Departure Taxes/Overweight
The departure tax is $20 per person, payable at your Ecuador exit gateway. The overweight issue, if it occurs, will happen leaving the Galapagos. TAME is the only airline serving the islands, and they can be a bit arbitrary in this regard. The official allowance is 20 kilos (44 pounds) per person, and for most diver/underwater photo types, overweight charges should be expected.

What to Bring
Passport for sure, but visa not necessary for U.S. citizens; sunblock (the Galapagos are on the equator and the sun is very intense); hat; sneakers or shoes you don't mind getting wet; knapsack; water bottle; cover-up for night or overcast days when it might be cool; bug repellent; binoculars; dry bag for cameras for shore excursions. Also, a dive light.

Scopolamine patches, Triptone or Dramamine are important for anyone prone to seasickness. While the sea conditions in the Central Islands are generally calm, most tours will have at least one open ocean crossing to the Northern Islands and back. Hopefully you will simply sleep through the 10- to 20-hour cruise (depending on which Central island), but be prepared should seasickness be a factor.

The Sky Dancer provides a safety sausage and dive alert, but if you have your own, bring these too. There are definitely currents on some dives, and even though the dinghy drivers are very good, it helps to make you easy to find in a choppy sea. Gloves are a good idea too as you might find yourself holding on to barnacle-encrusted rocks while doing your offgas time, not to mention the thermal advantages.

As far as film goes, bring lots! The topside excursions are very productive in terms of photography and can burn plenty of film. Even though we may only do three or four dives per day, the shore excursions make up for it. The first time I went to the Galapagos I did not bring enough film and found myself being too conservative with what I shot. So now I'll probably bring too much, but that's what works best for me. This is my first trip with my new Nikon D1X digital camera and Seacam housing, so theoretically shooting with digital for much of the underwater and most of the topside will reduce my normal film consumption. Of course that means a laptop, more media cards, CDs and miscellaneous computer accessories.

Thermal Protection
This is a hard one to answer for the Galapagos because the temperature changes so drastically between the islands according to the currents. For example, when I dived Roca Redondo in February 1993, the water was 68 degrees, and the same month 1994 it was 75 degrees. Up at Wolf and Darwin we had 82-degree water, and at Punta Vicente (aka "The Icebox") it was 60 degrees. Water temperature to a great extent depends on currents and upwelling, as does marine life concentration and species prevalence.

I've found that layering wetsuits is the best way to go. This year I brought a Henderson 2mm hooded vest with at least a 5mm one piece on the outside, with gloves and booties. But for Punta Vicente, I also packed a 7mm farmer john suit.

Photography Tips
The photography in the Galapagos is varied, both topside and underwater. For above water work I have found that multiple zooms covering 17 to 200mm works fine for most shots. For example, I'll probably bring a fixed 14mm, plus a 24-120 and 80-200mm zooms. On the last trip I had a chance to shoot a sperm whale tail at sunset and wished I had more than 200mm, but most things let you get fairly close in the Galapagos. 200mm should be long enough, but if you have room for something longer (such as an 80-400), and you have the room, by all means bring it along.

For film I still like Velvia for most macro and fish photography, but it may be a little slow for wide-angle in dark water and some topside conditions. The new Provia 100 is my current favorite 100 ISO film, but be absolutely, positively sure you are getting the new emulsion. It will have a magenta colored base (unprocessed) rather than the normal tan color, so make sure your camera store is giving you the right stuff! If the water turns green (a probability on some dives), you may prefer the cooler cast of Provia. Bring some 400 ISO film as well in case there are dusk or early morning photo-ops. Of course with the digital camera you can shift ISO per shot instead of only per roll.

For underwater I'll bring a 15mm and 20mm for my Nikonos V cameras, and for the RS a 13mm, 20-35mm zoom and 50mm. I doubt I'll use the 13mm much though, as the super wide-angle opportunities are likely to be limited. The 15mm and 20mm should be good for turtles, sea lions, cownose rays, etc. The 50mm will be the hot set-up for a lot of the fish and macro critters (of course a 60mm in a housing will do the same). The housed 105mm is a powerful tool as well, especially with the skittish creatures like the red-lipped batfish of Punta Vicente. Adding a digital camera and housing to the mix either simplifies packing challenges, or makes them more complex due to film/pixel redundancy.

