Hi Phil,
Such a pleasure to meet you and Merry on this trip. I am enjoying your pics very much--will share them with friends and family--thank you. The Galapagos Islands is such a special dive destination; and we were with an amazing group of people: crew and divers were all top notch.
If I may, the following suggestions might assist someone in their own trip-planning for the Galapagos:
1. I loved the 10-night turnaround on this trip: 2 days at Darwin's Arch, 2 days at Wolf, and the shallow, mid-day dive off Fernandina for the marine iguanas was terrific. I agree with Phil, the surge on that dive was "crazy-ass". In retrospect, I think the better approach would be to just accept the surge and ride with it. I tried too hard to anchor to a spot and this served to tire me out. I don't know if a 7-night itinerary would include Fernandina--so glad we had the opportunity for that dive!
2. I left my crushed neoprene drysuit at home (and glad I did) as it creates too much drag in the water, I opted for "layers" which served me extremely well. The coolest temperatures at depth were 66-70 degrees at Punta Vicente Roca and the early morning dive at Cabo Douglas. I had 4 layers to mix and match--the dive masters included anticipated water temps in their briefings.
3. Leave the reef hook at home and buy cheap utility gloves. I purchased thin gloves in Toronto (2 or 3 pair for $10). They are black, the ID on them reads: DAKOTA, CE, EN 388, 3131X, Size Medium. They did the job perfectly: enabling me to cling to the encrusted rock without tears or holes and dexterity was never compromised. Conventional dive gloves get chewed to bits, especially at Wolf and Darwin. These cheapo gloves worked great!
4. This was a last-minute trip for me. I booked all my own flights and managed to buy my Tourist Transit Card at the Guayaquil airport. I was required to present my passport, domestic flight itinerary and $20. I had checked on-line re protocols for acquiring this card--some older sources stated travellers required a "letter of introduction" from San Cristobal hotels/tour operators as proof of the # days to be spent in the Galapagos Islands, proof of health insurance. In my experience, the procedure was simple and straight forward.
5. Negative entries are required on many dives. Get down as fast as you can in order to stay with your group. I sucked the air out of my BC so I had minimal bubble to keep me hanging at the surface.
6. I have limited experience with "buddy diving". Fortunately, on this trip I had a wonderful dive buddy. We were in the same ballpark for air consumption and we communicated well. The divemasters briefed us on clear protocols for buddy separation. Occasionally, our dives (buddy and I) were shortened by a few minutes compared to the rest of the group. Larger capacity tanks were available--I managed OK using the equivalent of an aluminum 80.
Again, thank you Phil for your wonderful photos.
Best to you and Merry and hugs from snowy, cold Toronto!
Elaine
