King_of_All_Tyrants
Contributor
I took a non-diving cruise in the Galapagos last week (the M/V Santa Cruz of Metropolitantouring.com - expensive but EXCELLENT) and I supplemented the cruise with a few days in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos. Upon Roatanman's recommendation, I dove with SCUBA Iguana. Other people in the Galapagos backed this recommendation: a Quitena whose husband works in the Galapagos and frequently visits, several beach bums on island, and most of the staff on the Santa Cruz.
I was not disappointed. The Galapagos has some shady-looking shops (and has lost some pretty bad ones). SCUBA Iguana is not one of them. The equipment I rented was good (SCUBApro BC, Mk2 and R190) and appeared well maintiained. They have enough rental gear to fit a guy like me (6'2", 155 lbs, size 12 feet) with no problems. The staff, land transport and boat is reliable, professional and offered no problems.
I only did two dives, due to time constraints. One was the Academy Bay "checkout dive". This is a fairly tame dive as far as the Galapagos is concerned, but would probably be a good dive elsewhere. I saw several whitetip sharks, dove with some seals, and a HUGE school of fish that literally darkened the ground below them. The next day's checkout dive group told me they saw Manta Rays during their dive. Be sure to complete your dives and surface intervals quickly - our second checkout dive began at 5:00PM and the water was noticably colder.
The second dive was Seymour Island. Our group of six had two divemasters, including one dude whose job was to make sure stupid hoovering newbie me didn't get himself killed. Divemaster knew the waters, had an appropriate plan, and led us to see garden eels, barracuda, groupers, plenty of whitetip sharks (no hammerheads that day, though), a tuna, seals, eagle rays and a school of small to medium-sized Manta rays. No one died, no one got lost or seperated. My newness had minimal impact on the more experienced divers. In all, a great time was had by all.
Bring gloves, and I'd recommend a thick hood. My Henderson 5/3 kept me warm where other people's thinner rental hoods left some of them freezing.
All in all, if I'm ever luck enough to make it to the Galapagos again, I will most definitely dive with SCUBA Iguana.
A few side issues:
- get Pierre Constant's book on the Galapagos before going if you're at all interested in the science of the Galapagos, natural history, or animals. It has a wealth of knowledge and is in my view the best tourist book on the islands.
- a trip to Quito is recommended if you want to stay a few days on the mainland. It's a beautiful city. The Rough Guide is the best guide to Ecuador in my view, and it'll help you choose places to visit.
- crime in Quito was very underwhelming. Based on the reports from a travel advisory company I subscribe to, to the US State Department and British foreign office website, I expected that crime was out of control in Quito, that every street corner had hungry theives looking to stick up foreigners, and that my luggage was almost certain to disappear in the airport if I gripped it weakly.
In reality, I was never once even close to a crime scene or (to my knowledge) being pickpocketed. The airport was clean, efficient, and they make an effort to ensure random people don't wander around looking for bags (and that their employees don't "misplace" bags). I avoided the Mariscal Sucre "Gringoland" almost entirely and lived with a local family. I also took Taxis at night, and would not hang around in "Gringoland" from midnight until around sunup (around 6:30 all the days of the year). But, I also know someone who was part of an armed holdup in a restaurant. But still, if you practice common sense you won't have any problems in the city, at least in my experience.
- if you go to Quito and like either leather goods or woodcarving of the secular or religious sort, you MUST spend a weekend to go to Cotocachi (leather) or San Antonio de Ibarra (wood). There, you MUST find a leather or woodshop that makes its own wares and coax them into making you $50 custom leather jackets or incredibly cheap woodproducts to your specifications, from people who have leather or woodworking lineage that goes back centuries. Be sure to come back the next weekend to pick up your order. Oh, how I wish I could go back there and just browse again.
- the Indian market in Otovalo, a bit south of Cotocachi and San Antonio, is well worth visiting on a weekend. I'd recommend hiring a taxi if you can manage that. That way you can escape with much more loot. Get to the market by 8:00AM on Saturday.
