Here is a link to photos from our trip, followed by my trip report from last week's trip.
http://debersole.com/layout/0001/gallery_view.cfm?g=71
First of all, Ken from Galapagos Adventures (www.galapagosadventures.com) was outstanding! He was in constant contact with us through the year with updates, trip reports, and needed documents. He really made the whole experience effortless! If you are ever planning on going to the Galapagos I would highly recommend Ken to you. By the way, he books trips on all of the Galapagos boats, not just the Deep Blue.
Carol and I left the house Sunday morning with hopes of whale sharks in our heads! After our quick 38 minute flight from Tampa, we met up with most of our group in the Miami Airport. Eric and Emile had just flown in from San Francisco while Paul and Lena had arrived a few days earlier from China (Shanghai and Hong Kong, respectively). The last member of our group, Alex, had flown from Paris directly to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Also, while in Miami we met the other group from Kokomo, Indiana.
Once we arrived in Guayaquil, the staff of the Deep Blue took care of everything. After clearing customs and immigration, all of our bags were put on a luxury bus and we were taken to our hotel, the Grand Hotel Guayaquil. Porters then took all of our bags to our rooms and, after a get-together for drinks and snacks, it was off to bed. The rooms were very nice, clean, and comfortable.
Monday
After awakening this morning, it was back on the bus and back to the airport. Again, the Deep Blue staff took care of all the details. They put us in the airport lounge while they checked in all of our luggage and got all of the plane tickets for us. When it was time to go to the gate, they gave each of us our tickets and off we went.
The flight to San Cristobal from Guayaquil was about 1 ½ hours. Upon arriving in the Galapagos, we each paid our $100 park entrance fee (cash only!) and then we were taken to the Deep Blue, our accommodations for the next week. The boat was great. The rooms were spacious with lots of drawers and a closet for storage. The private bathroom had a large shower. The salon was absolutely huge with hardwood floors and was equipped with a TV, CD player, and DVD player along with lots of books and magazines. The dining area was also quite large (again hard wood floors) with four separate tables (four chairs each) and buffet style meals. There was also an ice machine and regrigerator for beverages, etc. The dive deck was very nice with 16 stations, each having both an air and nitrox tank. Nitrox onboard is a membrane system of EAN 32. Note: there is no 100% oxygen onboard for rebreathers.
After checking into our cabins, it was time for the checkout dive. As most of us dont dive regularly in 7mm wetsuits, it was time to figure out our weights. It was to be the only dive of the week off the main boat. All other dives were from inflatable pangas. It also gave us a chance to make sure every piece of our gear was in good working order before leaving port. Everyone also was given an EPIRB locating device in the even they were swept away from the group. Definitely a good idea when diving in strong currents (sometimes > 3 knots) in the middle of the Pacific well away from land, other boats, and even shipping lanes!
The dive at San Cristobal was not very exciting and very cold 58 degrees. It was fun to play with the sea lions, however. I was wearing a hooded vest under a 7mm one-piece wetsuit and gloves. I tried 20 pounds of weight which was okay, but I wasnt confident that Id be able to hang out at 15 fsw on a safety stop in a ripping current. As almost all of the weights onboard were 4 lbs, I opted for 24 lbs for the week. A little too much but better than being too light. Actually, I wasnt that cold despite the water temps. Maybe the anticipation of whale sharks, hammerheads, etc. was keeping me warm. The highlight of the checkout dive for me was watching as Carol surfaced behind one of the pangas and not the Deep Blue. She then threw her fins into the small inflatable before realizing she was not at the right boat. I helped drag her to the main boat as one of the crew got her fins from the panga! Were off to a great start!