Visibility is often excellent in the Northern Islands, maybe 80 to 100 feet. The Central Islands are typically not as good, and 20 to 60 feet is a more reasonable expectation. Currents and upwelling make the visibility continuously variable, but be prepared for more turbid water than you've encountered in some tropical destinations.

Tour Participants:

1. Ana Maria Avila
2. Bob Brace
3. Ceci Cheung
4. Fred Fisher
5. Anne Fisher
6. Stephen Frink
7. Barbara Frink
8. Alexa Frink
9. Dennis Liberson
10. Tracy Liberson
11. Hanna Liberson
12. Alexa Liberson
13. Lisa Neumann
14. Erika Neumann

Cousins Rock is a classic tuff cone island, with erosion sculpting an endless variety of ledges and undercuts, which in turn are home to an endless variety of fish and macro critters. The long-nosed hawkfish is common amid the black corals, and eagle rays, turtles, sea lions, and morays are common sights as well. There is a resident school of small barracuda here as well. This is a great place for photography, but I was plagued by little niggling problems. Like forgetting to attach my hot shoe synch inside the Seacam before I went under water. This meant the strobe didn't work and it wasn't like I could open it and fix it at 90 feet. But having my film cameras as backups kept me shooting on this dive, and a 30-second fix back at the camera table put the D1X back in action.

Dear Journal,
Today we went snorkeling again. I saw a bunch of sea lions. I named a really nice sea lion Leo. He touched my hand. It was so cool! We saw a sea turtle and some white tip sharks. The sea lions got so close again! We saw a lot of colorful fish like a king angelfish. I saw some pufferfish too. One was really big. Bye journal. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We also saw a lobster and a blue starfish and more sea urchins. Bye.

Dear Journal,
It is the same day, February 4, 2002. We went snorkeling again. We saw fish, a blue starfish, sea lions, and sea urchins. The water was kind of foggy though. We saw a white tip shark, and I saw an eel and a parrotfish eating and pooping. And before we went snorkeling the second time we saw a lot of dolphins swimming and jumping in front of the bow of our boat. All the photographers got good shots. We saw a sea turtle while swimming. Bye.

Dear Journal,
It is still the same day again, but we saw some more cool things. We saw penguins, and I saw one eating a fish. Then we went for a hike on a really big hill. When we got to the top we saw a beach with turtles. I saw one, and when I say we I mean my friends Alexa, Hanna and me. Bye journal.

As Alexa said, we anchored in the cove off Bartolome Island and had a nice encounter with the Galapagos penguins in residence there. While we saw them in the water, it was too turbid for quality underwater photos, but those sitting on the rocks were very tolerant of our approach. We shot some telephoto images from the dinghy, but some of the best shots were topside, with our housed digital cameras. We'd creep close to the rocks, wedge ourselves in against the surge, and shoot through our domes with 17-35mm Nikkor zooms. The penguins were totally indifferent to our presence in the water, but we would not be allowed to go on land to get this close. The housed camera made for a versatile tool here.

Finally, to wrap a very busy day, we hiked to the top of Bartolome to shoot the sun setting over the bay. Even though there is a night dive for those so inclined, this is enough for me this day. The 400 steps combined with the day's frenetic pace made me sleep very well this night!

A note on the dive procedures: All diving is done from the 20-foot Zodiac dinghies. Air and nitrox are both available. Divers kit up on the dive deck with everything but their masks and fins. Then they step from the port side of the boat into the dinghy and motor off to the site. The boat rides are short, usually five minutes or less, and if the dive site is too distant from an anchorages the Sky Dancer stays live and in proximity. Very easy, safe and ergonomic indeed. Gratefully the dinghy drivers are very adept at keeping track of the diver's bubbles, and are always there for a quick retrieval.

Day #3
We awake this morning to do a land walk on Rabida Island. Along an unusual reddish sand beach we have our first up-close-and-personal encounters with sea lions. The babies seem especially curious and they go up to the girls and sniff them. The photo opportunities are pretty powerful here, especially once the sun burns through the early morning haze.

