Dive Review of Peter Hughes -- Sky Dancer in
Galapagos Islands/Santa Cruz, Darwin

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Peter Hughes -- Sky Dancer, Jul, 2010, by Yonel S Grant , CA, US ( 1 report). Report 5700.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Galapagos, July 12-25 2010 Yonel Grant, Menlo Park, 300+ dives Combined one week of land-based diving from Santa Cruz island (Scuba-Iguana) and one week of live-aboard diving (M/V Galapagos Sky). First time in Galapagos. The combination of local action first followed by the live-aboard second was great because I would have felt too rushed otherwise. The extra week gave me the chance to do some hiking on Santa Cruz, develop a keener appreciation for the islands, people, geology and unique land fauna not to mention ease into local diving conditions. This might sound like a luxury to some but can be done inexpensively (the islands attract both ends of the tourism spectrum…from the high-end cruisers to the backpacker set. In the mid-range, a comfortable B&B can be found for $40 per night, including breakfast. Diving Galapagos was colder than expected. Temperature was 64F in the main islands, and 72-73F in the Northern islands of Wolf and Darwin. Most divers complained from being cold, even with rented 7 mm suits. July is the Garua (wet) season in Galapagos; my advice is bring your 7 mm suit and hood if you have one. First week… Scuba-Iguana (S-I) is a very professional organization and one of the oldest on Santa Cruz, I am told. S-I is located next to the Darwin Station, making that an easy visit immediately following the diving day. Guides Quike, Jimmy and Paulo were extremely friendly and knowledgeable. S-I rotates dive sites daily with one or both of their dive boats, depending on demand. The larger boat is more comfortable and accommodates 8 divers. Guides produce CDs with the days photos and videos, which are available for purchase for $25. When the dive site is on the North side of Santa Cruz, they moor the boat in the Baltra channel and divers are transported via Toyota from Puerto Ayora to the boat and back after the diving. Floreana island (1h40 boat ride to the South) actually provided the best local dive experience with unbelievable profusion of life including large schooling fish and four sightings of the famous red-lipped batfish (not encountered again at all in my 2 weeks of diving). Quick snack served after the first dive (usually yogurt and cereal or fruit), and lunch served after second dive on the way back to dock. Floreana also featured a gigantic school of salemas that completely blocked out the sunlight. White-tips, Galapagos, the occasional individual hammerhead, marbled rays, jacks were sighted on most dives, as were green turtles and jacks. Viz was typically so-so, ranging between 35’ at Gordon Rocks and 40-50’ in other locations. Saw one Hawksbill turtle and one octopus at Daphne. Floreana and Seymour hosted large schools of Pacific Barracuda. The Seymour channel is a thrilling site with thousands of garden eels. I have to say I was surprised by the paucity in moray eels. The biggest excitement was the sighting of an orca after surfacing at Cousins Rock. The first group of divers had just come out of the water; needless to say the second group climbed on board in record time. Cousins has lots of sea lions… we figure the orca could have been hunting. Second week… Galapagos Sky is the Peter Hughes operation, one of the four boats currently licensed to make scheduled stops at the mythical spots of Wolf and Darwin. I was traveling solo, and lucked out on the group which had excellent chemistry: Swedes, British, Irish, South African, Swiss, and Americans. Guides were Fabricio Carbo (12,000 dives in Galapagos – or so he says, but he exaggerates sometimes!) and Natasha (4,000 dives), both outstanding. Crew members were impeccable as were the accommodations. Some people might think that two guides for 15 customers is not a great ratio, but they are so good that it was never an issue. Four land excursions are included: Bartolome volcano, Point Egas on Santiago, Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz prior to returning to San Cristobal. We were told that next year, 14 boats (!) will be licensed for Wolf and Darwin, and that they will be diving only (no land excursions), but that trips will be timed so divers won’t feel more crowded than today. The experience at Wolf and Darwin is a dream for adrenaline seekers. Viz was 60’, with strong to ripping currents. Follow the safety instructions carefully. Typical dive at Darwin: 10 minute panga-ride (a 50 hp zodiac) from the mother ship to the Arch, drop quickly to platform at 50-60 feet, hold on to ledge and watch the show unfold. Dolphins, tuna, large schools of jacks (we had one that numbered 500), many hammerheads (usually 100+ per dive, but several times 200+, almost exclusively females), solitary or pairs of Galapagos and silkies. No one pays attention to the eels, turtles and smaller critters in the area! Out of seven dives at the Arch, we also had six encounters with whale sharks (most likely the same 3 individuals, the largest about 36 feet), all of them pregnant females. Divers need to kick hard to get in front of the animals, and we were warned that under no circumstance could a diver touch a whale shark– even intent would be penalized – and that physical contact would be the end of the person’s diving while aboard the Galapagos Sky. I respect this position. Because the divers tend to “crowd” the whale shark on the ledge side, photographers need try their best to avoid the bubbles and or else swim to the other side if they have time. None of the “big ones” lingered so the encounters lasted at most 4-5 minutes. One of the big pluses of the Galapagos Sky in my view was the nightly briefing led by Fabricio and mining his 25+ years of experience. The boat had an open bar and people certainly put away a few, but the physical exertion was such no one lingered too much after dinner. Given the number of back-to-back dives, Nitrox is strongly recommended by the guides ($150 for the week, or $10 per dive). There seldom was a reason to descend below 90 feet. Most, but not all the divers chose to use the enriched air. Our last major excitement took place off Isabela island at Cape Marshal. This dive site right off the Equator Line is known for manta rays. We were also told to watch for sunfish/molas (saw none). Turns out we saw ten mantas (rather smallish compared to those in other locations, and quite a bit darker), and an orca passed right next to us as we were about to ascend. No photo equals no proof (running joke with the guides), and we lucked out that a fellow diver captured the scene the orca framed by two divers. Not only that, after surfacing on the way back to the Galapagos Sky we happened on the pod (4 adults and two 3-4 feet calves), which surrounded the panga for 15 minutes. Holding onto the panga ropes and leaning into the water, it was possible to clearly see the mother and calf swimming around the boat. The calf’s skin color must have been temporary – instead of being pure white and black, the white was an off-brown or yellow. Our group was advised not to jump into the water to snorkel with them, but the other group did and loved it. All in all a terrific experience, serious divers and thrill seekers alike should consider Galapagos. After a disastrous shark poaching period in the 1990s and early 2000s (thank you China), authorities have stepped protection efforts up significantly and the numbers seem to reflect a recovery.
Websites	Peter Hughes -- Sky Dancer
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Mostly Northern California, but all over.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	cloudy	Seas	currents
Water Temp	64-73°F / 18-23°C	Wetsuit Thickness	7
Water Visibility	30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Typically never more than 90 feet.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	> 2
Turtles	> 2	Whales	> 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Peter Hughes -- Sky Dancer in Galapagos Islands/Santa Cruz, Darwin

Peter Hughes -- Sky Dancer, Jul, 2010,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Peter Hughes -- Sky Dancer in
Galapagos Islands/Santa Cruz, Darwin