Arriving into Ecuador:

You can arrive into either Quito (UIO) or Guayaquil (GYE). You must overnight in one of these two cities upon arrival. There are only 2 exceptions to that I am aware of. Delta and LAN both have red eyes from the US that arrive around 05:30 AM. You can then fly the same morning directly to Galapagos.

I always recommend that if you are flying directly into the Galapagos with no mainland tours, Guayaquil is more convenient and it’s a bit less expensive than flying from Quito. Flights from Quito route through Guayaquil. On the other hand, if you wish to do some sightseeing on mainland Ecuador, Quito offers so much more than Guayaquil.

From Quito, you can visit cloud forests, take a quick flight over to the Amazon jungle (far better than in Peru), visit one of South America’s most famous indigenous markets 2 hours away in Otavalo or simply tour Old Quito which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are haciendas to enjoy and snow capped mountains to climb. You can ride horses or bikes in the Andes, go river rafting and so very much more.

Quayaquil is a city on large rivers, so even though it looks like it’s on the coast, the closest beach is about an hour away. Yes, the Malecon is a nice river walk for tourists and I must admit, nightime at Las Penas is fun, but I’d stick with Quito for mainland activities. Guayaquil is growing increasingly dangerous, too. In terms of convenience, go for the best deal on an international flight into either city if simply getting to the Galapagos is your aim.

Often on your return, you will also need to overnight on the mainland.  Flights from Galapagos to Ecuador return mid-afternoon to Guayaquil and late afternoon to Quito.  If your international flight departs in the morning, you will have to plan to overnight in Ecuador on your return.

One other consideration if you book your own flights is whether or not you are doing an extension.  It is common, in this case, to fly into San Cristobal (SCY) and fly out of Baltra (GPS) for convenience.  Please consult with us if you are booking your own flights and even if you are booking your own extension.  Logistics in Galapagos are complex and baffle even the most seasoned traveler.

After an overnight in either Guayaquil or Quito, you should arrive to the airport 1.5 – 2 hours in advance. Before you even check in for your flight, you must first purchase an INGALA visitor form. This resembles an immigration form, though the bottom part of it is detachable and for you to retain. Go to INGALA before going to your airline counter or you will simply wait in line only to be sent to INGALA.

In Guayaquil, the INGALA window is just to the left of Aerogal and Tame counters. At the window, they’ll ask you where you are staying or the name of your boat. You pay $10 in cash and they give you the customs form. You’ll be advised to retain both bottom sections, one to hand in as you depart and the other to serve as your ID in Galapagos.

Next, they run your bag through an Xray machine and may decide to inspect it for organic material. You may transport most processed food items between islands, but things like some raw nuts, fruit, etc are not permitted. Refer to INGALA’s list online for more details.

After that, go to your airline’s counter for check-in and boarding passes. They don’t usually ask if you have an aisle or window preference, so if you do, best to let them know when you present your passport. They never ask for your e-ticket either, just your passport.

In Quito, as soon as you walk in the door for domestic departures, go to your right. The INGALA office is located there prior to walking past the guard/entrance to the flight counters. Same procedure as Guayaquil.

Which Airline to the Galapagos?

First and foremost, all of the Galapagos Live-aboards depart from San Cristobal (SCY). The only airlines that service San Cristobal are Aerogal and Tame, and LAN.

It can sometimes be difficult to book your own flights on either Aerogal or Tame. Aerogal seems to charge more for foreigners booking flights from outside the country and Tame’s website rarely even functions. Both often show no availability when there actually is. What happens is that all cruises, both dive and naturalist, reserve seats for the total number of guests they have each week and then don’t release the seats they aren’t using until the last minute. So it is definitely easier for you to simply allow us to organize your flights with the boat you’re on. Then, if you get stuck for any reason (your flight to Ecuador was cancelled, the boat needs to depart from or return to Baltra for some reason), we can handle the changes for you. And that can be mission impossible for you or your agent back home.

Weight Restrictions:

You are allowed one checked bag that weighs 22 kilos, 48.5 pounds, plus a carry on. They do weigh the carry-on which has a weight limitation of 8 kilos, 18 pounds. They do allow you to check in an additional bag for roughly $1 per kilo, 2.2 pounds. LAN charges $25 for an extra bag. Aerogal often lets it slide altogether.

Prices:
As of December 26, 2011, the airlines are no longer fuel subsidized, so prices just increased on the average of $100 pp round trip on Aerogal. On Tame, the increase is $140 pp round trip to/from Quito and $120 round trip to/from Guayaquil. Below are the 2012 prices for Aerogal, the airline all liveaboards use, and the year round prices for Tame.

AEROGAL 2012 FARES

CONCHA DE PERLA:

Pay attention when you arrive into Isabela. Just as you are leaving the dock area, you’ll see a path that disappears into the mangrove with a large sign that read CONCHA DE PERLA. Below each image is my description.

