Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

We hope this email as always finds you well.

Galapagos has been on our mind as we start getting closer to our CCR Only 2023 date, which sold out this week. Should you be interested to join us in 2024 and onwards, we figured it might be good to recap why this is such a special itinerary.

ONE OF A KIND TRIP

Experiencing Galapagos is an incredible adventure. You connect with some of the most exotic marine life on the planet. Imagine how a rebreather amplifies that experience. Imagine how it amplifies even further with the entire boat on rebreathers, even the guides. This is what sets the CCR only trips apart, which are extremely rare.

GALAPAGOS MARINE RESERVE EXPANDED

Last year, President Lasso announced an expansion of the Galapagos Marine Reserve by 45%. The new protected area is 2.5 times the size of Maryland and covers more water surface area than Lake Michigan.

Photo courtesy of Galapagos Conservancy.

The total size of the marine protected area now extends 47.4 million acres (74,000 square miles). Crucially it ensures that the previously unprotected band of water in the Eastern Pacific, known as the Galápagos-Cocos Swimway, is now in the safe zone. 

The Galápagos-Cocos Swimway superhighway sees threatened and endangered migratory species like Whale Sharks, Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks, Manta Rays, Sea Turtles, Tuna, and many more that pass through the oceanic thoroughfare. 

Closing this gap should encourage dwindling species numbers to rebound while being an exemplary multi-national collab in the marine conservancy field. 

FROM ARCH TO PILLARS

Darwin’s Arch before the collapse

In May 2021, the industry was rocked by news of the iconic Darwin’s Arch, a rock formation south-east of Darwin Island in the Galápagos archipelago, which collapsed due to natural erosion. 

Coined as the Pillars of Evolution, they mark the shark hot spot of the real-life Jurassic Park and a new underwater formation of where the rocks fell and settled beneath the surface. 

#teamDD CCR DIVE GUIDES AREN’T YOUR AVERAGE DIVE GUIDES

At DDE, we always want to deliver the best possible experience on our expeditions and that is why our annual trips to Galapagos are strictly CCR ONLY. But it doesn't stop there.

Safety first is the only way on DDE trips, and our guides give exemplary briefings. Javier and Eduardo are also certified naturalists and extremely knowledgable about GMR, both on land and underwater.

From the best boats to the best team, our local CCR expert guides have worked with the likes of presenter Monty Halls in reaching new hidden depths of discovery on the deepest exploratory dive conducted in the area.

Watch Monty with our guide team in Galapagos now!

JOIN US IN THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

After all this talk of the real Jurassic Park, why not join us on an upcoming expedition with availability from 2024 or register yourself on a waitlist for 2023.

The minimum requirement to join is MOD 1.

MERCH! MERCH! MERCH!

We finally organized some new styles for our Galapagos merchandise.

Shop ‘til you drop our range of hoodies, tees, smart polos, and freshen up that style. Shop all our exclusive DDE merch now on our website.

That’s a wrap from us this week!

We hope you have some great plans coming up this summer and we look forward to seeing you all above and underwater soon. Please don’t forget, if you ever feel lonely, we are always here to chat Dirty.

Best,

Aron & The Dirty Dozen Team