Newbie in the Galapagos

[kks]

Hello, I am heading off to Ecuador and the Galapagos in a few days (land based trip). I just got my open water certification, so I'm still very new. Can anyone who has dived in Academy Bay tell me about their experiences? How cold is the water? How thick of a wetsuit should I expect to wear? What is the max depth? Have you rented from Scuba Iguana?

Any other recommendations/information would be great! Thanks!

Kris

 

[pufferfish]

KKS. I was in Puerto Ayora in 1998 which was the year of that bad El Nino. In fact in March of that year the Darwin Research station had recorded the warmest bay temperature ever. If my memory serves me correctly the water temp was 32 centigrade.
The animal life was really suffering both above and below water. Dead seals everywhere and lots of skinny marine iquanas.

I dove with Scuba Iguana and Mathias Espinosa who is the owner. Mathias was very safety conscious and had very good equipment for rent. If Paula the divemaster is still there ask to dive with her as she was excellent. She was in her late twenties and had a few thousand dives under her weightbelt. The diving in Academy bay was ok and for a new diver who has only dove quarries then it will be spectacular. Lots of turtles and marine iquanas to be seen. The best diving though is out of the bay and does take long one hour boat rides to the sites. Gordon Rocks was probably one of the nicest dives I did with lots of Galapagos sharks and other big fish. I would caution you though that once out of the bay you have to be very comfortable with your skills as the currents can be quite demanding upwards of two to three knots even in the vertical direction. I have experienced the strong horizontal currents in Cozumel but never the downwards currents I saw in Galapagos. In the bay though you should find nice gentle diving. I wore a full suit 3mm in March but that was an anomalous year so I wouldn't know what temp to expect now in May. I think the water temps are posted on the Scuba Iguana web site.
scuba iguana

Where are you staying? We stayed at Hotel Lobo del Mar which was great for $10 a night. The police station was right below us. Galapagos hotel looked nice but out of my price range back then.

Please give us a report when you get back.

 

[beepbird]

Hi,
I was in the Galapagos Feb 2001. I did a fly-by-night liveaboard cruise on the Pelikano. Water was cold I wore a 7mm wetsuit w/ hood. As a newbie, I wouldn't wander too far from Academy Bay. Currents are huge. Most liveaboards won't even consider you for a Galapagos cruise unless you have over 100 dives. When I did it I had 30 dives mostly in cold water SoCal plus I had just did my AOW. Diving in the Galapagos is lot like So Cal. Same critters except for the hammerheads and penguins. Have fun! but use your good judgement!

Beep