Tuesday
Today we dove North Seymour. The place was covered with common blue-striped Galapagos nudibranchs. We also saw several eagle rays, mobula rays, sea lions and turtles. Again, the water was quite cold 58-60 degrees. Now its off to Wolf and Darwin a 12-14 hour boat ride. Were all keeping our fingers crossed for whale sharks.
http://debersole.com/layout/0001/gallery_view.cfm?g=71
First of all, Ken from Galapagos Adventures (www.galapagosadventures.com) was outstanding! He was in constant contact with us through the year with updates, trip reports, and needed documents. He really made the whole experience effortless! If you are ever planning on going to the Galapagos I would highly recommend Ken to you. By the way, he books trips on all of the Galapagos boats, not just the Deep Blue.
Carol and I left the house Sunday morning with hopes of whale sharks in our heads! After our quick 38 minute flight from Tampa, we met up with most of our group in the Miami Airport. Eric and Emile had just flown in from San Francisco while Paul and Lena had arrived a few days earlier from China (Shanghai and Hong Kong, respectively). The last member of our group, Alex, had flown from Paris directly to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Also, while in Miami we met the other group from Kokomo, Indiana.
Once we arrived in Guayaquil, the staff of the Deep Blue took care of everything. After clearing customs and immigration, all of our bags were put on a luxury bus and we were taken to our hotel, the Grand Hotel Guayaquil. Porters then took all of our bags to our rooms and, after a get-together for drinks and snacks, it was off to bed. The rooms were very nice, clean, and comfortable.
Monday
After awakening this morning, it was back on the bus and back to the airport. Again, the Deep Blue staff took care of all the details. They put us in the airport lounge while they checked in all of our luggage and got all of the plane tickets for us. When it was time to go to the gate, they gave each of us our tickets and off we went.
The flight to San Cristobal from Guayaquil was about 1 ½ hours. Upon arriving in the Galapagos, we each paid our $100 park entrance fee (cash only!) and then we were taken to the Deep Blue, our accommodations for the next week. The boat was great. The rooms were spacious with lots of drawers and a closet for storage. The private bathroom had a large shower. The salon was absolutely huge with hardwood floors and was equipped with a TV, CD player, and DVD player along with lots of books and magazines. The dining area was also quite large (again hard wood floors) with four separate tables (four chairs each) and buffet style meals. There was also an ice machine and regrigerator for beverages, etc. The dive deck was very nice with 16 stations, each having both an air and nitrox tank. Nitrox onboard is a membrane system of EAN 32. Note: there is no 100% oxygen onboard for rebreathers.
After checking into our cabins, it was time for the checkout dive. As most of us dont dive regularly in 7mm wetsuits, it was time to figure out our weights. It was to be the only dive of the week off the main boat. All other dives were from inflatable pangas. It also gave us a chance to make sure every piece of our gear was in good working order before leaving port. Everyone also was given an EPIRB locating device in the even they were swept away from the group. Definitely a good idea when diving in strong currents (sometimes > 3 knots) in the middle of the Pacific well away from land, other boats, and even shipping lanes!
The dive at San Cristobal was not very exciting and very cold 58 degrees. It was fun to play with the sea lions, however. I was wearing a hooded vest under a 7mm one-piece wetsuit and gloves. I tried 20 pounds of weight which was okay, but I wasnt confident that Id be able to hang out at 15 fsw on a safety stop in a ripping current. As almost all of the weights onboard were 4 lbs, I opted for 24 lbs for the week. A little too much but better than being too light. Actually, I wasnt that cold despite the water temps. Maybe the anticipation of whale sharks, hammerheads, etc. was keeping me warm. The highlight of the checkout dive for me was watching as Carol surfaced behind one of the pangas and not the Deep Blue. She then threw her fins into the small inflatable before realizing she was not at the right boat. I helped drag her to the main boat as one of the crew got her fins from the panga! Were off to a great start!
Tuesday
Today we dove North Seymour. The place was covered with common blue-striped Galapagos nudibranchs. We also saw several eagle rays, mobula rays, sea lions and turtles. Again, the water was quite cold 58-60 degrees. Now its off to Wolf and Darwin a 12-14 hour boat ride. Were all keeping our fingers crossed for whale sharks.
