Galapagos Cruise - Letty

The Galapagos Islands, six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador, forged of black lava and named for the giant tortoises that are among its most noted inhabitants, are like nowhere else in the world. Home to a profuse array of wildlife, the islands offer an immersion in nature that feels primeval, where lizards and penguins and blue-footed boobies share the beaches with you, unconcerned by your presence. On this adventure, a team of highly experienced expedition leaders are your guides for eleven days of active exploration, including a special opportunity to camp in the highlands on Santa Cruz Island!

Itinerary

Day 7: Bartolome Island

Spend your morning on Bartolome. Most likely the first of the islands to rise from the sea, Bartolomé is a small island that has beautiful white sand beaches and luxuriant green mangroves. Here, penguins may join you at the white sand swimming beach, and a hike to the summit of a once-active volcano rewards you with beautiful panoramic views of the often-photographed Pinnacle Rock. The other side of the island reveals sea turtles and white-tipped sharks.

This afternoon, visit the island of North Seymour. North Seymour is an uplifted (as opposed to volcanic) island, and so is generally flat and strewn with boulders. Here, there are good nesting sites for a large population of magnificent frigate birds. Blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance in the more open areas, and swallow-tailed gulls perch on the cliff edges. Despite the tremendous surf that can pound the outer shore, sea lions haul out onto the beach and can be found together with marine iguanas.

Those who wish to participate in the camping opportunity will disembark at Itabeca Canal and be transferred to the remote highlands of Santa Cruz for the night. Your private campsite is tucked away among lush vegetation that attracts gigante tortuga, or giant tortoise, and offers views of the ocean. This evening you will camp beneath the stars, an experience of a lifetime. A bus will pick you up in the morning to rejoin the group for the day's activities.

Day 2: Quito

Today, enjoy a visit to the famed Otavalo Marketplace, which is at its peak on Saturdays. For those who choose, a city tour of Quito is available as an alternative to the market. This evening, gather at approximately 7:00pm for an orientation and welcome dinner. Overnight at the Hilton Colon.

Day 5: Isabala Island / Fernandina Island

This morning, visit Fernandina, the youngest and most active volcano in the archipelago, with eruptions taking place every few years. The flat lava of Punta Espinosa offers a stark and barren landscape, but here flightless cormorants build their nests on the point, sea lions sprawl on the beach or play in the tide pools and large numbers of marine iguanas dot the sand. Be on the lookout for whales and dolphins as you pass through the Bolivar Canal en route to Tagus Cove on the island of Isabela, the largest in the Galapagos, where six volcanoes flowed together. You discover saltwater lagoons, graffiti dating back to the 1800s and lovely ocean views. Explore the cove by panga or sea kayaks to observe penguins, pelicans and other seabirds.

Day 10: San Cristobal Island / Return to Quito

San Cristobal is the easternmost and one of the oldest islands of the archipelago, and is comprised of ancient volcanic peaks in the north and lush vegetation in the south. The ship drops anchor in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the second largest settlement area in the islands and the capital of the providence of Galapagos, where you visit the impressive Interpretation Center, which opened in 1999. Here, gain a more complete understanding of the natural and human history of the islands. You may have some free time today to spend at your leisure in town.

This afternoon, bid farewell to the Galapagos Islands and board your flight back to Quito. Upon arrival in Quito, you are met and transferred to your hotel where you spend the rest of the day at your leisure.

Day 3: Quito to Galapagos Islands / San Cristobal Island

This morning, depart for the 3-hour flight to the island of San Cristóbal in the Galapagos. Upon arrival in San Cristobal, you meet your Expedition Leader(s), board your yacht and embark on your journey!

At Playa Ochoa, disembark to find a long, beautiful white sand beach with a short trail leading to a tidal lagoon that is frequented by flamingos, finches, and the Chatham mockingbird. Here, you have your first opportunity to snorkel with a small colony of sea lions and sea turtles. At sunset, cruise around Kicker Rock (known as ?Leon Dormido,? as it is shaped liked a sleeping lion) ? a vertical tuff cone formation that abruptly juts up almost 500 feet out of the ocean. The rock is split in two, with towering vertical walls on either side, forming a narrow channel through which small vessels can navigate. On the cliffs, look for blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies and frigate birds.