- if you spend a few days in mainland ecuador, register your passport with the government and get a cedulo (the rough guide has instructions). This way you only pay $25 to enter to the Galapagos instead of $100.
I was not disappointed. The Galapagos has some shady-looking shops (and has lost some pretty bad ones). SCUBA Iguana is not one of them. The equipment I rented was good (SCUBApro BC, Mk2 and R190) and appeared well maintiained. They have enough rental gear to fit a guy like me (6'2", 155 lbs, size 12 feet) with no problems. The staff, land transport and boat is reliable, professional and offered no problems.
I only did two dives, due to time constraints. One was the Academy Bay "checkout dive". This is a fairly tame dive as far as the Galapagos is concerned, but would probably be a good dive elsewhere. I saw several whitetip sharks, dove with some seals, and a HUGE school of fish that literally darkened the ground below them. The next day's checkout dive group told me they saw Manta Rays during their dive. Be sure to complete your dives and surface intervals quickly - our second checkout dive began at 5:00PM and the water was noticably colder.
The second dive was Seymour Island. Our group of six had two divemasters, including one dude whose job was to make sure stupid hoovering newbie me didn't get himself killed. Divemaster knew the waters, had an appropriate plan, and led us to see garden eels, barracuda, groupers, plenty of whitetip sharks (no hammerheads that day, though), a tuna, seals, eagle rays and a school of small to medium-sized Manta rays. No one died, no one got lost or seperated. My newness had minimal impact on the more experienced divers. In all, a great time was had by all.
Bring gloves, and I'd recommend a thick hood. My Henderson 5/3 kept me warm where other people's thinner rental hoods left some of them freezing.
All in all, if I'm ever luck enough to make it to the Galapagos again, I will most definitely dive with SCUBA Iguana.
A few side issues:
- get Pierre Constant's book on the Galapagos before going if you're at all interested in the science of the Galapagos, natural history, or animals. It has a wealth of knowledge and is in my view the best tourist book on the islands.
- a trip to Quito is recommended if you want to stay a few days on the mainland. It's a beautiful city. The Rough Guide is the best guide to Ecuador in my view, and it'll help you choose places to visit.
- crime in Quito was very underwhelming. Based on the reports from a travel advisory company I subscribe to, to the US State Department and British foreign office website, I expected that crime was out of control in Quito, that every street corner had hungry theives looking to stick up foreigners, and that my luggage was almost certain to disappear in the airport if I gripped it weakly.
In reality, I was never once even close to a crime scene or (to my knowledge) being pickpocketed. The airport was clean, efficient, and they make an effort to ensure random people don't wander around looking for bags (and that their employees don't "misplace" bags). I avoided the Mariscal Sucre "Gringoland" almost entirely and lived with a local family. I also took Taxis at night, and would not hang around in "Gringoland" from midnight until around sunup (around 6:30 all the days of the year). But, I also know someone who was part of an armed holdup in a restaurant. But still, if you practice common sense you won't have any problems in the city, at least in my experience.
- if you go to Quito and like either leather goods or woodcarving of the secular or religious sort, you MUST spend a weekend to go to Cotocachi (leather) or San Antonio de Ibarra (wood). There, you MUST find a leather or woodshop that makes its own wares and coax them into making you $50 custom leather jackets or incredibly cheap woodproducts to your specifications, from people who have leather or woodworking lineage that goes back centuries. Be sure to come back the next weekend to pick up your order. Oh, how I wish I could go back there and just browse again.
- the Indian market in Otovalo, a bit south of Cotocachi and San Antonio, is well worth visiting on a weekend. I'd recommend hiring a taxi if you can manage that. That way you can escape with much more loot. Get to the market by 8:00AM on Saturday.
- if you spend a few days in mainland ecuador, register your passport with the government and get a cedulo (the rough guide has instructions). This way you only pay $25 to enter to the Galapagos instead of $100.
