Galapagos Islands : San Cristobal Island

Known as "Las Islas Encantadas" (The Enchanted Isles), the Galapagos islands are located on the equator approximately 800 km west of the Ecuador mainland. More than half of the islands is national parkland under the protection of the nation of Ecuador, a stable Latin American democracy recently dollarized. The Galapagos Islands are the pride of Ecuador and are internationally renowned as the place where Charles Darwin witnessed unique animal species cut off from the natural evolutionary processes of the continents and advanced his theories of Evolution. The Galapagos is mostly famous for its many indigenous species including marine iguanas, huge land tortoises, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, albatross, manta-rays, and finches.

The Galapagos also has world class surf. Wavehunters’ focus is the island of San Cristobal where there are more than a half-dozen outstanding waves, at least 4 of them world class, 2 of which are square tubes with Hawaiian power. San Cristobal island is unique because it picks up BOTH North and South Pacific swells equally well. (Note, there are other waves on other islands in the Galapagos but most of them are closed off due to park regulations and access is difficult to impossible).

The waves on San Cristobal occur on the southwest and northwest facing sides of the island where they are exposed to ground swells from both the North and South Pacific. Though the Galapagos has waves year-round, the optimal “surf season” is from December until May. The reason is that the cold Humboldt current which travels northward up the coast of Chile and Peru during the Austral winter months of May-November creates prevailing onshore wind conditions during this period, with the wind and swell coming from the same direction.

The hot season from Dec-May sees the diminishing influence of this current, with hotter, sunnier offshore conditions ideal for surfing. The North swells occur most commonly from December until March. The south swell, despite pulses from December until February, is strongest during March, April and May. These months are particularly good for SouthWest swells which the island tracks far better than the more southerly swells which tend to be more dominant from June until November.

North Swells: The Galapagos lies in an ideal geographical location to pick up the brunt of North Pacific ground swells which pound Hawaii and California but largely miss Mexico and Central America due to their south-facing orientation. As such, the Galapagos islands are on a short list of locations which really amplify and harvest the power of North Pacific ground swells and enjoy ideal weather and wind conditions at the same time. La Carola (hollow Sunset-like righthander), El Canon (peak lefthander similar to Popoyo), and Manglecito (hidden bay w/peaky A-frames) are at their best on NW swells.

South Swells: While the North swells have received a lot of attention, the South Swells are actually bigger and more consistent most of the year (especially from March onwards). Loberia (an A-frame reef break reminiscent of Pipe/Backdoor) is the go-to option for serious chargers, while Tongo Reef provides a more classic line (lefthander) with rides up to 300 yards. El Canon and Outer Reef will also pickup strong SW swells and provide some additional surfing venues.

Consistency, Size, Variety - Galapagos has it!
Because of the combination of northerly and southerly swells the Galapagos has a high degree of consistency over 70% during the season, although some of the breaks are deepwater volcanic rock reef waves which take a moderate to strong swell to go off. If it is breaking it is rarely under 4-5 feet. When major swells hit it can sometimes be huge at spots such as La Carola and Loberia hitting a legitimate 8-10 ft Hawaiian scale though 4-7 ft is more common, and fortunately there are some softer options like El Canon, Tongo Reef and Manglecito to find shelter.