We did our first dive of the morning along Rabida, and although visibility wasn't too great, there were naturally plenty of things to shoot. Actually I spent most of my time on a huge school of blackstriped salema in no more than 15 feet of water. I shot up my 512 MB card on the D1X, went into the shade of a coral head and deleted the bad ones, and went back to shoot some more. Very awesome tool.

After lunch we dived a vertical wall face along Albany Island. Once again visibility was poor, maybe only 25 feet, but since we knew that before jumping in, we all chose macro lenses on our digital cameras or film SLRs. I did well with a cooperative king angel, but the highlight of my dive, photographically and inspirationally, was a playful sea lion that briefly posed for my 105mm macro lens. Of course all I could do was shoot a tight head shot with the 105mm, but when those soulful eyes and cute little whiskers popped up in my LCD screen I knew I had a winner.

Already I can tell this is going to be a VERY full week. Between land walks like our afternoon visit to James Island (more sea lions and marine iguanas) and multiple dives daily we manage to have time to eat and maybe even relax a little--except for those of us who are shooting digital this week, for the post-dive computer tasks were time-consuming as well. We find we spend a massive amount of time downloading images, captioning, burning to CDs, and generally being tech-heads. Yes, in many ways digital is immediate and very exciting in terms of image capture, but in terms of post-shoot workflow, it is pretty tedious and labor-intensive. Not to mention a little antisocial.

In the days of film we'd be having film processed, looking at pictures together and generally interacting. Now, with digital we're shooting like we always did, except now there is the ability to edit under water and get the immediate feedback from the LCD. So, the percentage of keepers is higher and no one tends to run out of media while under water nearly as much. So, lots of images result. Now those images have to be cleared from the smart cards, put onto the hard drive, edited, ultimately burned to a CD, CD content confirmed, and then the smart card reformatted so we can go shoot again. And then for those so inclined, there is the whole different task of captioning and cataloging the saved images. The processing, captioning, and cataloging would happen with film too of course, but it would happen at home and not on the boat. Now, add to all this the discretionary refinements that can occur after importing to Adobe Photoshop. Cleaning up exposure, eliminating bits of backscatter, and correcting any other color or contrast concerns are additional time-suckers. The first thing you know there aren't enough hours in the day. Yet, such is the price of admission to the new paradigm. I know for the next trip I'll have a faster computer, more RAM, a better screen, and an internal CD or DVD burner. Maybe that, combined with a bit more experience, will make the post-shoot lifestyle more leisurely.

Dear Journal,
Today we went snorkeling and saw lots of dolphins under water and two sea lions, and one of the sea lions did not have a back fin. The guide, Luis, said maybe a shark bit it off. Before that we went to an island and saw a lot of sea lions. There were two babies and they sniffed me. It tickled. I also saw marine iguanas. Then, this afternoon we saw whales from the boat. Then we went on a walk and saw a lot more sea lions. I got so close! We named a really cute baby sea lion Fussy Wuzzy. Bye journal.

Day #4

Dear Journal,
Today we saw whales! We also saw marine iguanas! We saw cool crabs and a lot of sea lion and fur seals. A baby sea lion touched me! Then we went snorkeling and saw two octopuses and a lot of cute sea lions. We also saw a parrotfish and a yellow-backed triggerfish. I also saw three more whales and a tortoise (really a turtle) too! Then we went snorkeling where the divers went and we saw five stingrays in really clear water, a couple of sea lions, a penguin, and a marine iguana. Daddy said he took a picture of a red-lipped batfish and I saw it on his digital camera. I take pictures with my digital camera too!

The morning begins with a land walk at Fernandina Island. This is Marine Iguana Metropolis, with large groups lying one atop the other to keep warm. There are plenty of sea lions as well, all vignettes of a gorgeous land and seascape. After a two-hour land visit, we all went snorkeling in a quiet bay. There were high hopes for finding a marine iguana under water, but we had to settle for shooting a particularly brazen specimen sitting atop a small rock outcropping.

