TRAVEL SPECIAL
our cabins . After a lengthy safety briefing we were issued with Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons ( EPIRBs ), and instructed in their use . Due to the remoteness and lack of emergency support , Darwin and Wolf are not places where you can afford to be blasé with safety considerations .
Underwater , both sites delivered world class action . During the first week it seemed we were witnessing a never-ending stream of hammerheads . I found the best way to get close was to find an area with plentiful barberfish , then wait behind a rock a short distance away , up-current . The hammerheads would mostly swim into the current , looking for a good place to be cleaned . If you plonk yourself down right among the barberfish , it doesn ’ t work ; your presence disrupts the cleaning process .
At Darwin Island , the liveaboard attracted a cortege of a dozen silky sharks . The
RAbove : The sun sets behind Darwin ' s Arch
SBelow : The endemic Galapagos barnacle blenny
UBelow right : Great blue heron on Bartolome Island
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