(1) Dock where you arrive to Isabela. Just beyond the dock, there is a large sign by mangroves that says (2) “Concha de Perla” . Follow the lovely wooden walk through the mangroves which ends on a dock on the round ‘pozo’ of water. That’s Concha de Perla. I’ve never had anything stolen off that dock, but I would not take money or valuables.

Almost everyone just snorkels in the round area, however, I like to cross over into the inlet as under what I have labeled as 2 snorkel, there are usually turtles being cleaned by fish there. I have literally seen huge turtles there reared up on the sandy bottom like dogs begging to provide better access for cleaning.

The xxx is a very shallow area at low tide with exposed lava rock. So take your booties or plan on removing one fin to step on as these rocks are jagged. It is only about 6-8 feet. When the tide is a bit higher, you can snorkel over this area. Snorkeling is, however, always better at low tide. Once on the other side of the rocks, stand up to see where to snorkel over the sand. There are some lava rocks there under the water. Follow the sand around to the inlet and you can see where the turtle cleaning station usually is.

South of Puerto Villamil and inside the National Park is my favorite snorkel site in the area.  Click here to see maps of where that is.

Above is a visual reference of how far the site is from town.  See those gorgeous beaches!  The crescent beach is larger than the entire beach area in front of town.

Just after the beaches, there is a lava tube that goes out into the ocean. This is a path to the ‘Sendero’. You can go down into this (can have mosquitos) or walk out onto this to see the iguanas sunning. On the leeward side, you can sometimes see them eating in the water while snorkeling from here. The lava tub acts as a barrier wall to create the nice calm bay that is so shallow.

Continuing on the Park road past the lava tube into the sea, you cross a bridge through shady mangrove and the road is immediately next to the water, with virtually no shoulder. It is literally a small climb of only 10 feet or so down to the water…and not a steep climb, an easy one. I snorkel here. There are lots of marine iguanas on
the lava rock that lines the shore by the road. Snorkel out maybe 30 feet and there is a bed of seaweed where you can usually find the enormous sea turtles sleeping or eating. In this area, you can also find sea lions, tropical fish and I’ve seen the small schools of half-beaks at the surface here.  Beautiful site above and below the water!

Sometimes near the town pier (as opposed to passenger pier), you can watch maybe 500 blue footed boobies doing their kamikaze dive bomb feeding. Take a trip down to Los Tuneles which is such an amazing, amazing place.  It is the stuff of BBC /National Geographic documentaries.  It’s a labyrinth of lava arches inside the breakers with crystal clear water full of huge sea turtles (sometimes man-sized), eagle rays, sea lions, fish, white tipped reef sharks and more. Turtles navigate their own highway from the mangroves to the open sea through Los Tuneles. You can stand on an arch (with 2 active volcanoes in the background) and watch them pass each other on the way from the mangroves to the open sea as if on a highway with lanes clearly designated. The land before time vistas are spectacular!  Pose with penguins for photos if you wish.  At certain times of the year, Los Tuneles is also a blue footed booby nesting ground. We always spot mantas just before entering and almost always get to snorkel with them. Once we had 9 males chasing 1 female. We left them after 30 minutes, but not before I got clipped. Though I am a strong advocate against touching any marine life, they were almost always close enough to touch.  Once as we were about to enter, we stopped to watch 2 eagle rays mating.  And mating turtles are so commonplace you almost begin to take it for granted.

Yes, Los Tuneles is the epitome of Galapagos magic.   Because I love it so much, I do usually rave this much.  I remember a marine biologist once told me he thoroughly expected to be disappointed because of how much I had raved, but instead, he was in awe.  I remember a Brit once saying that he didn’t know which he enjoyed most…diving Darwin and Wolf or visiting Isabela and especially Los Tuneles.  His final summary was, “Let’s just say it would have been a travesty to have missed this.”

In 2010, in an area near Los Tuneles, local dive guides discovered sea horses residing in 1-8 foot deep water, often wrapped around mangrove roots.  It’s amazing to see the giant seahorses of Galapagos in such shallows as they usually are only found around 60 feet in cold water.  But everytime…there they are.  And sometimes you can find huge pregnant males ready to burst.  This area also seems to be a breeding ground, as mangroves usually are for the protection they provide.  I think I have seen the cutest, tiniest baby eagle rays everytime I’ve been there.  There is an area where you can lay down in crystal clear water about 1 foot deep to get shots of resting white tipped reef sharks in the white sand beneath the ledges.  And again, the giant turtles of Isabela!  I remember going over to the deeper side of this area to have our picnic lunch in the shade and counting 22 turtles at once!

Merely the boat back into port might offer more marine life sightings than most dive sites in other parts of the world. And then there are the stunning land-before-time vistas along the way.  I remember once reading a very well written article on the Galapagos by a British writer.  He talked about how sure, it was the immediacy of the blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas and other unique wildlife in the Galapagos that got you so excited in the moment, but months later, it was the landscapes that lingered in your memory as the biggest highlights.  For divers,  I don’t think anything can top swimming through a few hundred hammerheads to chase a 60 ft. whaleshark, but if we’re talking about land visits in the Galapagos, I’d have to agree.

