Divemaster Course / Internship in Galapagos

[heiko1212]

Hi everyone,

I am planning to learn Spanish for 3 months (I know nothing about Spanish) in Central or South America next year. At the same time, I am also a dive lover, I would also like to take the Divemaster course (obtained rescue diver) afterwards in Galapagos where is a paradise for divers. Is there dive operator can be introduced to me? Both land-based / boat are fine for me.

Though everything is still on the planning stage, I am not sure the time of this trip, your advise could help me for my trip planning.

Thank you,
Hei

 

[galapagosexpert]

Hi! You should try contacting the dive companies in Galapagos directly. I would start out with Scuba Iguana and Red Mangrove, and maybe even Sub Aqua. Check the prices of doing your Dive Master course out there with each one, as the diving in galapagos is pretty costly! Some of them may be able to offer you some sort of exchange /internship where you help out in the office in exchange for joining a DM class that they may already have up and running. (I did this myself many many years ago!) Keep in mind that as a DM, you will not be able to work in Galapagos (as well as because of Visa and immigration rules) as the Galapagos Marine Reserve dictates that these positions go to permanent residents of the islands along with Galapagos Marine Reserve trained guides.
Good luck!

 

[heiko1212]

Hi! You should try contacting the dive companies in Galapagos directly. I would start out with Scuba Iguana and Red Mangrove, and maybe even Sub Aqua. Check the prices of doing your Dive Master course out there with each one, as the diving in galapagos is pretty costly! Some of them may be able to offer you some sort of exchange /internship where you help out in the office in exchange for joining a DM class that they may already have up and running. (I did this myself many many years ago!) Keep in mind that as a DM, you will not be able to work in Galapagos (as well as because of Visa and immigration rules) as the Galapagos Marine Reserve dictates that these positions go to permanent residents of the islands along with Galapagos Marine Reserve trained guides.
Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. I have sent email to Scuba Iguana but yet no reply at this moment. I will also contact Red Mangrove and Sub Aqua as options too!
What does you mean about "as a DM, you will not be able to work in Galapagos ..."? Do you mean I can only help out in their office but not the boat / dive work if I even take the divemaster there?

 

[Mossman]

Also, while Galapagos might be a paradise for visiting divers, it's probably not the optimal place to work as a DM. Conditions can be less than optimal (cold water, strong currents, rough surface) so dive mastering will be more strenuous than in some tropical locale. If I had your agenda, I'd combine the Spanish instruction and DM class somewhere where the water is warmer and the work restrictions on foreigners are less severe, say Cozumel?

 

[heiko1212]

Also, while Galapagos might be a paradise for visiting divers, it's probably not the optimal place to work as a DM. Conditions can be less than optimal (cold water, strong currents, rough surface) so dive mastering will be more strenuous than in some tropical locale. If I had your agenda, I'd combine the Spanish instruction and DM class somewhere where the water is warmer and the work restrictions on foreigners are less severe, say Cozumel?

I had your thought before in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel or Bays Island, but why Galapagos? Besides it's a paradise, I usually think that diving 100 times in rough water would improve me more than 200 times in clam water, do you think so? Darwin & Wolf is also a dream place for every diver, is there any chance for me to go there in a easier and cheaper way if I'm in Galapagos? I don't know, please advise too!

Of course, it's just my initial plan, I also have to compare the cost and terms of the course in Galapagos. So I welcome all opinions here, thanks everyone!

 

[Mossman]

It may be a paradise in the Genesis/Garden of Eden sense in that it's definitely a source of endemic creatures. But paradise in the sense of white sand beaches and mai tais and softly breaking clear warm water waves, it's usually not. Yes, 100 dives in the Galapagos would improve your skills more than 200 dives in clam water but if you're working the dives, you'll make twice as much with 200 dives than 100 dives and it will be easier, hence much more paradisical. No, you won't get to Wolf or Darwin by DMing in Puerto Ayora, and it sounds like it's near impossible to get a gig on a liveaboard that makes the dives up there because you're not a resident of the Galapagos.

