Galapagos Diving - Floreana & Surroundings
With an impressive collection of varied dive sites, Floreana is considered the best dive location in the central islands. Located 1 1/2 hours south of Puerto Ayora it is ideal for divers of all levels. Currents are usually moderate, but should they be strong in one location you can quickly move to another. Floreana is the best of the central islands to see a significant amount of coral including pebble coral and the endemic black coral. This is the best site to dive with sea horses, however divers also frequently encounter stingrays, eagle rays, turtles, long nose hawkfish, barracudas, pelagic fish, whitetips, Galapagos sharks and hammerheads.
Devils Crown
This partially exposed cone of an extinct volcano is located a short distance in front of the island. The jagged rocks that peak out of the water form a crown shape giving the area its name. Inside the crown is a relative shallow pool, sandy slope and numerous boulders, pinnacles, tunnels and caves. Jumping in the water you are frequently greeted by playful sea lions, schools of large yellowtail snapper, barberfish and grunts. Other sites include blackspot moray, hawkfish, filefish, king angelfish, creolefish, jacks, turtles, octopus, golden eagle rays, hammerheads and whitetips.
Champion Islet
This small crater is a fun wall, drift dive. Sea lions rule the area and appear as you enter the water and accompany you along your dive. They also have a number of hiding places on the underwater labyrinth of rocky shelves. Among the coral you can always encounter large numbers of sea turtles resting, Pacific sea horses, long nose hawkfish, and coral hawkfish. Champion is one of the best night dives in Galapagos where you encounter sleeping sea turtles, numerous creolefish, bright yellow and orange tubastrea, slipper lobster, red scorpionfish, nudibraches and pufferfish.
Enderby Islet
The small crescent shaped island was formed by an eroded tuff cone. The dives are usually on the outer edge of the ridge and the most interesting diving is on the side where the current hits the reef. Here sights include manta rays, golden eagle rays, morays, turtles, tunas, hammerheads, whitetips, Galapagos sharks. Other common sites are sea lions, tropical fish by the thousands, barracudas, black coral, and the Pacific seahorse.
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