of their living space and one bits my glove when I accidentally come to close. At the end of the alley there’s a playful sealion that swims in and out of a hole in the wall. Because both groups are now merging together it gets pretty crowded. Especially when Paolo finds a seahorse and everybody wants to take the perfect picture. When one diver uses hands to get the soft coral out of the way, we bail out. We swim along the wall that is beautifully covered in different corals. At 25m another seahorse with no crowd around it. For the first time my ears start to hurt when I descend. The surroundings are nice but the water is very cold. Some stingrays, some little schools of fish and we’re done. Our 3 minute stop we do in a green soup where viz is 2-3m. This time we’re the first ones in the zodiac. When all are onboard we take a closer look at the island. The wall looks like it’s made out of hundreds of layers with birds, crabs and iguana’s on it. We enter an enormous cave. The water here looks crystal clear. There’s a sea lion on the rocks and on the beach around the corner there’re plenty of flightless cormorants. Some divers also saw them underwater at 20m deep. Back on the Calypso we see a flightless cormorant biting a rope that’s tight to the zodiac.
Not much time between dive 2 and dive 3, only 45 minutes so wetsuit stays on. My dive buddy is done, too cold, bad viz, no sharks, ear problems. I find myself 2 new buddies for this dive, team site mount from Switzerland. We make our dive plan: Roll on the corner, wait 2 minutes for the Mola’s to show, swim through the ally, look for cow sharks and be done in 30 minute.
Dive 20: Isabella Island – Punta Vicente Roca
Time: 15.45
Viz: +/-
Water temp: 20C
Depth: 28,2 meter
Dive time: 37 minutes
We’re only 4. Paolo shows us a cow shark even before we get to the Mola station at 25m depth. We wait a few minutes and then make our way through the ally over the marlin head. The viz is less, skies were cloudy and it’s getting late. In the alley 2 bright coloured Harlequin wrasse and a shark right at the exit. Sea lion is also back doing its loopings. In the blue (green) lots of fish. Seahorse in the coral on the wall is still there as is the big clam. 2 mating nudibranchs. Now I remember a boat where the dive guides told the guests that if they would surface and be enthusiast about a nudibranch they spotted, they would not be allowed back onto the boat (see Socorro, not a nudibranch destination). We’ll we didn’t come out all the way to the Galapagos to look for nudibranchs, but they were nice anyway. I’m already shaking in my double 7 mm and with 37 minutes we’re back in the zodiac.
There is a 3rd boat anchored in the bay. Guest are out in the zodiac looking for mola’s in the rain. We go back to the Calypso looking forward to a hot shower. But guess we’re to late and the other guests used all the warm water. Oh well, we park ourselves on the back deck. A small opening at the horizon gives a beautiful sunset as we sail. A mobula ray jumps out of the water and does a somersault. We got the water splash on camera. We pass the Equator.
18.00 our last diner onboard. Tomorrow diner will be in Puerto Ayora at one’s own expenses. On the menu tonight: Lobster. We still do not understand why they serve lobster on a liveaboard for divers. But nobody seems to mind and eats without demur. I go for a double piece of bread pie. Not really nice but filling. Next on the agenda is tomorrow’s planning and the premiere of the video by Sebastian & Paolo that can be bought for 65USD.
Wednesday 4th of December 2019
1 dive at Cousin’s rock
A bumpy ride but at some point in the early morning we anchor and things get quiet. We’re the first out on deck. Only a few clouds at the horizon so could well be a nice sunrise. Coffee with sea lions, also nice (see coffee with lions). 5.45 briefing. Pappie pollo doesn’t go diving because of ear problems. Because the ritual is different a almost forget my 5kg wait belt!