On Isabela, you can also trek Sierra Negra Volcano, a live volcano that last erupted in 2005 and has the second largest caldera in the world on an active volcano.  If you do, I would highly recommend taking the extra jaunt over to Volcan Chico, a parasitic cone as opposed to separate volcano, where the vistas to the sea are magnificent and the landscape is usually best described as a lunarscape.  Volcan Chico is such a stunning site where you can see steam escaping from fumeroles and feel the heat of the lava beneath you…truly otherwordly.

There’s a fantastic campground, Campo Duro, half way up the slopes of Sierra Negra that is perfect for lunch after a trek.  Everything they serve is from organic fruit and vegetable gardens on the paradisiacal premises. They bake chicken and bread in outdoor lava rock ovens over fire.  They are also a half way house for young tortoises after the Isabela breeding center and before being released back into the wild.  And yes, you can camp there.  I’ve heard they sometimes have unexplained bright light visits in the cleared area where tents are set up during the night.

Nearby are my favorite lava tunnels in the Galapagos, Las Cuevas de Sucre.  I had the privileged of taking a Naturalist Guide with over 20 years experience in the Galapagos there for the first time.  It’s not too difficult to wow visitors, but it did provide a certain thrill to wow someone who knows the Galapagos that well.  These caves have been cleared by the Park, so the relatively quick walk through them is easy and suitable for any age.  I really like that it has no electric lighting as those on Santa Cruz have because then, you get to experience it in a natural state.  Due to sulfur in the rock content,  in parts of the tunnel, the ceilings look like they are lined with gold and where the sulfur is now fossilized, it appears as tiny drops with silver tips.  Incredible!

Within walking distance from Campo Duro is a Park constructed wooden tower, a Mirador, that offers huge views and is especially good at sunset.  If you arrive just before dusk, that seems to be the time of day the Galapagos Hawk prefers to perch from its height to survey dinner possibilities below.  We once had the hawk watch us as we ascended to the platform and remain there without moving which meant photo ops from a distance of roughly 5 feet.  When he did finally fly away, it sure seemed like he merely got bored rather than intimidated by us humans.  At one point, as we ascended the wooden steps, he jumped from one side of the platform to the other in order to have a better look at what we were doing and that was long before he departed.

There’s great snorkeling on your own in Isabela, including turtle cleaning stations where I’ve seen them on their hind legs like a dog begging in order to give the cleaner fish better access.  At one place inside the Park, you can snorkel with swimming marine iguanas, sea lions and schools of Half Beaks which resemble miniature sword fish.  At that bay, maybe 40 feet from the shore exists what I have come to call turtle pastures.  The shallow sea floor is covered in green algae.  As you snorkel over it, you see turtles sleeping or grazing a mere couple of feet beneath you.

The Breeding Center for tortoises is fascinating as Isabela has more species of tortoises than other islands due to treacherously jagged AA lava fields (think ragged and rough iron stalagmites) they could not cross.  At the Breeding Center, you can not only see tiny newborn tortoises, but  also  the only flat back tortoises in the islands…some of which now live at the Breeding Center after being rescued from Cerro Azul’s last eruption and still bear the scars on their shells.  And getting there from town is half the fun as you walk a wooden path above Isabela wetlands full of marine iguanas and shore birds.

In addition to everything else, there’s the Isabela beach that is the stuff of island magazine covers.   The wide, white  sand beach, most of which is inside the National Park, therefore mostly empty and pristine truly has some of the softest sand I’ve ever felt anywhere.  It’s like you’re walking on baby powder in this remote and isolated beach with a backdrop of land-before time vistas and only the unique wildlife of Galapagos to keep you company.  One of my favorite photos from Isabela isn’t necessarily a great photo, but does remind me of a great memory.  The only track on the beach was the squiggle of a marine iguana across the sand and into the sea.  Marine iguanas nest, live and eat through there.

You can get in more diving while there if you wish.  Most only want to take you to Isla Tortuga because it’s easy and close.  You can see hammerheads, mantas, turtles, eagle rays, scorpion fish and more at Isla Tortuga, but much more interesting and equally close (though a bit advanced) is La Viuda.  With groups, we can take you to spots where no one dives and no one fishes, so the marine life acts completely different.  Large schools of yellow tailed surgeon fish will follow you like puppies.  Long-nosed hawkfish are easy to spot.  I’ve seen up to 4 shark species, mantas always circle, huge schools of tropicals, steel pompanos, barracudas and more; large colonies of marine lions and even lots of coral and anemones abound.  This is the only spot I’ve ever dived in the Galapagos where the sea lions come out to hang and are mellow, rather than frenetic.  I have to assume it’s because they are completely unaccustomed to people.  It’s our secret spot and we don’t share the location with anyone, so you’ll have to just travel with us and see for yourself.

