Galapagos Diving - Isabela & Surroundings

Punta Albemarle

On the northern tip of Isabela along the eastside, Punta Albemarle is a favorite dive site for liveaboard boats returning from Wolf & Darwin. The area consists of rocky volcanic cliffs, that drops down to the ocean floor as an almost vertical wall.  Frequent sightings of large animals including manta rays, marbled rays, hammerhead sharks and marine turtles, as well as Chevron barracuda, snappers, yellow fin tuna, rainbow runners, wahoo and groupers are common. Smaller fish are also visable in the area including creole fishes, parrotfish, scrawled filefishes, pacific boxfish and tiger snake eels.

Schools of endemic black striped salemas are the most distinctive part of Punta Albermarle.  A member of the grunt family the salemas can join in large, dense aggregations, most often over rocky slopes and protected areas. Other endemic fish found living near Punta Albemarle include the white-spotted rock sea bass, a sea bass with a row of white spots on the side. These are most commonly found in areas of upwelling where they feed on other fish.

Cape Marshall

Along the eastside of Isabela just past crossing the equator lies Cape Marshall. Manta ray sightings are not uncommon here, but if you don’t get to see these magnificent creatures, there are plenty of white tipped reef sharks, schools of endemic black striped salems, yellowtail surgeonfish, Creole fish, parrot fish, scrawled filefish and turtles to keep you busy.

The rocky volcanic cliffs drop down to the ocean floor with areas of obvious lava flow. Other areas are covered with square rocky fingers that are stacked vertically across the wall decorated with tufts of black coral.

Interesting colonies of anemones grow on the rocks and brances. Also found here are marbled rays, pacific boxfish, tiger snake eels, and even black & white zebra morays. The ridge of the rock slopes up so close to the surface that you can enjoy this dive even while doing the safety stop.

Roca Redonda

This monolith is located well away from the other islands. Rising out of the ocean surface with hundreds of shearwaters and petrels flying in the air around it is Roca Redonda. Schools of hundreds of barracudas are hardly bothered by the intrusion of divers. Huge schools of various tropical fish rival the most diverse Indo-Pacific reefs and the exquisite Harlequin Wrasse found here is a target species for every fish photographer. Roca Redonda also has good sea lion encounters. These playful creatures are often resting quietly on the surface waiting to tease ascending divers.

Bubbles of hydrogen sulfide percolating through the sandy bottom are evidence of the ongoing volcanic activity in these islands. Stacks of boulders covered with barnacles and orange sponges form a slope down to about 50 feet where the bottom levels out in volcanic rubble.

Schools of yellow tailed surgeonfish, Galapagos grunts, king angelfish and of course scalloped hammerheads are likely to be seen here.

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