I was bobbing at the surface in the turbulent, 75 degree waters of Darwin Island waiting my turn to climb aboard the panga (a small, inflatable boat). I watched as other divers unstrapped their gear while being slammed against the side of the inflatable, waiting for a crew member to hoist their gear aboard. One by one, each diver handed up their gear, then removed their fins and handed them up before climbing the swaying ladder back into the boat. I had already handed up my gear and was floating away from the boat with only my mask, snorkel and fins as others climbed the ladder. Bobbing alone for a minute, I was overcome with joy. I don’t know how else to describe it, but utter joy.

Darwin is the northernmost spit of land in the Galapagos Islands, which lies along the equator about 600 miles off mainland Ecuador. I was here to host a group of divers from California on what would be some of the most epic diving of my life. Yes, the water was relatively cold for the tropics, due to the Humboldt Current flowing through the islands, and the current was strong, but the abundance of life, including a whale shark more than 35 feet long, made all the effort worth it.

I have been diving for most of my life in many places and taught scuba for decades, but I can’t say before that moment waiting for my turn to board the boat that I’d ever had that overwhelming feeling of joy and peace before, especially since losing my son to drowning in 2016. Back on the tiny panga, other divers seemed embarrassed as they wiped away tears brought about simply by witnessing the passing of several whale sharks that day.

I could go on for hours about everything our little group experienced on those dives and on the land in that remote archipelago, but the overwhelming stamp left on my heart was the camaraderie we felt as a small group that had journeyed and encountered a profound experience together. I thought in the moment, I want more of this.

My organization, 100 Feet Deep, has mostly been about dive training and now about the book Jesus and the Art of Scuba Diving. But after that trip to the Galapagos, we will also be about the Journey Together. Look for other dive trips coming soon!