It was the last dive of the trip. Up until now the diving had been completely next level. We had experienced the depths, currents, and sea life that make the Galapagos a top diving destination in the world. At this point in the trip I think all of the divers had logged dozens of dives and were ready to complete the final dive. When we were gearing up in the dive boat a joke was made about the possibility of seeing a whale shark. It was the only creature that we didn’t encounter during the trip. We were told ahead of time not to expect to see one due to the time of year. They usually pass thorough the Galapagos in late May early June.

Next, we rolled backwards off the dive boat and deceded to the deep one last time. Once on the bottom everybody began the process of gear checks and boyancy adjustments. By now we were trained that when the dive leader sounded the underwater noise maker the there was something interesting swimming by. Everybody probably thought it was another ray, turtle, or hammerhead shark, gracing us with there presence. When we turned around, it was apparent that our dive leader Pati was overwhelmed with excitment! She began to swim towards a shadow that was bigger than a school bus. Slowly the giant creature came close and into view. These whale sharks are massive!!! It gently and quietly swam in front of all of us giving a full view from the side. Words cannot explain how unique of an experience it is to get up close and personal with this fish.

Once the whale shark swam into the blue we all continued on our final dive. Even without this amazing sighting, the dive was phenomenal an all levels. Once on the surface we all shared in the realization of how blessed we all were to have shared this adventure!!!

The biggest creature we encountered!

Dive Guide Pate getting up close and personal with our new friend. This pic only begins to show the relative size of the beast! (The “stuff” hanging from his tail are actually remora fish that tag along for a free ride!)

Captain John after the whale shark sighting! (luckily Haggy talked him into the final dive!)