Upon arrival in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (SCY) SAN CRISTOBAL Island, our guides will be waiting to escort you to your expedition yacht. After a short ride by bus to the dock, and by Zodiac to the yacht anchored in the bay, you’ll be shown your cabin and treated to a delicious lunch. There will be a welcome briefing and a brief safety drill afterward you can chose your snorkel equipment and wet suit for the week. You’ll have time to settle in after lunch before the yacht leaves the harbor. Within a few hours, we reach Leon Dormido, (Spanish for sleeping lion), a remnant of a vertical tuff cone formation, rising 500 feet from the ocean. Erosion has split the rock providing a spectacular backdrop for photographs at sunset. As we circumnavigate the formation, you’ll easily spot blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and frigatebirds on the cliffs. After a briefing on activities for the following day, join our Captain and crew for a cocktail reception. An elegant multi-course dinner, prepared by our accomplished chefs is served.
Early in the morning, you will land at Prince Phillip’s Steps at Genovesa Island, where you will spot red-footed boobies and a Palo Santo trees forest. There are also Nazca boobies and storm petrels. After this visit, return to the yacht for a BBQ lunch. Then you will go to Darwin Bay, and be amazed by a coral sand beach and see the swallow-tailed and lava gulls that live here. You can also spot Great frigate birds, inflating the pouch on their chests to attract the female. You can relax at the beach or swim with sea lions. Return to the yacht for a briefing and dinner followed by a sky full of stars.
After breakfast, head to Bachas beach, Spanish translation for “barges” for one that was left here during WWII. This is a long white sand beach, with an interior lagoon where you can spot flamingos, pelicans, white-cheeked pintail ducks, stilts and iguanas. You can also snorkel from the shore. Then you will return to the yacht for lunch and after this, you will head to Dragon Hill for a majestic view of the bay and to visit the island trail to see flora species like opuntia cactus and palo santo. You will spot Galapagos flycatchers, yellow warblers, shearwaters and endemic land iguanas. After these activities return to the yacht for dinner and rest.
First activity of the day will be taking a zodiac ride to Vicente Roca Point. You can also snorkel at this spot, and see penguins diving playfully in the water. Look for sea turtles beneath the surface, and after lunch, you can relax at the sundeck while enjoy the scenery at Bolivar Chanel, where you might see whales or dolphins. In the afternoon you will disembark at Urbina Bay on Isabela Island, product of a dramatic uplift produced by a volcanic eruption in 1954. Here you can see Galapagos land and marine iguanas, Darwin finches, brown pelicans, and flightless cormorant at this spot.
After breakfast, head to Espinosa Point on Fernandina Island, the most pristine and young island in the archipelago. You can spot sea lions at the beach, hundreds of marine iguanas, and nests of flightless cormorants, that stay close to the shore. After lunch, you will head to Tagus Cove, a place that used to be a favorite anchorage for pirates and whalers in past centuries. This place is covered with graffiti they used to leave here. You can explore this places’ shoreline by kayak or stand up paddle board, while searching for Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, blue/ footed and Nazca boobies. You can also snorkel at this spot.
Early in the morning, you will visit you will disembark on Rabida Island, a red sand beach, due to the high iron content in the volcanic shores. You can visit a salt water lagoon here, where you may spot flamingos. You can also snorkel from the shore while spotting sea lions and rays. After lunch, your schedule depends on your yacht. Guests on the Origin will take a zodiac excursion to Black Turtle Cove, through a series of peaceful coves and inlets surrounded by mangroves, whose large roots rise out of the water, and where you can spot various species like white tipped reef sharks, and golden cow nosed rays. Guests on the Theory will visit Egas Port on Santiago Island, where you’ll stroll along the shoreline looking for octopus, starfish and other sea life caught in the tide pools. Watch for great blue herons, lava herons, American Oystercatchers, and yellow-crowned night herons. At low tide, catch a glimpse of marine iguanas as they feed on exposed green algae. During mating season, green and red algae give the usually black marine iguanas beautiful coloration. The walk ends at the grottos, deep pools of clear water where you’ll encounter fur sea lions once on the verge of extinction. Before returning to the yacht, take the opportunity to snorkel from the beach. As the yacht sails after lunch, take a seat on deck to view the dramatic landscape and dolphins often spotted here. After these activities, return to the vessel for dinner and a special presentation by your guides.
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Early morning visit to the breeding center (Charles Darwin Station), where we learn about ongoing conservation efforts from exhibits set up along the wooden trail. You’ll see hatchlings and miniature tortoises that will be repatriated by the National Park when grown. The newest exhibit honors Lonesome George, the last surviving tortoise from Pinta Island that tragically died of natural causes. With his species now extinct, Lonesome George has become a worldwide icon, emphasizing the importance of efforts to preserve and protect endangered wildlife. A more hopeful story is Diego, a saddleback tortoise whose species was reduced to 14 individuals before he was transported from the San Diego Zoo and who has since fathered hundreds of descendants. VIP private Transfer to Baltra airport from Puerto Ayora with a guide.
NOTE: For guests who require a private transfer to the airport with a guide, there is an additional charge of $50 per person or $200 maximum. Departing passengers are transferred by private vehicle, accompanied by one of our guides or a local guide to the Itabaca canal, followed by a 10-minute ferry crossing, then a 15 minute bus ride to the Baltra airport for check in for your flight departing at 10AM or 1PM. The return flight from Baltra will incur an additional fee of $27 per person and is subject to availability and confirmation is requested at the time of booking. For guests who disembark on Saturday and remain in Puerto Ayora, you may disembark after breakfast, and we can provide transportation to the main dock by Zodiac at no charge. You will need to arrange for a transfer to your hotel through the hotel or take a taxi
Breakfast