And ps…for any birders, Isabela has lots of wetlands chocked full of various shore birds, but for most of visitors, the one everyone enjoys the most are the flamingos.

Sorry to go on, but I absolutely love Isabela.  Did I mention that there are really good restaurants in Isabela?  The central square is lined with restaurants.  Do try the ‘camarones apanados’ at Pepa’s.  Fried and barely breaded shrimp.  It’s not on the menu, so you have to ask for it.  Cesar’s is another of our favorites, though go early so you don’t have to wait long.  Immediately behind Commercial Naboa on the town square is Gabriel’s awning covered food stand which offers delicious fruit batidos…milkshakes.   Ask where to find Restaurant Oasis (prounounced Oh ah sis) if you’re in Puerto Villamil on a Friday night, the only night they make homemade muchinis, a yucca fritter that is so good.  And the last small restaurant in front of the town square has an excellent breakfast for $4.   And again, the food at Campo Duro is so good and the setting so beautiful, it’s worth a trip up to the Highlands just to eat.

Hotels on Isabela begin too cheap to recommend and go up to about $450 per night. There are a couple in the $50-$60 pp per night range that are excellent and on the beach.   Careful… some hotels may charge you $250 per night and put you in a nearby room that you could have paid 50% less with booking through us…for the exact same room.   We primarily work with Casa Sol and Casa de Marita.  Day tours to Los Tuneles or Sierra Negra range from $75-$150 pp. Packages that offers the hotel class of your choice and the tours of your choice are the best way to go.  There are no ATMs on Isabela, so if you don’t take sufficient cash, you could find yourself in a bit of a pickle.

Everyone there knows everyone else which is why all residents will swear there is no crime.  Once we rented bikes, left them leaning against the curb in front of a restaurant while we walked somewhere else and when we returned, one bike was missing.  We looked around to no avail and went over to the police who put us in a truck to begin driving around to look for the bike, again to no avail.  By the time we came back from the search, the bike was leaning against the curb on the other side of the street from where we left it.  Found out later someone mistook it for someone else’s bike, borrowed it for a bit and then returned it….which was exactly what I assumed before leaping to the conclusion someone stole it.

There is so much to do on Isabela and it is virtually the only populated island in the Galapagos where you can do a lot on your own for free.  That’s not to say you don’t have to pay to hit the highlights, but simply that magic in the Galapagos doesn’t always come with a price tag.  And apart from live-aboard diving in Galapagos, you simply can’t experience a more magical topside than Isla Isabela.

So for those of you who want more than just diving, but don’t necessarily want to have to go on back to back dive / Naturalist cruises, we cannot recommend strongly enough a dive cruise followed by an extension of a few days on Isabela.  The combination is certainly a memory you will cherish and carry for the rest of your life.

Isabela photos below.  Click on these links to see a Los Tuneles gallery and  a Sierra Negra gallery.

[View with PicLens]

We are very pleased to be able to offer what very well could be this season’s only Last Minute Galapagos Live-Aboard specials and some exciting 2011 offers.  In March, the late great Alta ran aground and by June, all 2010 charters were cancelled.  This left so very many scrambling for live-aboard space in the Galapagos that everyone else ended up quite booked for the season.  But now, there are two Last Minute departures with what is perhaps the only elusive sighting in the Galapagos…a savings.

Aggressor – Dec. 16th. In celebration of the Aggressor Fleet’s 25th Anniversary, they are offering a 25% per person discount,a savings of over $1100.  Rates $3371.25 – $3521.25

Additionally, reserve and make your deposit on a space before Sept. 30, 2010 and you will receive a $400 discount for travel before Feb. 28, 2011.

Deep Blue – Oct. 18 – 25. $3495 lower deck / $3695 upper deck includes fuel surcharge…a savings of $500 pp.

Estrella del Mar -  Nov. 1 – 8.  $3495 plus fuel surcharge…a savings of $300 pp.

Humboldt Explorer – Buy 1 space, get 1 free!  $4295 rate = $2147.50 pp.  Now there is a rate that hasn’t been seen in the Galapagos for a long time. Offer valid for departures Dec. 13 – 20 and Jan. 3-10, 2011.

Also, the Humboldt Explorer is offering 3 free berths with a full charter from Jan. 15 – May 15, 2011 and/or buy one berth and get the second at a 50% discount. The Humboldt drops their rate from January until May to $3995.  So…when you buy 2 spaces, the total cost is $5992.50 from Jan. 15- May 15, 2011.

This year, due to  La Niña, the water temps in Galapagos are colder than normal which is perhaps why almost every week we are hearing reports of thousands, not hundreds, of hammerheads.  Last year, I was fortunate to dive Darwin and Wolf in both October and November.  Whale sharks were in double digits both times and in November,  well…read for yourself my Number 1 dive moment in 2009.

Get in touch with us if you are interested in either of these departures.

