Aggressor II to Galapagos - DO NOT GO ON IT.

[Stichus III]

I don't give a crap about your culture

Well, common sense says that you really should, especially when your're visiting my (or anybody else's) country.

I also recall you writing the following earlier in the thread:

Ramiro made passes at two of the female divers. The first one was able to effectively stop his behavior immediately. The second one tried to politely decline, yet he repeatedly hit on her for three days in a row.

So it seems that the first lady did in fact know how to handle the situation while the second lady did not. The first lady clearly said NO, and was not hit on further, while the second lady apparently did not do so in a way to make the DM understand what she really meant. The point that I made is a valid one: When you go to a Latin American country, you should know how to handle these type of guys, because you'll bump into many. The "I don't give a crap about your culture" attitude, is in fact what puts so many tourists in dangerous situations.

Lastly, please don't twist my words. As I'm sure you recall, I also wrote this:

Therefore Aggressor can be expected to train their employee’s not to hit on guests. No doubt that the fault here lies with Aggressor, for not making sure this did not happen.

 

[mocrumbo]

My my, aren't we angry?

Go ahead and have the last word. I would much rather be happy than be right.

 

[Stichus III]

Go ahead and have the last word.

Then I will. Thank you.

I stand by the point I made earlier.

I also wish to state that I agree with you that Aggressor screwed up big time here. I hope your post causes them to fix these issue's asap. Especially the wet bed and the crew hitting on passengers.

 

[MikeSK]

Shouldn't have put out to sea???? You have got to be kidding. .

Not even a little bit.

If i pay 2K+ for a trip, I'd except to have a clean, functioning room to sleep in. If i end up sleeping the salon or upper deck, then i'd expect a SUBSTANIAL discount.

I'm not expecting a king sized extra fluffy thing...just somewhere warm (or cool depending on where we are) and at least reasonably comfortable to sleep.

Unless the seas are 10 feet high...why would there even be water leaking in??

If the boat isn't in working order, they damn sure better fix the essentials before putting out. Hot tub..not essential. guest rooms..totally essential. after all..that's part of what we're paying for right?

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

She felt unsafe, confided in you, and you didn't do anything about it? Sheesh, maybe it's your guilt feelings that provoked your vitriolic report.

I've never had a DM offer to marry me if I left my SO, but I've heard that kind of bantering before in all parts of the world. Yeah, so he said "leave your man, come to Ecuador and marry me" and he stalked her a bit on board (obviously not to her cabin, or you would have said that). Big deal. The solo women travelers that I know would have dispatched the bastard with a few quick comments since they're used to much worse. Since she came to you for help, she obviously wasn't that self-sufficient, but that doesn't mean you had to be completely impotent in the matter and then complain for her.

Seems this has moved beyond the original post and into a broader discussion. Isn't the issue here the DM's lack of professionalism and not the diver's personality impediments from analysis afar? Most women definitely can tell the difference between harmless flirtation and annoying, unwanted advances. Most dive guides I know on Galapagos live-aboards most definitely understand the difference and are professional no matter how Latino they are. And yes, they, too, know when they are crossing the line...that's not cultural...that's individual. At $4500+, you most definitely should not have to put up with such unprofessional behavior period.

PS...You have noticed that mocrumbo is female, yes? As a woman, I think women talking to other women when they feel uncomfortable is pretty natural.

Do you have any basis for these comments besides this one post? While I've butted heads with the DM's personalities in Ecuador and other Latin American countries, where, after all, the term "macho" was invented, the competency of the DMs aboard the two Galapagos vessels I've traveled on was never at issue. They routinely dive in some very rough and often chilly conditions, yet tend to manage their clientele just fine - certainly you haven't heard of very many dive accidents in the Galapagos, have you?

Just because you don't hear about them doesn't mean they don't happen.

 

[Mossman]

Just because you don't hear about them doesn't mean they don't happen.