The dives this day are in colder water than we have encountered so far. 68 degrees instead of 76 degrees elsewhere. At Tagus Cove the 105mm becomes the tool of choice due to turbid water conditions. I found a very cooperative octopus, as well as various blennies, hawkfish and other reef minutiae. At Punta Vicente the sand bottom at 100 feet is home to the elusive red-lipped batfish. Once we'd find one they would typically tolerate a couple of shots and then go into flight mode. Either they'd swim away or keep turning their face away from the lens. Very frustrating little fish, but pretty fascinating once captured on media. The challenge here is not to get so obsessed with the batfish that you ignore all the other very cool small creatures along the wall. But since the photo opportunities rise all the way to the surface, this is the perfect multilevel macro dive for either day or night.

Dear Journal,
We went snorkeling in a place called the Icebox, but it wasn't so cold. I had a wetsuit and booties and gloves so I was warm. We saw sea lions and they went under the boat. We saw turtles, stingrays, and lots of fish. In fact, I saw six stingrays and I don't even know how many turtles, but I think I saw nine. We saw penguins, blue-footed boobies, and more. Bye Journal. Oh yeah ... we snorkeled into a cave too!

Day #5
From Punta Vicente to the Northern Islands is only about an eight-hour crossing, and the calm seas and stability of Sky Dancer made it a pleasure. Actually I've been very impressed with this vessel all week. The crew is outstanding, the food is fine, the general dive safety procedures top-notch, and the dinghy drivers in particular are very attentive. The cabins are comfortable and the air fills right on every time. Perhaps the greatest compliment is that this trip is without aggravation. Thanks Peter. Thanks Ecoventura.

The northern islands, Wolf and Darwin, are the adventure dive mecca of the Galapagos. Possible encounters with whale sharks, schooling hammerheads, dolphins, Galapagos sharks, turtles, tuna, and so much more motivated us all to switch to wide-angle lenses. The visibility improved to about 80 feet up north, and the water oddly warmed as we moved farther from the equator. Of course this is a function of currents rather than latitude, but still, warm is warm.

On our first dive at Wolf we jumped in at a spot called Shark Bay, although this day it wasn't particularly sharky. There were moray eels scattered all along the bottom, and they willingly posed. I also shot guinea fowl pufferfish, several hawksbill turtles, yellowtailed surgeonfish, and bunches of barberfish seemingly grazing on triggerfish eggs. It was actually a great dive, but I only saw a couple of hammerheads and none came particularly close. Still, there was plenty to shoot and I recorded significant images to my card.

Our second dive was to another Wolf dive site known as Landslide. Here we did see Galapagos sharks and some hammerheads, but all fairly distant. The closest I got to any shark was maybe eight feet. Turtles yes. Sharks ... not really. However, I did get into an absolutely massive school of bonito near the surface. They raced all around me in such power and numbers I was once again reminded of how rich and deserving of protection these waters remain.

Dear Journal,
Today we went snorkeling and saw lots of fish, sea turtles, dolphins and hammerhead sharks. We saw a kind of ray called a mobula ray. They were so cool. They were so close and very pretty. The water was so clear. It was beautiful! We saw frigate birds. They should be called big red balloon birds for the red thing on their necks. We saw baby dolphins too. Bye Journal.

Following our two morning dives at Wolf we steamed another couple of hours to Darwin Island. Normally the Sky Dancer spends two days of a one-week itinerary, but we asked for a custom cruise to optimize both land walks in the Central Islands and the diving in the north. There are no land walks possible at Wolf or Darwin, and I have found the terrestrial appeal of these islands to be nearly as compelling as the underwater.

Unfortunately, this day Darwin did not live up to its potential. Even though the seas were calm, and the water pleasantly warm and clear, the current was not running. Seemingly without current the hammerheads don't come close to the submerged rocks off Darwin's Arch. So, instead I shot a turtle and miscellaneous reef fish, but was unimpressed with the pelagic action this day. Apparently the rest of the guests felt the same, for by consensus we decided to head back to Wolf. Yeah ... I know. This can be one of the world's great dive sites, but for us this week it wasn't happening.

