New member from Ecuador, living in the U.S.

[Daniel Agustin]

Welcome to ScubaBoard. I've searched around, but found little on shore diving or charter boats on the Ecuador Coast. Do you know of any? I'm not interested in the Galapagos. Thanks.

Hi Tom, thank you.
I'm from Quito, the capital, which is not precisely on the coast. However, the most popular diving center of the country has its headquarters there. It's called Exploramar Diving ( Home | Exploradiving ). These guys have an operation in the province of Manabi, in a fishermen village called Puerto Lopez, next to the Machalilla National Park. There are two islands nearby. One is called Salango, less than a mile offshore, which has a couple of interesting sites. The other one is Isla de la Plata–Silver Island–some 26 miles offshore. This is a wonderful place, specially during summer, which is the whale and manta ray season. I got certified open and advanced with them, and I've dove with a couple of their instructors since. My experience with them has been terrific. They are 5 star PADI center, have their own boats, and they provide the instructors for PADI certification in the best university of the country.
There are other sites further south, in the Santa Elena province. I've been to two of them: Bajo Cope and islote Ahorcados (Hangmen Islet). I've heard of two dive centers around that area: Tortuga Divers (Bienvenidos a Tortuga Divers) in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, and a smaller operation down on the coast called Ray Aguila. I don't have information about them.
If I may ask, why not the Galapagos?
I hope this helps.
Best,
Daniel

 

[Daniel Agustin]

There's a lot of good diving in the U.S.; your location will determine how practical some of it is. Welcome.

Richard.

Thank you Richard.
I live in southern Virginia. Right in the Apalachee.

 

[Daniel Agustin]

Welcome!

Are there more than one Galapagos? I'm a bit confused. It's off the coast of Ecuador, but is it Mexican territory?

Well the Galapagos is an archipelago with many islands and islets. Yes it's off the Ecuadorean coast, 660 miles. It's Ecuadorean territory actually, since 1832 (no other country wanted them). Before that they were not inhabited, and they served mainly as refuge for pirates and privateers (Dampier, Drake, Hawkins, Clerk, Ambrosia Cowley, and others) during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Later on they were the hunting ground for the whalers, specially the New England fleet, in the 19th. People usually know them because of Darwin, but there's much more about them.
Mexico has many islands off their pacific coast: Revillagigedo Archipelago, Guadalupe Island, San Benito, Natividad, Cedros Island...
Daniel

 

[drrich2]

I live in southern Virginia. Right in the Apalachee.

Okay, there are many more U.S. dive options than I've experienced; let me mention some I've been blessed to partake of.

North Carolina - offshore wreck diving with Sand Tiger Sharks.
Key Largo, FL - shallow reefs with diverse and populous life, with option for some deep wreck diving.
Jupiter, FL - drift diving with goliath grouper, various shark species...both non-shark feed diving and shark feed diving options.
California - cold water and some flying to get there but worth it.

Richard.

 

[RyanT]

I quit diving during my Ph.D. and stayed out of the water for over 10 years. You have to work incredibly hard (and smart) to be competitive if you want an academic job. To that end, your Ph.D. program will consume you if you let it. Figure out a way to be productive, but still enjoy yourself. If you are at VT, then you're only about 6 hours from some extraordinary diving on the North Carolina coast. Go dive and don't be like me!

 

[TMHeimer]

Hi Tom, thank you.
I'm from Quito, the capital, which is not precisely on the coast. However, the most popular diving center of the country has its headquarters there. It's called Exploramar Diving ( Home | Exploradiving ). These guys have an operation in the province of Manabi, in a fishermen village called Puerto Lopez, next to the Machalilla National Park. There are two islands nearby. One is called Salango, less than a mile offshore, which has a couple of interesting sites. The other one is Isla de la Plata–Silver Island–some 26 miles offshore. This is a wonderful place, specially during summer, which is the whale and manta ray season. I got certified open and advanced with them, and I've dove with a couple of their instructors since. My experience with them has been terrific. They are 5 star PADI center, have their own boats, and they provide the instructors for PADI certification in the best university of the country.
There are other sites further south, in the Santa Elena province. I've been to two of them: Bajo Cope and islote Ahorcados (Hangmen Islet). I've heard of two dive centers around that area: Tortuga Divers (Bienvenidos a Tortuga Divers) in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, and a smaller operation down on the coast called Ray Aguila. I don't have information about them.
If I may ask, why not the Galapagos?
I hope this helps.
Best,
Daniel

Thanks. I may get down there in the future. I'm a shell collector so no Galapagos.

 

[Dive Sitnalta]

Virginia has plenty of wrecks off the coast. Actually, New Jersey to South Carolina has great wreck diving. Some are bit deep... but lots of history.

 

[Daniel Agustin]

I quit diving during my Ph.D. and stayed out of the water for over 10 years. You have to work incredibly hard (and smart) to be competitive if you want an academic job. To that end, your Ph.D. program will consume you if you let it. Figure out a way to be productive, but still enjoy yourself. If you are at VT, then you're only about 6 hours from some extraordinary diving on the North Carolina coast. Go dive and don't be like me!

That's exactly right Ryan. It's a combination of time and money. I have a family, so free time is for them, and extra money... well, there's no extra money. However, I'm lucky because my researchand job take me to Ecuador once a year, and there I dive at least a couple of days. You're right, for the sake of sanity you need to find time to have a life. Hopefully I'll be done in a little over a year.

 

[Daniel Agustin]

Okay, there are many more U.S. dive options than I've experienced; let me mention some I've been blessed to partake of.

North Carolina - offshore wreck diving with Sand Tiger Sharks.
Key Largo, FL - shallow reefs with diverse and populous life, with option for some deep wreck diving.
Jupiter, FL - drift diving with goliath grouper, various shark species...both non-shark feed diving and shark feed diving options.
California - cold water and some flying to get there but worth it.

Richard.

Thanks Richard. Sounds terrific. Hopefully I'll be able to get there when I finish school.