Surely you could expand on that? How often does either Galapagos Aggressor have accidents? And, since most of the Aggressor passengers are Americans, how is it that the accidents aren't reported in the American press?

"Protesub opened its doors to the diving community of Galapagos in July, 2001. It started its operations with nominal dive operator support, and now it is gaining more acceptance through awareness and education. To date, the Unit has treated over 40 recreational dive injuries requiring recompression, which could have resulted in death or permanent paralysis if the chamber did not exist."

Since it's a for-profit facility and probably gives kickbacks to the doctors who are safer treating for potential DCS than not, it's likely half of those 40 were misdiagnosed. Still, even 40 over 9 years, with all the diving going on there, is hardly a high accident rate given the conditions. Our local chamber on Catalina Island probably sees that many in a year.

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Surely you could expand on that? How often does either Galapagos Aggressor have accidents? And, since most of the Aggressor passengers are Americans, how is it that the accidents aren't reported in the American press?

Though I don't know for sure, my guess is that most cases in the Puerto Ayora chamber are fisherman breathing from compressors, not divers. Fishermen getting the bends happens too often. Nor can I speak to the history of the Aggressor's record, but so far in 2010, two divers have died aboard the Aggressor in the Galapagos...one heart attack and the other a young woman, clearly not a heart attack.

I spend about 40-45% of my time in the Galapagos and even I don't always know about diver deaths/accidents. I only knew about 3 diver fatalities in the Galapagos last year, but apparently there were more.

Wow...make that one doctor giving kickbacks to himself for treating dcs. It's a little different in the Galapagos. We don't have a 911 number to call..well, not one that would be worth calling anyway. No, what you do in the event of an emergency is call Dr. Idrovo first...everyone knows he is more dependable than calling any emergency services. You have him in your cell along with a dependable taxi, other boats as fast and local as possible and that is your equivalent to 911 in the Galapagos. At least in the central islands.

And thank god there is a chamber in Puerto Ayora. Was at a site a couple weeks back which a friend/experienced guide was telling me was the place he had an accident before the chamber. Back then, he was rushed to Santa Cruz, kept overnight and put on a flight the next morning for Guayaquil to get to a chamber...roughly 29 hours post accident.

So please...it's offensive when you apply what may be true in California but bears zero resemblance to reality in the Galapagos. Weren't you kicking someone earlier for imposing their cultural perspective on others?

 

[Mossman]

So please...it's offensive when you apply what may be true in California but bears zero resemblance to reality in the Galapagos. Weren't you kicking someone earlier for imposing their cultural perspective on others?

So you think corruption exists only among docs in California, who have to justify excessive charges to a draconian insurance company, versus corruption-free Latin America where the sole doc works for cash? Unlike SSS, a for-pay recompression chamber network, the Catalina Hyperbaric chamber is funded by grants and donations, sponsored by a major university, and its director, Karl Huggins, is a renowned expert on decompression sickness. Sorry, but there's no place like [my] home when it comes to getting bent.

But my only point was that even the low number of 40 recreational divers (not counting the 100+ local fishermen) is likely to be exaggerated, if not from actual corruption, then from a desire to overtreat rather than undertreat. After all, it's safer to run an expensive course of hyperbaric treatments if DCS is suspected rather than to let the suspect diver risking flying home untreated. The kickbacks could go to the DMs as well, since those are the guys who are most likely to recommended visting the doc in "iffy" cases.

Unless you're claiming that the corruption that is just as pervasive as the "macho" attitude in most all of Latin America simply doesn't exist in the paradisical Galapagos? That a DM from the Aggressor could be accused of sexual harrassment and everyone believes it and condemns it, but an allegation of kickbacks? Horrors, no! :shocked2:

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Not at all sure of how you came up with this response from what I posted, but ok.

 

[Mossman]

Not at all sure of how you came up with this response from what I posted, but ok.

I'm glad we finally agree