Traveling to
the Galápagos Islands is no small feat for many of us. It isn't
cheap, and they are somewhat remote. However, they are much more
accessible today than in Darwin's time. These unique islands are
in the Pacific Ocean, located 600 miles (1,100 km) off the coast
of Ecuador in South America. They are situated in a location of
many converging ocean currents and geological formations, which
contribute to their unique and abundant wildlife, as well as interesting
landscapes.
In this day and age of "eco-tourism" there are many travel operators
that offer trips to the Galápagos throughout the year. If you plan
on wanting to dive and spend a lot of time photographing, your choices
start to narrow considerably. Divers still make up a VERY small
percentage of the total visitors to the Galápagos. We chose Aquatic
Encounters from Colorado, as they had been going there
for years, offered diving in the remote islands of Darwin and Wolf,
and seemed to be photographically oriented.
All of the trips
to the Galápagos of any significant length involve staying aboard
a "live aboard" vessel. Protection from extensive development has
kept the islands safe from huge resorts and hotels. Therefore, staying
on a boat has made this the best way to see the many islands and
the unique features each has to offer. These are not cruise ships;
so don't expect to have casino gambling, Broadway shows, and Olympic
size swimming pools!! From the boats we saw, many seem to range
in the 80-120 foot range accommodating 14-16 guests plus crews of
6-8. There are some larger vessels, but seemed to be more tourist
oriented. The smaller vessels are encouraged for their environmental
friendliness.
If you have
a tendency towards seasickness, or are unsure, you should be prepared.
The waters are not constantly rough, but there were occasions when
it was rocking a bit, particularly when traveling to/from or anchored
at the remote islands of Darwin and Wolf. In fact, the boat never
settled down during the 3 days at Wolf and Darwin! You will be pretty
far out into the Pacific Ocean.
Don't
be green…
For this trip,
some members of our group decided to try the Scopolamine patches
for motion sickness, instead of having to deal with oral medications.
These are the small nickel sized patches you stick under your ear.
It is our personal recommendation that if you haven't used them
before, this is not the trip to try them out on. The patches seemed
to do more harm than good as far as side effects (blurred near vision,
nausea, headaches) when combined with diving activities, and everyone
that used them said "Never again." Oral meds will be used "next
time." Please read all of the precautions regarding taking
medications and diving available from Divers Alert Network (DAN).
(Also, if you are a diver, and aren't a member of DAN, you should
be prior to taking a trip like this. Air evacuations and hyperbaric
facilities aren't cheap if something goes wrong, and you owe yourself
the protection and services offered by DAN. Diving in the Galápagos
isn't considered to be for beginners due to currents, surge, and
limited visibility conditions.)
Immunizations
Though not
mandatory to travel to Ecuador or the islands, you should check
with your local health care provider for the latest recommended
immunizations. We were encouraged to get a Yellow Fever shot and
a Hepatitis B since we were going to be traveling around the mainland
a bit. Meds for malaria are only suggested if you are going to be
venturing far from Quito (where you land) such as an Amazon tour
or near the low-altitude coastal regions. Mosquitoes aren't found
at the altitudes Quito is at, therefore no Malaria risk, so we were
told. There is no current risk for Malaria in the Galápagos Islands.
Further information can be found at the Centers
for Disease Control website.
Gear
/ Clothing
Deciding what
gear and equipment to bring can be quite a task. For most major
airlines, you are limited to 2 checked bags weighing no more than
70 lbs (32 kg) each and one or two carryon bags. For people that
are divers AND photographers (or videographers), this can be a challenge.
One thing we discovered traveling on American Airlines, was they
had an "embargo period" for all luggage due to the peak travel
season. Where you might be used to a few overweight charges to get
your bags through if they are over the limit, things change during
this time. For the embargo period, anything over the weight limit
can be flat out refused, or forced to be shipped via cargo freight.
This may leave you scrambling to ditch items from your suitcase
to get it under the limit, or at serious risk for getting your luggage
through cargo on time. Be sure to check with your airline regarding
the luggage regulations in advance, and weigh your bags prior to
leaving.
The
baggage limits from Quito, Ecuador to Baltra, Galápagos are more
restrictive yet. They have a limit of 45 lb (20 kg) per bag! This
is where it pays to go with an experienced tour operator, with Spanish-speaking
local representatives, and a group of people. They can cut deals
with the airport officials to get overweight baggage through, and
average out the weight of the baggage for your entire group. If
a little monetary compensation is necessary, that is also arranged.
We can only imagine the nightmares involved if you had to deal with
all of this by yourself, speaking little or no Spanish. We will
mention several times in this article about keeping your gear weight
down, as it can complicate travel to the islands.
We managed to
pack all diving gear, underwater housings/strobes, clothing, batteries/chargers,
and clothing in 2 large, inconspicuous suitcases each (Atlantic
makes great hard and soft sided cases), with the clothing and wetsuits
wrapped around items for protection. Each ended up weighing about
65 lbs. We carried on essential camera gear and all of our film
in a photo backpack (LowePro
Photo Trekker AW) and a shoulder bag (i.e. Briefcase/purse
allowance). We had no problems with carryons and all of our checked
bags made it there and back without any issues. We were grateful.
In general,
we kept clothing to a minimum as it could be washed or purchased
if necessary, and focused on the diving and camera equipment we
needed to take. Make a checklist of all of your gear, not only to
make sure you bring the essential items, but to also make sure you
are bringing all of it back.
Clothing
Depending on
the time of year that you go, clothing can vary from shorts and
t-shirts, to long pants and windbreakers. The Galápagos Islands
are on the Equator, so the temperatures don't vary too much. However,
since they are situated in the path of Antarctic currents, the wind
blowing over the water's surface can cool the air a bit when you
are on the boat. 
Long
sleeve shirts or pants also offer protection from the intense sun.
We found the zip-off conversion cargo pants that can be made into
shorts very convenient; both from a light weight packing standpoint,
as well as functional use in the field. Good sources for these are
REI
and Eastern
Mountain Sports. Photographic vests are also very useful
to have items accessible when you are hiking around the islands,
or traveling on zodiacs (inflatable boats). A rain jacket/windbreaker
is an essential item, preferrably Gore-Tex. Teva
sandals are excellent footwear for hiking around the islands on
wet rocks and making the occasional wet landing where you must actually
step out of the inflatable into knee-deep water.
