Water Temperature: 79-85°F
Visibility: 50ft average, up to 70+ft
Current: Weak to moderately strong, generally light
Highlights: A close, prolonged orca encounter at Dirty Rock, strong and repeated Galápagos shark activity at Dos Amigos, a tiger shark on several dives, dolphins at the safety stop, and consistent hammerhead schooling throughout the week
Day 1
Diving opened with the check dive at Manuelita Coral Garden, where hammerheads passed over the sandy bottom and manta rays made an appearance. Manuelita Outside followed with good hammerhead numbers working the sandy bottom and cleaning stations, large yellowfin tuna, a Galápagos shark, and a big school of hammerheads at the end. Manuelita Channel closed the day with a group of 20+ hammerheads, a medium silvertip shark, and two to three oceanic manta rays that stayed with divers for the last 20 minutes!
Day 2
Punta Maria was quiet in terms of big animals, but made up for it with a dense reef fish scene (grunts, striped snappers, bluefin trevallies, and whitetip reef sharks). Dirty Rock was the highlight of the day: with almost no current, the group swam wide of the rock and found hammerheads throughout the dive in a large school that stayed close until the safety stop, along with a Galápagos shark and a silky shark swimming with the hammerheads. Pajara rounded out the day with lobsters, pistol shrimp, and colorful reef fish.
Day 3
Dirty Rock delivered again, with hammerheads scattered through the whole site in groups of 20 or more both above and below the divers, including an enormous school in the blue! At Alcyone, we saw a tiger shark along with a harlequin shrimp and scattered hammerheads, and a mobula ray appeared later in the dive. Manuelita Channel in the afternoon was calmer, with an oceanic blacktip shark and a mobula ray the main sightings.
Day 4
Dos Amigos Grande gave us another tiger shark sighting near the rock formations beyond the main arch. Dos Amigos Pequeño was a standout, with Galápagos sharks coming in close, including two unusually small juveniles at around 1.2 meters, plus a group of about eight hammerheads. Manuelita Coral Garden closed the day gently, with starry moray eels, a frogfish, a small blacktip reef shark, a silky shark, and a manta ray found resting on the surface near the skiff.
Day 5
A repeat visit to Dos Amigos Pequeño proved even better than the first, with Galápagos sharks closer and more active, a couple of silky sharks among them, a few hammerheads, and a tiger shark spotted as the group left the rock. Dirty Rock brought more hammerheads and a Galápagos shark, along with a big school of big-eye jacks, though reduced visibility made it hard to get a clean look at the hammerhead school. At Manuelita Outside in the afternoon we swam with big-eye jacks mating and schooling.
Day 6
Alcyone opened the day with a harlequin shrimp and hammerheads scattered individually rather than schooling. At Manuelita Outside groups of eagle rays (including a cownose ray swimming with one group), four to five blacktip reef sharks together, a school of big-eye jacks and mullet snapper, a juvenile tiger shark briefly mistaken for a Galápagos shark, yellowfin tuna, small groups of hammerheads, and a group of five to six dolphins at the safety stop. Lobster Rock closed the day with a search for a resident batfish that came up empty, though an albino starfish was a nice consolation!
Day 7
Manuelita Outside gave us an encounter with about 20+ hammerheads hovering at the second cleaning station, large yellowfin tuna and eagle rays. Dirty Rock then delivered in a big way – a friendly juvenile orca, which stayed close to us and played curiously with our divers for five to ten minutes before a pair of adults emerged from the deep and led it away. After the orcas left, our dive group hovered in the blue with no current and came across a large hammerhead school, with a silky shark swimming alongside, in what one of our guides called one of the best dives of his entire career. Manuelita Outside closed the trip quietly by comparison, with a few hammerheads and big-eye jacks mating.