The most exciting news is that, of the 14 (I think) new permits for dive liveaboards in the Galapagos, the first one is now in the water!  The Humboldt Explorer got off to a slightly rocky start due to engine problems, but when will a new boat ever go into the water without some growing pains?  The important thing is that she is the first of the new dive permits to begin operation. 

Now, let’s backtrack for a moment. After a grueling period of accepting project applications for new liveaboards, the winners were named.  Almost immediately, a group that consisted on paper of fishermen, sued the National Park claiming the process of awarding the permits was both illegal and corrupt.  This case has lingered on for over a year and a decision is expected any day now from the Supreme Court.  If the Supreme Court upholds the permits, then things will move forward as they are tentatively proceeding now.  If, on the other hand, the Supreme Court decides in favor of the fishermen, well, the Park will need to open a new round of solitications and award permits all over again.

When people inside the Galapagos try to explain to people outside the Galapagos that it’s complicated or tricky, this is just one example of what they mean.  The Galapagos is perhaps the most regulated part of the planet that isn’t under some regime rule.  And with good reason.  As is often said, if we can’t save the Galapagos, then there’s no hope for anywhere on the planet.

Hard to imagine a negative outcome after so many invested years and so much money simply in the process of applying for a permit, but you never know.  One small example of what was one small part of the process was providing notarized copies of years worth of zarpes.  A zarpe is the document a boat receives every time it sails out of port…permission from the Capitania to depart, as it were.  Now if you are a daily dive operator, that means you get a zarpe every day of the week.  You can imagine the expense of notarizing a few thousand zarpes.  One person with a permit said that he was going to put all the documentation in his boat to see if it would sink the boat.

Another thing is that the Park intends to drastically regulate where any liveaboards can dive from 2011 on.  All cruises in the Galapagos are being regulated to 15 day itineraries. Cruise operators are free to break up this 15 days however they wish to -7/8; 5/5/5; 10/5, etc. Think of Day 1 as the same as Day 15 in that the boat is in a port to drop off passengers, refuel and pick up new passengers.  This is being done for the sustainable good of the sites being visited, whether the site is a land visit or dive site.

For Naturalist cruises, this means they cannot visit the same site twice during that 15 day itinerary.  For Naturalist cruises, this can mean a morning visit and an afternoon visit.  For dive cruises, it’s usually just drop off, refuel, pick up and check dive.  For dive cruises, the Park is using a study to determine how many groups per day will be allowed at any given dive site and how many groups at the same time at any given dive site. As of this writing, the intent is to limit dive cruises to 2 days at Darwin and 2 days at Wolf per 15 days.  They are also trying to restrict the number of dives per day at each location.  And as has been rumored for the better part of 2 years, it seems the Park will begin to enforce the ‘no non-land accessible land visits’ for dive cruises.  It seems those who do these now do plan to defend their current rights to make land visits.

So this is where my opinion comes in.  I have discussed this with various scientists, dive guides, etc.  No one so far offers me much in the way of argument that sufficiently alters my opinion.  Granted, we all know the old cliche about opinions, nevertheless…

There are about a handful of known sites left in the world where hammerheads school in numbers and the northern islands of Darwin and Wolf are two such sites.  In my opinion, the only thing that keeps the aleteros (shark finners) out is that the divers are there. There is one station at Wolf, a boat anchored in the bay called the Tiburon Martillo, a ‘floating base’. This was absent for the last 8 months while it went into dry dock for repairs.  There is no one patrolling Darwin, 3 hours away which is better known for larger hammerhead populations.  So if the divers aren’t there, no one is there to stop the massacre.

I don’t doubt for a moment that the presence of dive boats wards off illegal fishing. Just two weeks ago, I was at a site in the central islands rarely dived any more due to distance/expense for local operators.  Due to congestion, I couldn’t dive.  And while our divers were down, 3 illegal fishing boats came to fish.  That we, a sole boat, were there did not defer them for a moment.  Me yelling did nothing.  They just continued dropping their buoys about 30 feet away from the rock. When I grabbed a camera and started taking photos of their boats which they knew I could use to identify them, well that seemed to be much more effective than nicely asking or acting like a crazy gringa yelling.  With that, they covered their faces so they weren’t personally identifiable.  And when they realized I was changing into a wetsuit (with the intention of cutting and confiscating their buoys), they played me.  I was torn between getting photos of each boat and cutting bouys.  I opted for the photo which meant leaving the first bouy to get close enough to the other boats providing a window of opportunity for the first boat to return to gather their bouy.

Then, they waited at a distance for us to leave.  During the surface interval, I asked the captain to merely circle the island.  We would not be visible on the other side of the island and I was prepared to go into the water if they had their bouys out when we came back around.  Instead, miraculously another local dive boat showed up and with two boats there, the 3 fishing boats finally gave up and left.

