12 Jul 2026
Good morning!
Like the sunset last night, today’s sunrise just kept getting better!
The initial plan for today was to do 2 dives at each island, but we kinda struck out at Darwin yesterday. None of the cool things we wanted to see came through, whereas we found quite a few interesting things down at Wolf, so we’ll do one dive here in Darwin, just in case today brings something new, then head to Wolf for the rest of our dives:
Dive #12 – Darwin’s Arch
Another sit and see what comes through, though I spent most of my dive watching Paul, who made friends with a hogfish:
It’s a bit hard to see, but he was turning over rocks and it would eat whatever was hiding underneath.
I made a few of my own Mexican hogfish friends (young terminal on the left, initial phase on the right):
These guys really aren’t scared of divers- this one came up to me several times:
I think he was hoping I’d feed him too.
This moray came out of that crack in the rock and took the Flag cabrilla’s spot:
I’d be grumpy too:
King angelfish:
and some juveniles:
Coral hawkfish:
and there was enough current happening today that the coral polyps opened!
Sit and waits are never my favorite, but I was able to tuck up into a corner where the current didn’t bother me too much and found enough to keep me occupied. Still, I’m looking forward to going back to Wolf.
Before our dive, there was some rain off in the distance:
As we left Darwin, the weather lifted and a rainbow came out!
And about 2 hours later, we were back at Wolf:
(and the birds found us again)
Motoring to our next site:
Lisa taking in the views:
Dawn de-airing Paul:
#drysuitproblems
The other group loaded into the panga:
And we were ready to get back into the water!
I didn’t notice that bird until after I loaded this picture up!
Dive #13 – Landslide
Leather bass:
Chub!
These guys always look like they’re smiling- love them!
Finally, a series I’ve been trying to get since coming here- Mexican hogfish of all ages, from terminal, with a bump on his head:
to young terminal, with the remnants of a yellow stripe and just the beginnings of a head bump:
even younger- yellow bar and a hint of black stripes remaining:
and initial, with black lines and no yellow bar yet:
Blue-chin parrotfish:
and the initial phase of the Blue-chin parrotfish:
I’ve seen this guy quite a few times, but finally got a decent shot of him- his orange really stands out on the reef.
School of trevally:
School of Razor surgeonfish:
Juvenile Panamic fang blenny:
his markings will develop more as he gets older
Moray eel:
Giant hawkfish!
Love the markings on these guys!
And one last creepy crab for the road:
This dive was so much more interesting than the ones up in Darwin- I’m so glad we came back down!
Dive #14 – Shark Bay
Hidden creepy crab:
Fang blenny posing:
Pacific creolefish:
Same guy, different coloration:
In Ecuador, they’re called gringos, because they turn red like all the tourists 🙂
Mexican hogfish!
This guy was hanging out with me, but every time I turned the camera around to get a selfie, he’s swim away:
(just caught his tail!)
Juvenile King angelfish:
A Guineafowl puffer, somewhere between the spotted and yellow phases:
An even better shot of the cool markings of the Giant hawkfish:
Napping turtle:
Not a great shot, but I like the shape of these permit fish:
On our way back to the boat, we spotted some sea lions just off shore, so we jumped in to swim with them!
I have a snorkel in my bag for times like this:
…but it’s still in my bag, on the boat…
However, it was easy enough to just hold my breath and bob down for some fun shots:
though this 7mm suit makes me seriously floaty!
This is one of the experiences I was was hoping to get here in the Galapagos!!!
Dive #15 – Sea Lion Cove
Rather than go back to Landslide for anther dive, we opted to just come back and hang out with the sea lions!
One of the girls in the other group put on a cute outfit rather than her wetsuit so she could get some Insta-worthy shots:
The sea lions weren’t nearly as playful this time:
Not sure if us being underwater rather than bobbing at the surface threw them off:
Or if they were just over us:
But they cruised around in wide circles:
rather than weaving in and out like they had been earlier:
regardless, this was absolutely a great way to end our time here at Wolf:
and because I am easily distracted, I found some fun fish as well, like another Giant hawkfish:
A Panamic fang blenny:
(these guys are my new favorites- they’re skittish, but I love their big faces)
A couple Giant damselfish guarding their nests:
fortunately, these guys aren’t nearly as chompy as triggerfish!
And a final Sunset wrasse:
As we panga’ed back to the boat, we found our sea lions napping in the sun:
What a great way to end today!
Pretty much as soon as we got out of the water, the boat lifted anchor and we started motoring back:
Hopefully this crossing isn’t as rough as the last one!