Delhi, London, Miami, Quito and finally Baltra, an island in the Pacific. It's way too long a journey, but it's my bucketlist trip and I must go… Baltra is a wild, rocky and desolate island with a runway, like the edge of the earth. A bus ride later, a bay with two boats. We set sail immediately, get full safety briefings (thank god, and you'll soon hear why) and head to a channel by Santa Cruz Island for an acclimatisation dive. We later dock at sea and take the skiffs out to Bartholomew Island. Barred, jagged, untouched by time and man... there is one boarded path, past the iguanas. No one can get on it or touch anything. There is no trace of the industrial world. We have dinner and lie out on the top deck under an incredibly starry sky. We are heading north of the Equator to Wolfe.

The next day, we go out and once we roll over we need to drop 15-20 metres and crouch on the ledge of the rocks to marvel at the aquarium infinitus—hammerheads in giant schools, black-tipped sharks, parrot fish, scorpion fish, two inches away in their brilliant Valentino-esque camouflage. We had to cling to the rocks, the drifts were so fierce. Suddenly it became dark and thousands of jack fish appeared in a swirling tornado, and we dived on with the sharks and giant schools of fish. Other highlights were floating with the iguanas in a floating sea of amber and rust—the painterly vision underwater in limes, yellows, rust, magentas, and playful seals hopping around the surface. Lying underwater with the iguanas frantically munching on the moss was my version of Savage Beauty underwater. It was something I will never forget.

The trip ends abruptly and eventfully; it's 2:30 am and I'm lying in bed, and suddenly the sick, groaning, churning of the ship being ripped open—exactly like what we saw in Titanic. Three minutes later we were deep in water on the deck below, waiting to evacuate. We made our way off the boat and jumped onto a dingy. Nothing was more liberating than getting off the sinking hull. Fortunately, the mayday was picked up and we were safely on board a rescue boat within an hour. A dream that turned into a nightmare, but time will heal and take me back to this underwater paradise.