Posted by Greg Estes on May 17, 2010
If anyone is interested in booking a tour with us please click on Greg’s trips Page or contact us at galapagos@gnhtours.com.

May/June

Since my last update, posted on March 10 it continued to rain in the islands. But now the rains have finally subsided and it is beginning to cool off.

May and June are transition months between the hot/rainy season and the cool/garua season. This is usually a pleasant time of year as the air temperature is in the 70s and 80s and there is plenty of sunshine. There is a lot of activity with the wildlife, there is good light for photography and the seas are relatively calm.

As a result of all the rain we had during the past few months most of the islands are still green. Although the Galápagos Islands have been experiencing El Niño conditions (abnormally high sea surface temperatures) earlier this year the sea surface temperatures are now returning to normal. Sea temperatures are currently in the mid to high 70s° F (24-26° C). These temperatures are likely to drop into the low to mid 70s° F (22-24° C) by the end of June. Although it is difficult to predict sea surface temperatures in the Islands it is expected that neutral conditions will persist for the next few months.

For those who will be snorkelling in the next couple of months the sea surface temperatures at most of the sites should be between 70° and 77° F (21-25° C).

As far as wetsuits, I will be wearing a 5 mm full length wetsuit and would recommend the following:

For those sensitive to the cold, a full-length 5-mm wetsuit and a neoprene hood is recommended. It should always be remembered that differences in water temperatures between islands can vary as much as 10° F (5.5° C). During a cruise, you could have a range in temperature from 68° to 78° F (20° to 25.5° C).

Those who are NOT sensitive to the cold should be fine with a short 3-mm wetsuit over a full-length skinsuit. A full-length skinsuit is recommended as it offers protection from the sun.

For current updates on sea surface temperatures check the NOAA website

http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/data/sst/contour/equatpac.REM.fc.gif.

For current updates on sea surface temperature anomalies check the following website

http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/ml/ocean/sst/anomaly.html.

And for predictions concerning El Niño for the next three months you can look at

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/.