Lammer Law Trip Report: Galapagos 2006

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Okay, here's my trip report for my trip with Capybara to the Big G. We departed SFO to Miami then on to Quito via American airlines. Total flying time to Quito was about 9 hours (5+4). Trip date: September 2006.

We spent our time in Quito on two day tours, the first was through the city, and the second into the country north of the city. The first day took us to the old city center, where we visited the lovely old cathedral. We then drove to the Virgen statue on a hill overlooking the city. The weather was typical for the time of year, somewhat overcast. Third stop was the equator, were we visited some tourist sites, including the “true” equator, which is a bit away from the big tourist marker. The second day tour was a drive to Otovalo, famous for its market. We did some shopping in the market, which felt quite oriented towards tourists. We visited a number of small villages and towns along the way which felt far more authentic and also visited a nature refuge to hike along the rim of a crater lake. I thought the lake was rugged and beautiful, like much of Ecuador in general, although the effect of altitude could definitely be felt as we climbed the hills.

We took the hotel van to the airport early on our travel day to the Galapagos, leaving for the airport at about 6:30 am. We would be traveling aboard the Lammer Law which is run locally by Quasar Nautica. Our travel arrangements were made stateside by Reef & Rainforest. We went to the Aerogal desk, but they said they had no record of us! They then figured out we were part of a tour group, and so had us wait for the Quasar Nautica representative who they said would have our tickets. Fortunately, the kind folks at Quasar arrived and were expecting us. Whew! Takeoff from Quito was a long and fast roll given our altitude.

 

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In the Galapagos, one of the guides had our group assemble, gather our luggage, and checked to make sure our bags were headed to the boat with a member of the crew. We then boarded a bus that took us directly to a small harbor where the Lammer Law was moored. We did not cross by ferry to the main island. A number of iguanas and sea lions met us ashore, as we boarded pangas for the ride to the ship.

The Lammer itself is a steel trimaran built in Canada in 1980. She is 93 feet in length, 42 feet in breadth, and has two masts. The white painted top deck had several lounge chairs, favored by some divers for post-dive sunning. A sizeable and airy indoor lounge/dining area with a small bar and a television was surrounded by the eight cabins. A large teak deck spanned the after part of the ship, which also served as dive deck and once as dining deck. Our cabin was spacious, although the room showed some inevitable signs of age. The bedding was clean and impeccably folded and clean towels were laid out. A 220 volt outlet was available, as was a 2-plug 110 volt outlet. There was plenty of storage space, and the ac and thermostat functioned. The bath was a combined head and shower, which has never been my favored arrangement but it got the job done. Water pressure was excellent in the sink, although the temperature of the water available was quite variable, particularly after everyone returned from a dive, when you might have hot water at first, followed by cold water. This water was not potable. Shampoo, conditioner, and small bars of soap were provided. In rough seas, the drain on the floor, which appeared to drain directly through the hull, was a bit of a geyser. Crossings to Wolf and Darwin and back were rough, particularly the return leg against the current and winds, and the Lammer rattled and slammed up and down in the swell rather prominently.

 

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The first (and last) night aboard, the crew assembled in full dress for a toast and introduction. The crew was quite nice, and very professional, particularly our panga driver and the chief steward. The six-man crew were supplemented by Jonathan and Santiago, both excellent and experienced guides who both dived and led land tours. This was a very good group to lead us in our travels, and I feel privileged to have shared the trip with them.

Guests aboard included your truly and Capybara, two people from Tampa, three from Belgium, three from England, and five from France. Experience among divers included prior trips to the Galapagos, trips to the Maldives, Cocos, Red Sea, Western Pacific, Hawaii, Carribean, and Med. I have to report, in the spirit of honesty, that the predominance of European divers made the dive deck Speedo central. There, I said it.

