"That's right 77 feet for 44 minutes with the best dive of my life! What made this so good? It was a year back that me and my friend made arrangements to dive on the Aggressor in May for a week on their liveaboard. Our dive instructor is Patricio. He is from the Galapagos, born and raised. His knowledge of the Islands is worth every penny. Each day he gave us the dive briefing for the day, depth and times. He knew his stuff, so with much anticipation and excitement we were ready to go! And go we did.

Galapagos as divers know is Heaven on Earth. It is, in my opinion that is, the trip you would want to go on if it was your last. Why? Because it is so protected by the government and because of that you have so, so much sea life just wanting to shake your hand and invite you home for dinner. But like anything in life, it's timing just where and when that makes the difference. We just happened to choose May because of family and work schedules, but truly I have always wanted to come to this beautiful area since I was a young boy.

On our trip we were to dive 6 different islands. We had a total of 17 dives, and I must say that each dive was great. It's just that this one impressed me because the ship has nitrox, which is the only way to go. The Aggressor holds fourteen divers with great comfort. I dove on the Aggressor in Palau and must say I enjoyed it very much. This vessel had a crew that really knew their business. Super friendly, great food, very clean, heart-felt hospitality! And that only added to the trip! Well I could go on and on and no doubt many of you have had trips like this. But why I wanted to write this is what we saw on just ONE DIVE... If you had ever visited the island of Hawaii they say the place to go is the big Island and dive the Kona area, maybe to see the Mantas. If you go to Truk Lagoon you see some of the best wrecks in the World. Indonesia has lots of sea life and some of the best Muck diving, small and beautiful fish you just wish you could take home and put in your aquarium. But could you dream of seeing a lot of big sea creatures in one spot on one dive? Not me. I knew from movies, brochures, dive talk, that coming to the Galapagos we would see sea lions, turtles, galapagos sharks, schools of hammerheads, rays, and so on, but what are the odds of seeing all of these in one spot on one dive? On the third day into our dive trip we stopped at Wolf island for the day and overnight. We were to dive this site on four different times. Wolf Island is an interesting place. When you see it for the first time there are hundreds of birds flying and singing, but that is another story for another time. We all came to dive!

We started our day out with Patricio telling us that the season was changing and it may be that we just might see Whale Sharks! (O.K.) When we came we knew that this was not really the time, but who knows. In fact the water was so warm that we were diving in T-shirts and shorts. 83 degrees. Each dive was great, you name we saw it, schools of hammer heads, galapagos sharks, sea turtles, sea lions. We pretty much got use to the area, and what to see. I mean every time you moved your head you saw something!! On our last dive of that day, the 4th, Patricio said that he had a feeling from the previous dives, and seeing the fish, the way they were acting that something was up, it was just a bit different. For us, we were just happy no matter what. We went into the water and right away to our own known spot. We had a great day on all 3 dives, and were looking to see much of the same. Just when we got to our depth, boom! The first sighting of 8 eagle rays in formation as if on a mission. Mother in front, and how beautiful they were. If you have ever watched a group of birds in formation flying in the sky then this is what you saw; a beautiful formation of Rays only under a sea, and with the elegance of a Queen with her court.

As you can guess the cameras were clicking away, and why not? They were only a few feet from us. Remember, this is a sanctuary of safety for all who live there. The water was so warm and clear, at least 100 plus! The only problem was that you had to make choices, look at the school of hammer heads, galapagos sharks, turtles, as well as the little guys, eels, butterfly, scorpion fish...it was almost "you name it you got it." I have read much of this magical place and what can be seen when diving, but not all of this on one dive. Yes, this was on one dive 77 feet 44 minutes, and I'm not done. Half way through the dive at about 77 feet I'm staring at the eagle rays, wanting to see my buddy. I turned to my right, when right within four or so feet was a beautiful 30 foot Whale Shark! WHAT!!! It was just what we had hoped to see. This magnificent creature was on cruise control, moving just enough that any diver could shake hands with THE KING, and have a great conversation. On your left Eagle Rays, below you Hammer Heads up the reef Galapagos Sharks, but to your right, The King! And this is what we were hoping to see. In a lifetime of diving many divers see many things. I think that every diver may want at least one time to see a Whale Shark. At least it was the case for me. It's what's in every dive magazine, on dive shop walls, internet sites and the talk of every dive shop. We all live to tell stories, some call them fish stories, others can call it waht they want but a team of 6, a small little group, saw it for what it was. We knew not to touch or in any way disturb any life of the sea, but trust me you could have rode this shark with a saddle no problem.

The king seemed to enjoy all the attention he was given, and if we were fish we could have stayed in teh eveneing and if invited, went to his house to meet the wife and kids, but the problem was that we were running out of air. It was time to say, "another time." What a rememberance, stories that you will tell on every trip you take, infact you'll wait knowing that you have a story up your sleeve. I thought that was it and could not wait to call my wife and give her a visual picture of what we all saw. She would know as she is a diver but could not make this trip, for sure next time..

But just when you thought it was over, there was just one more show. On our safety stop, it was as if the Galapagos was saying let us show you our final act, one to remember us by. It was the Dolphin Finale. They came as if the King had said, "give these folks one more story to tell." These dolphins, where do they get their energy to hang out with people in black costumes? I don't know, but say what you want they came to dance and dance and dance. For 3 minutes, we were encircled with a musical from Broadway. It's as if they had been flown in from Marine World and said, "come back to see us again!" Well, did I paint a picture of what we all saw? Can you understand why I see this as the Dive of my life, 77 for 44, without question, and not just me. Ask Jimmy from Kentucky, Paul and Tom from Florida, Lars and Simon from Denmark, Christian from England, and thanks to Patricio our guide and friend. It was once said, come see "The Greatest Show on Earth." Every diver has a dream and a story but this is something I wish every diver can experience one time in his or her diving career. It's a dream and you know like me that dreams can come true.

David Treas