2000 Chapbook

For full reviews of the following Galapagos live-aboards, see:

Sulidae,In Depth- September 1996

Lammer Law,In Depth- July 1995

Aquatic Encounters, May-June 1999, Alva Sachs, Kailua-Kona, HI. Vis: about 100 ft. Did 2 weeks back to back. The best! Crew the best. Maurico (guide) fantastic. Rewarding dive trip. (Aquatic Encounters, Ph: 303-494-8384, Fax: 303-494-1202, e-mail: aquatenctr@aol.com)

Galapagos Aggressor,July 1999, Steve Jordan, Dothan, AL. Vis: 30-60 ft. Water: 71-75 degrees. Wolf and Darwin Express route. Best diving in the world. Thousands of hammerheads. They were everywhere, and would come right up to you. Millions of fish everywhere. Dolphins everywhere, turtles and eels everywhere. At Darwin's Arch we swam with whale sharks on 4 of 6 dives. Sea lions on a few dives. Strong currents no problem. Dinghies there to pick you up no matter where you surfaced. Boat a little noisy at night when we traveled. Crew great. (Telephone 504-385-2628; Booking Office 800-348-2628;Telephone +593 504-456-3333; Fax: 504-384-0817; e-mail: info@aggressor.com;website www.aggressor.com)

Galapagos Aggressor,July 1999, Dennis Camp, Spring, TX. Vis: 40-70 ft., Water: 62-68 degrees. Restrictions: Depth. Great Trip, right out of the National Geographic. Good crew and divemasters. Food better than average. Swam with 6 whale sharks, frog fish, huge scorpion fish, turtles, hammerheads.

Lammar Law,March 1999, Dan Shimmin, Salt Lake City, UT. Vis: 30-80 ft. Water: 60-80 ft. Restrictions: 90 ft./60 min. Great trip. Diving incredible with lots of eels, rays, turtles, sharks, friendly sea lions. Diving on Wolf and Darwin Islands was intense; hundreds of hammerheads at fifty feet. Adequate dive operation but was not conducive to photography because of limited rinse tanks. Crew was great. The divemasters/naturalists were great guides on land and diving. Very knowledgeable. Food was great. Healthy low fat fish, chicken. A lot of fruit. (Telephone +593 809-494-2490; 800-525-3833; Fax +593 809-494-5774 )

Reina Silvia,January 1999, Lisa Fuka, Austin, TX. Vis: 20-60 ft. Water: 60-76 degrees. What Aquatic Encounters "promises" it does not always deliver (i.e. experienced representation and leadership, food on board, confidence in dive partner pair ups for single diver. They put together two beginners (AE knew they were beginners) while more experienced AE were paired up. First dive out there was a problem. Dive operation: poor- A.E. Local divemaster and local guide excellent! (Telephone +593 303-494-8384; Fax +593 303-494-1202)

Reina Silvia,January 1999, Lewis and Jennifer May, Houston, TX. Vis: 40-60 ft. Water: 65-75 degrees. Fantastic trip, great accommodations, food and staff. Hundreds of hammerhead sharks. Combination diving/shore experience was good. Well-run trip. At Darwin saw a whale shark, about 25' long and it passed 3 times.

Reina Silvia,January 1999, Bill Otey, Roanoke, VA. Vis: 30-100 ft. Water: 59-76 degrees. The hotel in Quito (the Alameda) was at the corner of a busy intersection. The outside rooms are impossible to sleep in (noise from disco across the street lasted until 4 a.m., cars constantly honking horns, people yelling in the street). The hotel was very good otherwise, clean and spacious rooms. The day tour (about 10 hrs) was too long, but educational. An experience for any diver and naturalist! Overall, an excellent trip!

Reina Silvia,January 1999, Steve Bergerson, Lisle, IL. Vis: 60-100 ft. Water: 77-79 degrees. Great boat, great crew. Owner's cabin huge, worth the extra $600 for 2. Saw herds of 12-14 ft. scalloped hammerheads up close. Good time with sea lions. Closer when snorkeling. Lots of turtles and free-swimming morays. Fabulous trip!

Reina Silvia,January 1999, C.S.(Nick) Ferris, Arvada, CO. Galapagos trips run by Aquatic Encounters are 3 parts: a day and a half touring Quito and the mountains of Ecuador, land trips in the Galapagos to observe wildlife and volcanic geology, and diving. Well balanced, unique vacation. Little coral or colorful sponges, but colorful fish, sea lions, turtles, mantas, and, at Wolf and Darwin Islands, schools of hammerheads. Laying in wait to ambush photographically a hammer is what I remember best. Topside tours reveal seals, sea lions, numerous birds, marine iguanas, red Sally Lightfoot crabs, penguins, lava flows, ash, and craters. Great trip; water temp can vary a lot over a short time, so bring a full length 3 mil suit and a shorty. And a perfect $100 bill to pay for your park pass when you land at Baltra in the Galapagos Islands. Money with a crease or tear, no matter how small, was unacceptable to the idiot with the badge. Darwin Research Station that would take money of any sort for a variety of reasons to fund their conservation efforts.

Reina Silvia,May 1999, Alva Sachs, Kailua, Kona, HI. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 72-74 degrees. Two weeks onboard. Spent two days in Quito at five-star Alameda Real. Took guided tour of the city, including the ornate San Franciscan Church, Otavalo market (woven goods), open food market with unfamiliar foods, including heads of animals. Two of our members climbed Cotapoxi mountain. Short trip from Quito to Guayaquil, then to the island of Baltra, where we boarded boat. Excellent air-conditioned accommodations, plenty of fresh potable water (own desalinization). Rooms comfortable, each with head and shower. Our room boasted a porthole. Crew marvelous, professional, accommodating. Not everyone spoke English. Maunicio, the naturalist guide, speaks three languages, and was helpful and knowledgeable. He speaks (calls) to the birds and they answer and come closer; he talks to tortoise sand they raise their heads and eyeball him. His dive briefings were thorough and accompanied by illustrations of islands and topography. Mauricio's laugh is incredibly infectious. Visited North Seymour Island, Rabido-Jerivis, James-Santiago, Darwin, Wolf and Cousins, with most travel at night. Gourmet chef, Patricio, was inventive, producing original, delicious foods. Did check out dive to see if we were properly weighted. First time I wore a wet suit. The first dive was easy, full of sharks (white tip), 3 Rays, garden eels, fish I'm familiar with from Hawaii. Topside excursions: weird birds, sea lions, a snake and a scorpion, Birds oblivious to us. Sea lions calm but protective of babies. Blue-footed boobies doing their sky pointing dance, male frigates with red balloon throats expanded. Diving incredible: We hung on barnacled rocks with bumphead parrot fish gnawing off chunks, lobsters under the rocks. Huge eels laying across the rocks! Over heads hordes of hammerheads, plus Galapagos sharks, white tips, I counted 69 hammerheads before I gave up. Hordes of jacks; tuna; Heller's barracuda. King Angel fish did the job of cleaner (wrasse) on these huge creatures. Golden cowrays couldn't count them all! One night dive found humorous slipper lobster. Our light picked up an enormous hammerhead swimming close; amazing how many people got instantly "too cold" and terminated the dive.