The guides said that salinity of the water in the Galapagos was high, more than the Red Sea, and most divers used about 10% more lead than when diving elsewhere. Solid weights were available, mostly in either 2lb or 4lb increments. Tanks were aluminum 80s, and no nitrox was available on board despite being advertised as nitrox capable. Dives were from two 20 foot RIBs. Racks were located on either side of the aft deck. Racks and some hangers were available, and there were two Rubbermaid cans set out with fresh water exclusively for cameras. A limited amount of table space was available for cameras, but this was not a camera heavy boat this trip. I shot video, and most passengers shot housed point-and-shoot digitals. We would gear up, including full weights and tank, and go down the stepladders mounted aft to board the pangas. This worked well. Fins and cameras would then be passed down, and donned in the panga, usually as it began motoring away from the Lammer. Back-roll negative entries with meet-up on the bottom was the standard dive order. Upon dive completion, we would pass off our weights, cameras, and fins, and the panga driver would haul our tank and BC aboard with a push from below from the diver. A fold down stepladder was available, with wood slat steps. The rides back were more comfortable as the scuba kit was on the floor of the panga and not on our backs, and upon return to the mothership we would climb back aboard while the crew passed the heavies back up to the deck to begin filling the tanks. Overnight fills were the best, sometimes hitting 3100 psi, typical day fills were in the 2850-2900 range. Cubbies under the benches were shared, and hard to reach, being far under the benches.

 

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Waters were unusually warm, hitting 82 at the northern islands. Seems like an El Nino year. I had only brought a 7/5 semi-dry, and dove with the hood pulled back. Despite the warmer temperatures, we saw large schools of hammerheads, turtles, a pregnant adult whaleshark, a juvenile whale shark, pilot whales, dolphin, cow nose rays, mobula, eagle rays (31 in one formation), Galapagos sharks, red-lipped batfish, and sea lions. On land tours, we saw sea and land iguanas, tortoises, flamingos, frigate birds, and a Galapagos hawk.

I dove 20 of 22 offered dives. Sites included:
Islote Mosquera
North Seymour
Cousins Rock
Wolf: Caves and Pinnacle
Wolf: Shark’s Bay
Darwin’s Arch (seven dives)
Wolf: Landslide
Cabo Marshall
Puerto Egas (night)
Enderby
Champion
Devil’s Crown
Gardener Bay

Land tours included:
North Seymour
Santiago Island
Santa Cruz
Floreana
Espanola Island

Our last morning, we took a beautiful early morning panga ride around the tuff cone of Leon Dormido, the sleeping lion. This monolithic rock jutted up out of the water, with a cleft separating two main pieces. The base was eroded by wave action, and the steep walls had crags with our favorite blue footed boobies. We had to have luggage ready by 8:30, at which time we donned life jackets for a short panga ride back to shore, at our departure island of San Cristobal. On land, we had about an hour to explore the small seaside town, which is renovating its malecon to the tune of just over 1 million dollars. The harbor is nice, and there was a new pier. Probably this town will grow rapidly as it models itself as a port of entry to the islands. I hope the growth is managed however, and doesn’t result in the spoiling of the great natural beauty and abundant animal life that has brought us here to the Galapagos.

On the flight back to Quito we were not allowed to deplane in Guayaquil. The stop there was only for about 40 minutes. In Quito, we went to our hotel, then met some people from the Lammer at another restaurant in town, La Ronda, where we had a nice formal meal, and reminisced about the trip, before leaving early the next morning for our trip back to Miami, San Francisco, and home.

 

[Darnold9999]

Thanks for posting this - sounds like a great trip.

 

[tel52]

Thanks for the very timely report. I leave tomorrow for Quito and will be on the Aggressor I Thursday.

 

[alijtaylor]

Slingshot
Thanks for the report, brought back memories of a great trip on Lammerlaw a couple of years ago.
Alison

 

[TravelingNinja]

Slingshot - this is a great article. I, too, went on the Lammer Law, but my photos were a huge disappointment. I really appreciated your photos. The one with the hammerhead gave me chills. In one memorable day, we saw three whalesharks in a single dive. I really liked the intimacy of the small boat. I dined with shipmates who had dived all over the world. The Quasar Expeditions gave me a nice large stateroom. This web page shows pictures of the ship's interior: Lammer Law Galapagos Islands Cruise.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Thnx for a great report

 

[caymaniac]

That is a dream trip for me!