Same theory applies on a much grander scale at Wolf and Darwin.  Count on Costa Rican aleteros finning to their heart’s content on days when no one is there.  And for the last few years, there have been lots of days when no one was there.  To me, logic says the diminished shark population most likely has more to do with open season from aleteros than divers in the water with sharks.  No one debates that in the central islands, so why the same logic is not  applied to an unpatrolled site like Darwin is beyond me.

So I say diving is the best protection the Darwin hammerhead population has against populations diminishing, not the enemy.  Divers who dive our northern islands are all advanced divers.  No one is allowed to act irresponsibly nor do most advanced divers want to abuse the wildlife.  Yes, way too many seem to have some twisted desire to touch whale sharks, but most boats wisely have a policy of “Touch the whale shark and your diving is over for the rest of the trip.”

Having said all that, I do agree wholeheartedly that how many boats are allowed to dive either Darwin or Wolf at the same time indeed should be limited to no more than 2.  And those 2 need to stagger their dive times so no more than 1 boat has divers in the water at the same time.  Granted, I say that more because I think it provides a far richer experience for the diver.  I have been at Darwin and Cabo Marshall with 32 divers in the water.  It’s no fun.  You can’t figure out who’s shaking their noise maker and to have 16 divers ascend on top of you is the last thing I, as a diver, want when I’m in a location as remote as these sites are in Galapagos.  In terms of site sustainability, you still have 32 divers in the water on any given day.  But we don’t have reefs to protect. And few are anything more than sideline spectators to the hammerheads.  Yes, bubbles scare them, but I would imagine that if they were that scared or susceptible to altered behavior due to bubbles on the sidelines of their arena, they would have altered their behavior years ago.  It’s not like diving there just started in the last couple of years. Time has passed and they’re still there.

I am also of the opinion that it is touching animals and interacting in a physical manner (feeding, touching, chasing, finning, fishing) that is more likely to alter their behavior than watching from a respectful distance.  I’m no scientist, just a diver, but that’s my opinion and if someone can share data that alters my opinion, I’m all ears.

Now, to further speak out in setting where no one speaks out, I find it amazing the liveaboards don’t contribute more towards local research and sustainability.  And I’m not limiting that to dive cruises.  Of the money that is generated by tourism in the Galapagos, studies show that only 15% stays in the Galapagos.  That there is not a per person fee that goes directly to research and sustainability is inconceivable in my opinion.

Let’s take a look at only the liveaboards.  With only the 5.5 boats now operational, let’s take a low capacity rate of 10 divers per departure.  10 divers x 5 boats x 12 months equals 600 divers per year.  Plus the seasonal departure of another 160 divers, you have conservatively 760 divers per year on liveaboards.  If every person was charged a $100 conservation fee, that’s $76,000 per year.  If every liveaboard offered space to scientists when they had available space, that would help even further.  I find it astounding that even today, no one knows where the whale sharks migrate to when they leave Darwin.  Astounding.  I think that the price of Galapagos liveaboards is so expensive, the operators themselves should be donating this rather than increasing the costs to guests since, although it is very costly to operate in the Galapagos, it’s abundantly clear it’s also very profitable.

One thing that I recently learned that I find relatively amazing is that, on the island best known for either shark finning or aiding and abetting those who do, it would only take the creation of 9 jobs…9 economic alternatives…to end shark finning.  Is there some reason these aleteros can’t transition to other jobs like counting baby shark populations, patrolling the coastal waterways as Park guards, etc?  The only answer is funding for training, for resources, etc.  And on a side note, I find one paradox intriquing.  There seem to be plenty of baby black tips in the mangroves and a scarcity of adults whereas there seem to be plenty of adult hammerheads and a scarcity of babies.

Every new permit includes a sustainability project commitment.  Every new permit holder is a fisherman.  Every new liveaboard must be owned (on paper) by that fishermen.  There’s been a long history of no regulations around those with cupos renting  to those who will pay them the most for the lease.  Under new regulations, that is now grounds for losing your permit.

One of the goals for sustainability has been to transistion fishermen to tourism.  It’s virtually the only economic alternative there is, but no one is offering enough training so these fishermen know anything about tourism.  So much of the culture thinks only in terms of what they can make immediately.  Understandable since they have lead a life that was day to day up until now.  And now, long term vision through education is lacking.  Imagine giving construction contracts for skyscrapers to homeless people as a way to get them off the street in New York City and it’s not a far stretch in terms of an analogy.  A better analogy might be a gun or needle exchange programs since exchanging fishing permits for points towards winning a ‘tur navegable de buceo” permit was a primary way for fishermen to win points.  And those with the highest points won the permits.  Intentions are admirable, but there’s a cliche about that, too.

The good news is that the onus is actually now on the liveaboards themselves to hire and train locals, in a regulatory fashion.  Too many operators up until now bring people from the mainland where trained talent is more common than in the islands themselves.  Tightening up on that will both reduce immigration and direct more income to the local economy as opposed to the 85% that never reaches the Galapagos.  So things are certainly changing relative to how it’s been.  It seems the intentions are good, so we can only hope the results play out for the common good of both the environment and the population. And of course, each operator should more proactively do their part to contribute to a positive outcome.