Darwin can be absolutely awesome, but it depends on season and currents. From June through December the water is cooler and rougher, and the skies more often overcast. But it also means hammerheads and whale sharks are far more prevalent at Darwin. Groups have seen as many as eight different whale sharks and hundreds of hammerheads on a single dive here,. But we purposely booked for February to assure calm seas and ample sunshine, but we didn't really have currents at either Wolf or Darwin. Probably due to the phase of the moon, which is yet something else to consider. Still, the Northern Islands in the fall sounds pretty exciting, and maybe next time we charter Sky Dancer will be for that season and those critters.

Dear Journal,
We went snorkeling again. We saw hammerheads, silky sharks and an eel. The place we went was called Darwin. On the dinghy we saw dolphins. Bye Journal.

Day #6
Actually it was good to have a night without diving and a chance to offgas. While nothing is real deep here, it is certainly possible to spend lots of time in the 60- to 80-foot range and the body will definitely saturate. I dive nitrox on air tables whenever possible to build in some safety margin, but even my body told me it was on nitrogen overload and to back off a little. I truly appreciated the consistently high quality nitrox fills we got onboard. It helped me through the week for sure. (Note -- nitrox aboard costs $100 for the week, or can be purchased for $10 surcharge per tank).

The first dive this morning was to The Pinnacle at Wolf Island. I've dived this site when the current was raging, and it can get a little hairy, but today the current was extremely mild. As soon as we dropped in we saw a marbled ray, and my wife Barbara moved in as an element of composition in my wide-angle shot. We also found a small cave to work diver silhouettes, and a cooperative eel to pose in the foreground. For us it was a very productive dive, but we never did make it all the way to the pinnacle. Those who did saw more schooling fish but no shark aggregates. The clock is ticking and I still don't have my hammerhead shot! Actually, we saw more sharks at Landslide than anywhere else so far, so that seemed the logical place to try again.

Between dives we went snorkeling with the kids. For me it was fun to hang out with the kids and watch them enjoy the sea. But, as my daughter was eager to point out, the best stuff happened after I went back to the mother ship to go diving.

Dear Journal,
Today we saw dolphins, hammerheads, fish and I saw a huge trumpetfish. There were baby dolphins too. The dolphins got REALLY CLOSE!!

On this final dive at Wolf I decided to quit being distracted by all the small animals and concentrate on hammerheads. But, after a few fly-bys and nothing really good enough to shoot, I did in fact find a cooperative green sea turtle and a few barracuda. There were thousands of spawning wrasse as well, and in fact the whole seafloor was alive with some small creature or another. But, still my target species, the scalloped hammerhead, remained elusive. So, with 500 psi in my tank and about three minutes before going into deco at 94 feet, I figured I'd wrap a few more frames on the barracuda. Luckily I drifted into some pretty hot hammerhead action at the last possible moment. One bold shark swam into view and I got three progressively closer shots with the D1X and 60mm lens with dome port. Seeing those images pop up on the LCD was a great satisfaction, and a relief knowing that I wouldn't get skunked by hammerheads this trip!

Now, 20 hours to steam back to the Central Islands, for our final dives tomorrow and a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Day #7
On this day we chose to dive Gordon Rocks, a place where I have had extremely productive dives in the past. Not so today really. The visibility was on the green/turbid side, but we did see four sea turtles the minute we dropped in the water. Then I worked a few eagle rays swimming in formation. And then when I took my eyes from the viewfinder, I saw I was amid the hammerheads. Of course, when they knew I knew they were there, they bolted. So, I was seeing some things, but not really capturing them on film/pixels. The current started to pick up too, and I began to have trouble moving against it. But I did see a huge aggregate of king angels feeding, something I had seen at Gordon Rocks before but never captured to my satisfaction. These fish absorb light, and to use a strong enough strobe and wide enough aperture to expose the fish sometimes makes the backgrounds too light. The immediate feedback from the LCD on the D1X made it possible for me to dial in the exposure, and then move in tight for the critical images.

Dear Journal,
Today is the last day. I am going to miss the Galapagos and Luis, our guide. He is really nice. The trip was really fun. The live-aboard boat was nice. And I will miss my friends Hanna and Alexa. Some of my favorites things were the baby dolphins, the sharks, the turtles, the sea lions, and the frigate birds. I liked the party that the crew had for us too. We all danced and had fun. Bye Journal.

