on roughly opposite ends of the pacific ocean, guam and the galápagos are as alike as we are different. our islands enjoy warm weather, warm people, and contrasting marine environments that freedivers cannot resist. for the purposes of underwater exploration, freediving is the purest and most natural way to experience the ocean. when we dive, we accept the limitations of our bodies imposed on us by the ocean and our biology. we sense we are vulnerable and in it we find the freedom, the power to explore the depths of the water and of ourselves. in the galápagos, i was able to do both and meet like-minded fellows.

upon arriving in the galápagos, i immediately connected with fellow freedivers who also happen to be galápageños, or residents of the archipelago. johan recaurte is a freediving videographer with national geographic lindblad-expeditions and a fifth generation galápageño.

as one native to another, johan said something that grabbed my attention: “you look like our people from the coast.” however, guam is nearly 15,000 km away from ecuador. johan shared that he thought we might be distantly related as there are stories of rafts drifting across the pacific and that we might share common ancestors. he saw the necklace i wore with a pendant made from a spondylus oyster shell. to my surprise, he said his people used spondylus shells as money. although we do not know if ancient chamorus, the native inhabitants of guam, used the shells as money, archeological records tell us that they were valuable and culturally significant, as our dead were buried adorned with strings or pendants of the shells.

it is always interesting for islanders to compare and contrast our cultural practices in and around the water. because it’s an unfortunately common part of the island experience to lose a friend or relative to the ocean, many of us are forbidden from going into the water as children. so, when we eventually find our way to explore the underwater world, the experience is life changing. never more than 15 minutes away from a beach while growing up on guam, i did not learn to swim until i was an adult. johan had a very different experience.

johan found his journey to the water in stages. first, he learned how to catch lobsters with his uncles. i was unsurprised to learn that we use the same techniques in our islands to catch the crustaceans. next, johan became a surfer, which naturally taught him to hold his breath: when a wave passes over your head, it is up to the ocean when you get to come back up. after college at the age of 23, johan expanded his dive training. i asked him if freediving changed anything in him and it most certainly did.

“in some ways i appreciate this place more. i… i realized that this place is so important to the world, to the planet. not only for our country, but for the planet too. because when i learned about these ocean currents [from antartica], this idea that we have an area of upwelling plankton. and also here we have so much endemic sea life, and this is an area where a lot of animals come to give birth or come to mate. so, it is something that made me think that i need to do something to help this place — to keep this place.” -johan recaurte

johan is not alone in his belief in the power of freediving to transform oneself and cultivate a deep attachment to a place. alan jacome is a third generation galápageño and the second freediver i got to connect with in the galapagos. walking through the town to meet alan was an experience in and of itself: picture a woman selling tuna between the road and the waterfront while a sea lion, marine iguanas, and several large sea birds clamber around her. i met alan through a mutual friend, jesse dubois jazzar, who is a freediving instructor-trainer. at the invitation and insistence of jesse, alan received training and became a certified freediver. he instantly loved it, pouring himself into the sport and eventually becoming a freediving instructor, too.

i asked alan if freediving changed how he saw his islands. he answered, oddly, by explaining what kinds of permits he has. “you have to have a license to become a tour guide here. by ecuadorian and local law, there are different kinds of licenses for different kinds of activities. when i started freediving, i wanted to get a license to show people our sea life in the ocean, too,” he said. after freediving around the galápagos with sharks, turtles, sealions, penguins, marine iguanas, and flying birds that swim underwater, i would feel the same. 

alan was so moved by the dual experience of his freediving training and underwater exploration that he immediately wanted to share it with others as part of his profession and pride as a galápageño. freediving has that effect.           

it is difficult to explain and understand freediving without experiencing it properly. scuba diving is not quite an apt comparison. because we intentionally pause breathing and because we do not rely on a tank, every moment underwater is more profound. our land-dwelling humanity and presence in the ocean are called into question, while at the same time we feel a deeper connection with our planet.

we simultaneously feel the greatest sense of belonging in the present as well as returning to our evolutionary home from before any animal had a foot to set on land. the deeper you go, the more pressure there is. this can be crushing if you are not ready for it. if you are, it feels like the ocean is giving you a hug and welcoming you to its embrace.