DAY FIVE SUNDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2013
The boat moved from Wolf to Darwin Island just as it turned bedtime. Motored through the night to arrive at Darwin Island for two consecutive days of diving. We will actually be diving "The Arch", which is a seamount just southeast of the main island. Another restless night, but I can catch up on sleep at home. Breakfast at 6:30: my usual omelet with ham & cheese, but nothing more today . . . a bit of a queasy stomach. Dive briefing at 7:30; first dive at 8. Dive brief and schedule for Darwin Island After breakfast, the dive briefing. Everyone listens intently; we will see many more hammerheads, silkies, bullhead Galapagos sharks, with a possible whale shark, manta & eagle rays, even a Mola Mola Stone Scorpion fish (Scorpaenodes plumieri mystes)
	Galapagos conch retreated into its shell
Bill H. captures some Moorish Idols and the mollusks on the reef Much clearer and warmer water here than at Wolf. More hammerheads and they came in closer. Also an orca, dolphins, green turtle & whale shark(s)! Three were sighted today on the second & third dives; they were rather large - in the 15'+ range with a mouth big enough to engulf a diver.
Chocolate chip Pillow star (Nidorellia armata), a highly-recognizable ornamental sea star.
Large Spotted Moray eel - this one was about six feet long. We saw many of these with their heads tucked into/under the reef, but their bodies were clearly visible. Green Moray eel that are seldom seen these days in the Caribbean . . . . . . there's been a die-off. Surface interval . . . followed by second dive at 10. Some saw the first whale shark on this dive about 1/2-way through (but not yours truly - four of us were tail-end Charlies and it was too far for us to swim to catch the fish, as they rarely stop moving). This is also when the orcas were sighted. Much more comfortable with the rental gear on this and subsequent dive. Galapagos Silky shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis) is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, found worldwide. A different view Lunch - soup, salad, rice, chicken & vegetables, lasagna & bread. Schooling Scalloped Hammerhead sharks . . . they are not hunting, but looking for a parasite cleaning. Pacific Jack Cravalle Short interval followed by third dive at 1:20 p.m. Walter said I should stick with him this dive and he'd show me a whale shark; he kept his promise and it was amazing. Then right after I signaled low air and started my safety stop, a group of dolphins (with young) was sighted, but it was too far for me to take off chasing them. I also found out another whale shark was sighted after I got into the recovery boat. Manta Divers is on the boat. Dining room prepared for lunch Again I skipped the last dive of the day at 4 p.m. I was tired and it was going to be a short dive (about 1/2 hr) and I just felt it was too much of a struggle to put all that wet, cold, gear on for such a short swim. Relaxin' on the sun deck - the sun was not hot but sunburns appeared quickly for those who didn't apply sunscreen. In the panga going out for a dive. I skipped three dives during the week. I did a total of 15 dives this week. Perfect ending to a perfect day. We will be here for five more dives. My only whale shark photo Outstanding Whale shark photos courtesy Randy Garrett . . .

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