Hi Did you end up going and what did you think of the boat and the dive masters. Thinking about going in 2021. Any travel disruptions or issues getting there with Covid? Did you have to take Covid test prior on getting on the boat. Thanks!
I did go. I had a lovely time. I tested twice before going to Ecuador. First one week before going and again a day before to insure entry into the Galapagos. Before I was able to check in for my flight from mainland Ecuador to the Galapagos I had to show my covid test from within 96 hours and be temperature tested. Then again at landing in San Cristobal. Before getting into the panga to head to the Master everyone had their temperature checked.
The boat is lovely. The food is fantastic. The crew is great. Very friendly and helpful.
There were a couple of issues. One that was completely beyond their control and one that could be fixed.
The completely unfixable item was the conditions. The visibility was terrible. Utterly awful (on some of the dives). One guide said it was the worst he had seen in the twelve years he'd been guiding there. On some dives you could not see a foot in front of your face - a foot being generous. Because the Master is a dive boat licensed by the National Park of the Galapagos, we were only permitted to DIVE, so, although staying at the surface and snorkeling was a much better option on the poor visibility dive days, we weren't allowed to do it. The Master could have lost their license. So, we had to keep going out to dive in what we already knew were really bad conditions where we couldn't see anything.
Oh yeah another was the check out dive. IMO they do it in too shallow of water. I don't think you can dial in your wetsuit and weight requirements in 10-15 feet. I'd like to see a check out dive in a 20-25 foot dive. But maybe I'm being picky. I think all the boats do it in the same area there and it's shallow so I was over-weighted the first several days until I took some weight out of my BCD.
We were in groups of eight underwater with only one guide to each group. Again, IMO each group needed two guides for each group because the conditions are challenging.
The dive masters know what they are doing.
There are faster boats in the Galapagos, but I'd go on the Master again. I had a great time. The people were tremendous. The boat was comfortable. The food was excellent. The diving was great. But...oh my goodness, the water was COLD!!!!
