Just Keep Swimming

While the Galapágos is one of those most biologically diverse places in the world,  there's even more of that diversity waiting to be seen just below the coastline. Luckily for me, just off the coast of San Cristobal is what some believe to be one of the best snorkeling and SCUBA diving spots in the world.

Jutting out of the water is Kicker Rock, otherwise known to locals as León Dormido or The Sleeping Lion. There, travelers can swim with many sea creatures including green sea turtles, eagle rays, sharks, and dolphins, not to mention an expansive variety of fish.

Although I am a relatively strong swimmer, my snorkeling experience isn’t anything to brag about. The few times I had ever put on a snorkel mask and flippers were in the lakes around my hometown, where the diversity of species to see is lacking to say the very least. With that being said, I felt as if I could not have been more lucky to have my first real snorkeling experience in the Galápagos.

After checking out my wetsuit, flippers, and mask, I boarded a boat with two other girls from Jatun Sacha. Through pre-trip research, I knew that if I went snorkeling at Kicker Rock there would be a very good possibly I would be swimming with sharks. However, I have to admit that being mere minutes away from that possibility made me slightly nervous. Luckily I wasn’t the only one on board with this fear, and our tour guide assured us we had nothing to worry about.

The extraordinary marine ecosystem of the Galápagos is due to the various currents that flow through the islands. The mixture of tropical and cool water from these currents bring many rich nutrients to the surface. Many fish come to feed on the nutrients, and in turn, many sharks come to feed on the fish. Because of this, there is no competition for food. Most importantly to me and other swimmers, this means sharks are not hungry enough to try to take a bite of a human. Still, nobody wants to be the one person who’s the exception to the rule...

Either way, as soon as I jumped from the boat to the water, any concerns I previously had were immediately washed away. I can now say for myself that the old adage about the ocean being a whole other world has a lot of truth to it. With your head in the water, most sounds of the outside world fade away.

The first thing seen gliding below me was a giant eagle ray. I previously had no idea just how enormous these creatures actually were. The first one that peacefully glided below me must have been as wide as a minivan is long.

Soon after that, out guide pointed out a couple of sharks swimming deep below us. At first they were difficult to see, but then the guide began gently slapping the top of the water’s surface.
The light clapping sound was almost like a signal to the nearby sharks, and soon there gathered what must have been close to fifty Galápagos and white finned sharks below us. They remained deep enough to keep a safe distance, but the nervousness I had previous to entering the water remained somewhere above the surface. At this point, I only felt a sense of wonder.

While swimming with sharks is always a cool experience to have, my favorite part of the snorkeling experience were the sea turtles. Whenever I spotted one, I always found myself straying from the group in order to get a closer look.

As time went on, I became increasingly comfortable in my surroundings. Soon, I was diving down as deep and as long I could. More than anything, I wanted to get a good shot from my GoPro of nearby fish, turtles, and eventually sharks. I must admit as comfortable as I became, swimming toward a shark still left me with a feeling of apprehension when the reality of what I was doing crossed my mind.

No matter what nerves I previously had, snorkeling ended up being one of my most treasured experiences from this trip. Seeing an occasional turtle or fish surface for a brief second from the deck of a ship can be exciting, but it doesn’t even begin to compare to the incredible world that lies just below the water’s surface.