I think sometimes it’s better to come from the outside rather than be bogged down by full knowledge of all the politics that more often than not, clog the wheel rather than grease it.  Doesn’t always make life smoother to voice an opinion when a code of silence is all but law, but some of us are just wired that way, much to our own discomfort.

New Flight Schedule for Flights 2K036 & 2K037

]]> http://divingthegalapagos.com/the-galapagos-islands/aerogal-changes-flights-to-san-cristobal/feed 0 http://divingthegalapagos.com/galapagos-trip-reports/its-whale-shark-season-in-galapagos http://divingthegalapagos.com/galapagos-trip-reports/its-whale-shark-season-in-galapagos#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:32:50 +0000 admin http://divingthegalapagos.com/?p=384

Whale Shark Galapagos

Well, at least in the north at Darwin.  People always want to know what the conditions are like in the north and current reports are not so easy to come by.  So we thought we would begin offering reports here.  Granted, once you leave the central islands on the trip up to Darwin and Wolf, there’s no cell signal which means our reports are limited to once a week.

Week:  July 12, 2010:

• Water is still unseasonably cold:  20 at Wolf and 25 at Darwin.  Reported 18 air/ water temps at N. Seymour.
  
• 12 large whale shark sightings at Darwin, including a pregnant female.
  
• Reported ‘thousands’ of hammerheads
  
• Cabo Marshall  without viz, maybe 2 meters.  Too green from algae.

In the central islands, cold water temps (18-20) with thermoclines as low as 15.  Lots of hammerheads and Mantas at Gordon Rocks.

August 2010:

I was out in the islands for most of the month.  Water temperature in the central islands is 16-18 C on average with dreadful visibility in green chunky water.  Air temps were also chillier than normal with 18-19 C being the norm in the evenings.  Many days without sunshine in the garua season making viz even more difficult.  We don’t know whether the wildlife is there and you just can’t see it or if activity is diminished.   In any event, for 2 weeks of non-stop diving in the central islands, it was consistently bad everywhere.   Yes, some sharks, mantas, lots of rays, baitballs, plenty of turtles and large schools of barracudas still visible…which just goes to show you how spoiled we are when that equals lame.

Up at Darwin and Wolf,  the month offered very mixed reports.  It swung from thousands of hammerheads and a dozen whalesharks at Darwin to 20 hammerheads and 1 whaleshark at Darwin.  Last week (Aug. 16-23) , I had very mixed reports from 2 boats in the same week.  Aboard Galapagos Sky,  reports of very few hammerheads and some whalesharks at Darwin with maybe 20 hammerheads and not much else at Wolf.  Dive Guide from Humboldt Explorer reported thousands of hammerheads at Wolf (not Darwin) along with a pod of 20 Orcas caressing the pangas.  Everyone reports bad visibility and cold water.

What I’ve been saying since late May / early June is finally official:  La Nina is here post El Nino…which accounts for the unseasonably cold water, but no one seems to know for sure why such horrible visibility.  Best guess is major upwelling events being dispersed throughout the islands.  Best viz I’ve heard of all month was 40 ft (12 mts) at Darwin.  Most places are under 20 ft (5 mts) viz.  Typically, diminished visibility equals more wildlife due to the nutrient rich water, but when viz is 10 – 15 ft, even if there’s a school of 500 hammerheads nearby, you can’t necessarily see them.   Official reports expect La Nina to continue for the next 2-3 months at least.

Aug. 23-30.  Reports of thousands of hammerheads at Darwin, barely a dive when they weren’t in sight.  Whale sharks, Mantas at Cabo Marshall.  Water temp at Darwin 24C  and a mere 15C at Cousins causing several to bail on Dive 2.  In other words, your standard week diving the Galapagos on a liveaboard.

Aug 31 – Sept 6.  Reports are the same…cold water (15-24C), bad viz, but an abundance of marine life, ie good sightings.

During the first year of operations within the domestic marketplace, more than 500,000 passengers have chosen LAN Ecuador as the air carrier for their domestic travel needs between the cities of Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. In September of this year, the airline will expand its portfolio of domestic destinations by adding service to the Galapagos Islands.

This announcement also marks LAN Ecuador ’s 7th anniversary of flight operations in the country and connecting the country internationally to the United States, Europe, Chile and Argentina. Between domestic and international travel, LAN Ecuador has transported more than 1,000,000 passengers over the past last twelve months.

The company provides service to domestic destinations aboard a modern fleet of Airbus A320s that are engineered with the most advanced technology in the industry to help decrease the effects of global warming.

Recently released statistics from Ecuador’s Civil Aviation Authority reveal that the company has received the highest marks for punctuality and reliability at the local level. At the same time, the domestic airline industry has grown an average of about 15% year on year, driven significantly by LAN Ecuador on domestic routes. This is an example that air travel has become more accessible in this market and is being widely used by passengers in the country.