Our final dive of this trip was to Plaza, actually more of a snorkel with the sea lions. Here it is very easy to get close, and you need to because the water isn't very clear. But, to remove myself from the photo challenges for a moment and just enjoy the moment, this was a very cool interlude. The mother sea lions got very close, and occasionally the big bull would swim through with a little bark to assert his authority. Our kids were really excited about this chance to swim with the sea lions, for while they had fleeting underwater encounters previously, they had never been really among them. With this wonderful memory, this year's dive experience in the Galapagos concludes.

The final afternoon we visit the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, which is kind of interesting the first time, but with multiple visits becomes a bit boring. It always struck me as "And now, a word from our sponsor". If you come to the Galapagos your tour company is obligated to take you to the Darwin Station. And since everyone must stop here at some point during the week, the city of Puerto Ayora has developed with T-shirt and curio shops to cater to the tourists. I must say however that most of the souvenirs are fairly tasteful. T-shirt vendors in Key West would certainly have a more crass way of exploiting the blue boobies.

As we stood on the dock on the last morning waiting for the bus to the airport I asked my wife to rate this trip. From the view of the quality of the services aboard the boat and the absolute friendliness of the crew, a 10. As far as the combination topside and underwater attractions of the Galapagos, a 10. From a child's perspective in terms of learning appreciation for nature, a 10 if not higher. As far as comparing this year's Galapagos encounters with those we've known in the past, very difficult to rate. The Galapagos experience will always depend on the currents, the time of year, moon phase, and luck. I've certainly seen more hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, and more schools of jack and tuna than I saw this time. But then I know that those who dive these islands when the waters are cooler have had multiple close encounters with all of the above. It is an ecosystem in constant motion, and when the currents and cold-water upwelling are there to bring nutrients to the surface, the diving is like nowhere else on earth. And for that which is there, it takes luck and skill to capture it photographically. Luck to be there, luck to see it, and the skill to freeze that very special moment in time.

The MV Sky Dancer specs are as follows:

• Port of Registry: Ecuador
• Built: Ecuador 2000
• Construction: Steel
• Type: Mono Hull
• Length: 100 feet
• Beam: 24 feet
• Max. Passengers: 16
• Staterooms: 8
• Number of Crew: 8 seamen plus 2 National Park guides and 1 student guide
• Number of Tenders: 1
• Fuel Capacity: 8000 gallons
• Freshwater Capacity: 6000 gallons
• Desalination Production: 1500 gallons per day
• Cruising Speed: 12 knots
• Range: 2400 nautical miles
• Navigation Aids: VHF, GMDSS, SSB, color radar, echo sounder, GPS, weather fax.
• Compressor: (2) K-14 Bauer
• Voltage: 110 volts and 220 volts
• Air-conditioning: Yes
• Length of Charters: 7- and 10-night itineraries
• Dives Per Day: Up to 5
• Photographic Services: E-6 processing, camera rental, photo instruction, video rental, video instruction.

Cabin amenities as follows:

LIDO DECK Master Staterooms (1,2,3,4)
One queen bed or two twin beds, private facilities, window view, mirrored cabinet, wardrobe, bathrobes, hair dryer, toiletries, fresh towels daily, independent air-conditioning and volume controls

DOLPHIN DECK Twin Staterooms (5,6,7,8)
Two twin beds, private facilities, portlight view, mirrored cabinet, wardrobe, bathrobes, hair dryer, toiletries, fresh towels daily, independent air-conditioning and volume controls

Dive Tenders
The M/V Sky Dancer features two MK V Zodiac brand inflatable dive tenders of 6.5 meters in length (21.5 feet) and 2.5 meters in width with 40 hp 4-stroke engines for maximum efficiency and a smooth, quiet, low exhaust ride.

Each tender accommodates up to eight guests on each, plus a driver. Each tender will also carry two divemasters on board: One is a naturalist guide (and a qualified divemaster) and the other is a dive professional approved by the National Park. One guide will assist with shooting video or photos. On land tours a guide will even carry a sun reflector to assist guests with taking well-lit photos of land fauna without the use of a strobe (which is prohibited by the Marine Park).