Dive Review of Aggressor/Galapagos Aggressor I in
Galapagos Islands

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Aggressor/Galapagos Aggressor I, Jun, 2009, by Eric Eckes, CA, United States ( Contributor 18 reports with 11 Helpful votes). Report 5206.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was a trip of a lifetime. My girlfriend, Margi, and I traveled with another couple onboard the Galapagos Aggressor I. We were joined by ten other divers from Finland, Sweden, Curacao, Montana, Florida, Georgia and Texas. After flying into Guayaquil, we flew the local airline, Aerogal, to the Galapagos. A nice benefit of diving with Aggressor is they have an agreement with Aerogal not to charge their passengers for excess weight. This proved beneficial given the amount of camera gear we brought on the trip. The crew of the Aggressor was fantastic. Nelson Martinez and Lenin Barrera served as our hosts and divemasters for the week. Simply put, they were fantastic. All concerns were immediately addressed and they took us to the large critters! One the day of our arrival we were treated to one checkout dive at Isla Lobos. Here we were greeted by several playful sea lions. The following morning we found ourselves at North Seymour Island. Our objective was two dives in search of whitetip sharks. We didn’t have to look far as they were everywhere! They were somewhat difficult to photograph with my DSLR as the current was ripping. Gloves are a must to hang onto the rocky reefs which were covered with barnacles. After diving, we were treated to our first land tour on North Seymour Island. We were greeted by sea lions (including a pup nursing), blue-footed boobies, frigates, and lots of iguanas (land and marine). It was amazing how comfortable the wildlife was with our group. Nelson and Lenin did a wonderful job of explaining the Galapagos conservation efforts. We then began our fifteen hour trek to Wolf Island. Diving Wolf was a dream come true. My desire to photograph hammerhead sharks was quickly met from the first dive. There were hammerheads and Galapagos sharks in all directions. We also saw several Turtles and Spotted Eagle Rays. We were treated to a pod of dolphins that swam through us (above, below, left, and right) chattering as they passed. It was a surreal experience. As we surfaced, we noticed large schools of Silky Sharks circling below us, as curious about us as we were them. Our journey continued to Darwin’s Arch. Here we were treated to six dives around the Arch. The highlight? A fifteen foot whale shark visited us on two separate dives. I had snorkeled with whalesharks but that didn’t come close to actually diving with them. Again, we saw lots of sharks including hammerheads. We headed south to Cousin’s Rock where we enjoyed two dives. Here we traded in the big critters for some macro opportunities: frogfish and a seahorse. That evening we snorkeled with Galapagos penguins off Bartolome Island. Our final dive took place the following morning at Gordon Rocks. All-in-all seventeen spectacular dives. I was surprised to find the current less strong up north at Wolf and Darwin than at the southern dive sites. All dives were started via backrolls from dinghys. Climbing back into the dinghys were adventures due to surface chop. Fredy and Junior, the dinghy captains, were there to assist with our gear and to lend a hand. The Aggressor I provided plenty of space for our gear and to suit up. There was a dedicated area for our camera gear as well as a fresh water rinse tank. Nitrox was available for a fixed fee covering the seventeen dives. We had a room on the lower level. It was clean and well maintained. The only disappointment were the twin beds! Dining aboard the Aggressor I was a treat. I have experienced so-so liveaboard food and was “blown away” with the meals. Close your eyes and you’d swear you were dining in a five star restaurant. It would be an understatement to say I am enthusiastic about this trip! This trip ranks #1 one my list of places to revisit. Kudos to our divemates and the crew. It was a most enjoyable week!
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, La Paz, Fiji, Hawaii, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau, Philippines, Yap
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	75-79°F / 24-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	7
Water Visibility	20-60 Ft/ 6-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	??
Enforced diving restrictions
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Dedicated camera bench and fresh water rinse tank. Compressed air.

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Dive Review of Aggressor/Galapagos Aggressor I in Galapagos Islands

Aggressor/Galapagos Aggressor I, Jun, 2009,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Aggressor/Galapagos Aggressor I in
Galapagos Islands