During this same period of time, customers have recognized and awarded LAN Ecuador for its high quality of service. Recently, the Charles Darwin Foundation recognized the company as one of the 100 Partners of the Galapagos.

The company has a team of approximately 1,000 employees dedicated to providing world-class service and product offering to its passengers and domestic customers.  LAN Airlines and its affiliates, including LAN Ecuador, are members of the oneworld global airline alliance which brings together the best global companies. oneworld allows LAN Ecuador to offer its passengers the full range of benefits and connectivity of this alliance. Passengers can earn frequent flyer miles and redeem mileage awards on all oneworld airlines, as well facilitating access to over 550 airport lounges around the world.

“We are very proud of the preference our passengers and clients have shown us. It serves to reaffirm our commitment to offering an excellent product that provides connectivity and opportunities for economic and social development for Ecuador. We will continue to promote the attractive tourist destinations and help to grow exports with a special concern for the preservation of the environment. It is of great satisfaction to be able to deliver world-class service that is valued by the people of Ecuador. We want to be an airline that is a source of pride for the country,” said Maximilian Naranjo, General Manager of LAN Ecuador.

Source: Travel Daily News http://bit.ly/9EXA6b

#3: Diving with hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos

Thrills Of A Lifetime

A jury of the UK’s top explorers, adventurers, and award-winning writers have selected the world’s greatest travel adventure as “staring down into the smouldering eyes of a tiger from the back of an elephant in India’s Kanha National Park.”

For the past two months, travel luminaries including Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler, explorer Benedict Allen, and broadcaster Simon Calder have been assessing the most intense adventures on the planet. And the chance of getting close to a tiger in the wild – while such a possibility exists – was judged to be even more thrilling than skiing down a live volcano on the Japanese island of Hokkaido or diving with hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos.

Simon Calder said: “Whatever tribulations the economy may deliver, the British spirit of adventure is alive and well. Travelers are turning their backs on the beach and going to extremes to satisfy a craving for adrenalin-fuelled experiences.”

TOP 10 ADVENTURES

1. Tiger tracking on elephants, Kanha National Park, India
“You’ll never get so close to a tiger in the wild.” – Bryn Thomas

2. Skiing on Asahidake, Hokkaido, Japan
“Asahidake is the island’s highest mountain and sends out a stream of smoke from its vents. Hokkaido enjoys eight meters of snow a year, and the powder is some of the most consistently excellent in the world.” – Perry Wilson

3. Diving with hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos
“With basic scuba skills you can safely dive with these fabulous, iconic sharks – in the company of so many of them that you lose count.” – Paul Rose

4. Encounter with mountain gorillas in Rwanda
“Nothing rivals a close-up with our closest relatives. It is at altitude, in a rainforest, with no paths. The trek can take five hours. Worth it – massively, emotionally – and it helps this poor, war-ravaged country.” – Paul Goldstein

5. Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru
“Popular though this three-day trek is, nothing can prepare you for the awesome first sight of the ‘lost’ city of the Incas as you round the trail on the last day, seeing it perched high above the Urumaba with the mist swirling around it.” – Bryn Thomas.

6. Larapinta Trail in Australia’s Northern Territory.
“Classic outback country: dry, dramatic, lots of wildlife … the ‘dry’ component would normally make it unwalkable until the establishment of regular water tanks made it one of Australia’s best hikes.” – Tony Wheeler

7. Trans-Siberian Railway, Russia
“The greatest rail adventure of them all. I’d suggest the weekly Moscow-Mongolia-Beijing train. Its six nights and over 5,000 miles across Siberia, the Gobi Desert, and through the Great Wall for as little as GBP410. You can even start your trip at St. Pancras.” – Mark Smith

8. Hot-air ballooning over the Serengeti of Tanzania
“Even if there are no migrating herds, just to pass over the African savannah in silence is something you will never forget.” – Benedict Allen

9. Hiking the Grand Tsingy Circuit, Madagascar
“Tsingy are grotesque pinnacles and spikes of limestone creating the world’s most exotic rock garden. Rare succulents shelter in the gullies that visitors cross using boardwalks, ladders, and bridges. An extraordinary experience on an extraordinary island.” – Hilary Bradt

10. The wildlife of the Pantanal, Brazil
“Check out giant otters, caimans, jaguars, green iguanas, and more.” – Tim Fryer

The list was drawn up on behalf of Adventure Travel Live, which takes place in London from January 29-31.

The judges were: Hilary Bradt (adventure guide and publisher); Paul Goldstein (tour leader and award-winning photographer); Benedict Allen (explorer and television presenter); Tim Fryer (land product manager, STA Travel); Mark Smith (award-winning rail expert); Tony Wheeler (Lonely Planet founder); Simon Calder (travel writer and broadcaster); Paul Rose (explorer and adventurer); Perry Wilson (founder, Insure & Go); and Bryn Thomas (guidebook writer and publisher).

Source