Dive 21: Cousin’s Rock
Time: 6.19 
Viz: +/-
Water temp: 20C
Depth: 19.5 meter
Dive time: 49 minutes
It’s cloudy again when we roll in. Viz is ok, 5 – 7 m, but there is not much to see anyway. After a while 1 sea lions comes and has to entertain both groups. We swim along the wall with latches. Some green coral trees. A real longnose hawkfish. Some schools of fish that panic when the sea lion swims past. An eagle ray, a large ray on the rocks, a big lobster. Above a school of barracuda’s. We come to the corner and stay there for a while, looking into the blue but nothing shows in the few meters viz we have. We start swimming over a plateau and here it gets interesting. Lots of fish, sea stars, white tips and 5 eagle rays. We swim back to the wall and here too lots of fish and a white tip. Above us again eagle rays, grey rays and a mobula ray. As usual last in the zodiac. When we approach the Calypso Gerard makes pictures. He has seen another Mola Mola from the boat while we were diving. 
The zodiacs are pulled up immediately. Gear is rinsed and put on the sun deck to dry. Breakfast. The salon is decorated. Lots of balloons for Vicky’s birthday. Cake and champagne. Even the sun comes out again. Bills need to be paid. Nitrox, Alcoholic drinks (5 USD for a bottle of beer). And there are 2 envelops, one for the crew and one for the dive guides. On both envelops your room number is written very small in the lower corner. They suggest 10% of the trip price which might be normal for Americans, for Europeans it’s not. But the crew deserves a tip for sure because they did their best to make our trip as pleasant as possible.
Our first stop is the gas filing station. Even here we see a sea lion. We move to the Itaca Channel, have lunch and afterwards a Champaign toast with the crew. We all get an Equator Crossing Certificate. To the bus. It is a nice comfortable medium size touring car that takes us to Rancho Manzanillo for big tortoise viewing. 
When we drive into the highlands it’s all clouds again. Before we start the tour we’re told to put on rubber boots. Tip: bring a pair of socks. Long sleeves also good idea as we spotted some bugs especially near the pond. Paolo is our guide and he makes us walk the whole circular route. No lingering behind, stay with the group. We see lots of big tortoise and have lots of time to take lots of pics. Next we’re taken to town and dropped at the dock. From here we walk along the Charles Darwin Avenue past the fish market to the Charles Darwin Research Station to get a stamp in our passport. We were told there’re 2 places to get a unique Galapagos stamp, one being the entrance of the Darwin Research Station, the other being the museum. Some dive buddies found a perfect spot overlooking the fish market, the ocean and the Avenue. We decide to join them. It’s a café that brews its own beer and lets you taste different samples before you order. After one beer we go to find our hotel for the night. After dinner the Calypso will sail back to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island. We will stay in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island as we need to go to Isla Baltra tomorrow to board the Aggressor III. We’re booked in the Hotel Coloma. Walking over there it strikes me how much garbage is on the streets. Lots of constructions sites too. All hotels to be. This place is not the ecological paradise I imaged at all! Did I mention all the Toyota Hilux taxi’s driving up and down the street all the time? On the way back to the restaurant el Muelle de Darwin we kind of get lost and end up in a food street with on both sites life lobsters waiting to get cooked alive. What a terrible way to die. Please ecological tourist and scuba divers, think about this! The restaurant we’re meeting the other divers has lots of seafood and meat on the menu but luckily also vegetarian options. Foods good, nice service and lovely ambiance.
We walk back to the dock and are picked up by the zodiacs. We’re going to the Calypso to get our luggage. In total 6 of us will stay in town. During lunch we were told our luggage could not go directly to the Aggressor III. Now last minute we hear it can. That’s great news because our hotel room is on the 3rd floor (6 flights of stairs). We only take our hand luggage. From the dock we simply walk to our hotel drop our stuff and go back to meet the 4 others at the Bongo Bar. Tip: bring your passport if you want to go clubbing in Puerto Ayora because we (and the other couple) didn’t and were denied entry. So a quick drink at the Rock were the sign says it’s Happy Hour all the time but by the time you get the check it turns out there is a Happy time frame. Besides they wanted to close shop so instead of a party night we’re in bed by 23.00. A record non the less.
Interested in the rest of our trip? Read Trip Report Galapagos Aggressor III, 5th – 12th of December 2019