I really like the town of Puerto Ayora, from a tourist's point of view. If you're serious about working and learning Spanish, however, I don't recommend you do it in such a remote place. Get your 200 dives in at PDC or Cozumel, become fluent in Spanish, then try to get a short-term gig in the Galapagos if you can. Entry level for foreigners, it ain't.

 

[heiko1212]

Thank you! PDC, Cozumel or Bays Island?

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

To work in Galapagos, you must either have residency or a work permit. To get a work permit, local businesses must first advertise the position on the radio to see if it can be filled by a local resident. If there is no local for the job, then you might get it, but first you have to get your Ecuador work permit and later your Galapagos work permit. To get residency, either you, your parents or your grandparents must either have been born there or you were living there before 1998 or you marry someone from the Galapagos. It's possible that the new law could pass before the end of 2011 limiting visitors visas to 30 days. There are regular check points by the authorities to make sure all have their papers in order. Even Ecuadorians are regularly deported.

And no, working from a land-based operation won't give you an in to get a trip up to Darwin and Wolf at a discount...well, very, very rarely. The liveaboards don't have offices in the Galapagos. To be a DM in the Galapagos, even on land-based trips, you not only need the work permit, but now, you either need to be a Marine Reserve Guide (of which there are around 40 though hundreds of DMs due to the fact that the Park hasn't offered the course in the last 8+ years) or the operator must have a Naturalist Guide onboard to compensate for the lack of Marine Reserve Guide. Most don't want to pay for both...it's already very expensive to operate there with all of the legal operators now at around $200 for a two tank dive. To work on boats out there, you also have to have your 'matricula' authorizing you to work at sea. This is issued by the Ecuadorian Navy.

So, it's pretty tricky in the Galapagos.

 

[heiko1212]

To work in Galapagos, you must either have residency or a work permit. To get a work permit, local businesses must first advertise the position on the radio to see if it can be filled by a local resident. If there is no local for the job, then you might get it, but first you have to get your Ecuador work permit and later your Galapagos work permit. To get residency, either you, your parents or your grandparents must either have been born there or you were living there before 1998 or you marry someone from the Galapagos. It's possible that the new law could pass before the end of 2011 limiting visitors visas to 30 days. There are regular check points by the authorities to make sure all have their papers in order. Even Ecuadorians are regularly deported.

And no, working from a land-based operation won't give you an in to get a trip up to Darwin and Wolf at a discount...well, very, very rarely. The liveaboards don't have offices in the Galapagos. To be a DM in the Galapagos, even on land-based trips, you not only need the work permit, but now, you either need to be a Marine Reserve Guide (of which there are around 40 though hundreds of DMs due to the fact that the Park hasn't offered the course in the last 8+ years) or the operator must have a Naturalist Guide onboard to compensate for the lack of Marine Reserve Guide. Most don't want to pay for both...it's already very expensive to operate there with all of the legal operators now at around $200 for a two tank dive. To work on boats out there, you also have to have your 'matricula' authorizing you to work at sea. This is issued by the Ecuadorian Navy.

So, it's pretty tricky in the Galapagos.

Thanks! Most probably I have to give up this idea, unless I marry someon from Galapagos,
Maybe it's better for me to switch my traget into Mexico, Costa Rica or Honduras!

 

[Mossman]

Thank you! PDC, Cozumel or Bays Island?

Of the three, Cozumel is an easy winner to me. The Bay Islands might be cheaper, but you have to worry about malaria there, the islands aren't as safe, and I preferred the diving in Cozumel by a vast margin. PDC is just across the channel from Cozumel, but the diving isn't as good from what I hear (haven't personally tried it since I've heard it's not as good, but I have dove Puerto Morelos and Cancun and they definitely weren't as good as Cozumel).