Day 4: Genovesa Island

On your way to Genovesa Island, the most northeastern part of the archipelago, you may encounter dolphins, whales and immature red-footed boobies, which sometimes land on the boat?s railings and lines to hitch a free ride home.

The island of Genovesa is a collapsed volcano, and ships are able to sail directly into its large breached caldera to anchor at the foot of the steep crater walls. Genovesa attracts vast numbers of pelagic seabirds that come here to nest and breed. This morning, explore a trail known as ?Prince Philip?s Steps,? which leads you to an open area popular with frigate birds and red-footed and Nazca boobies. At the end of this trail are thousands of band-rumped storm petrels at the cliff?s edge, where they nest in crevices. Short-eared owls can also sometimes be seen, hunting the storm petrels during daylight hours. After lunch, you may paddle in sea kayaks along the shoreline and swim with the sea lions.

This afternoon, land at Darwin Bay, which is a caldera of an extinct, partially eroded volcano with the surrounding cliffs forming the inner portion of the rim. Here, follow along a trail that leads from a coral beach, past tidal lagoons where lava gulls and yellow-crowned night herons are seen. Continue on to a forest of optuntia cactus and mangroves where magnificent frigate birds nest. Here you can swim from the beach with sea lions.

Day 6: Santiago Island

This morning visit Puerto Egas to search the tide pools for octopus, starfish, and other sea life. During low tide, you may also see marine iguanas feeding on exposed algae, and birdlife abounds with glimpses of great blue herons, lava herons, oystercatchers, and yellow-crowned night herons. This afternoon, visit the island known as Sombrero Chino?or Chinese Hat?located off the southern tip of Santiago. This small uprising boasts a primeval landscape of volcanic rubble and lava tubes. The island is home to sea lion colonies as well as marine iguanas and pairs of oystercatchers.

Day 9: Espanola Island

One of the oldest of the islands, Hood is small and flat with no visible volcanic crater or vent. Located on the western tip of the island, one of the world?s densest and most diversified concentrations of wildlife is found at Punta Suarez. The area is famous for its marine iguanas with unique copper-red patches, swallow-tailed gulls, lava lizards, finches, long-billed mockingbirds, blue-footed and Nazca boobies and oystercatchers. When heavy swells are running, Punta Suarez is also the site of a spectacular blowhole, with thundering spray shooting 30 yards into the air.

Gardner Bay, located on the eastern shore, hosts a magnificent beach frequented by a transient colony of sea lions and is a major nesting site for marine turtles. Around the small islets nearby, snorkelers will find many fish and possibly turtles and sharks. On a trail leading to the western tip of the island, you pass the only nesting sites in the Galapagos of the waved albatross. These huge birds nest here from April to December and represent the majority of the world?s population.

Day 11: Depart Quito

Transportation is provided to the airport for return flights home or for excursions into the Amazon Basin rainforest or Machu Picchu.

Day 8: Santa Cruz Island

This morning, visit Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz?s main population center of about 10,000 people. Journey by bus into the highlands to Los Gemelos , two deep pit craters situated in the Scalesia forest that host a variety of interesting birdlife. Here, you may go for a walk through the giant lava tubes and visit the Tortoise Reserve to search for giant tortoises in their natural surroundings.

In the afternoon, visit the world-famous Charles Darwin Research Station. The research center aids the National Park Service in its efforts to save the Galapagos wildlife; the museum at the station has a facility for rearing tortoises, a project to increase the depleted population. During your tour, observe ?feeding day? and have the opportunity to see the famed ?Lonesome George.?

Day 1: Arrive Quito

Upon your arrival in Quito, you meet your local representative at the airport and transfer to the Hilton Colon, located in Quito?s central district. Dinner is on your own this evening.