Galaxy 8 Days - Itinerary D

Arrival at Santa Cruz Airport and short bus ride to the harbor to get onboard Galaxy I Yacht. After lunch,  a visit Charles Darwin Station. Return to the yacht and dinner.

Full itinerary map here: http://bit.ly/galaxy-8-days-d

In the morning, you will disembark at Moreno Point located at the north coast of Isabela, between volcanoes Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul, where you will go through a trail of solidified lava until a coastal lagoon where you will see several species of birds. Then, you heqd to Elizabeth Bay. You will visit the Marielas islets, and see the most important penguin colony and a cove that is surrounded by red mangroves and observe seas turtles, flightless cormorants, spotted eagle rays, brown pelicans and sea lions. After these activities head back to the yacht for dinner and rest.

After breakfast you will go to Urbina Bay, one of the recent examples of geological uplift in the Galapagos, where seasonally is a nesting area for many tortoises and Galapagos Penguins, flightless cormorants and brown pelicans. In the afternoon, you will visit Tagus Cove in Isabela Island, for a hike to the top of a cliff to view the volcanic landscapes of Darwin Volcano and Darwin Lake. 

Early in the morning, you will head to Espinoza Point at Fernandina Island, which is one of the youngest islands with the most active volcano, where you can spot pelicans, marine iguanas and flightless cormorants. In the afternoon, we visit Point Albemarle on Isabela Island, which used to be an important radar station for the US to prevent any Japanese attempt of destroying the Panama Canal. Now abandoned, this place is inhabited by marine iguanas and flightless cormorants.r.

Early in the morning, you will visit Port Egas, a beach located at the west side of Santiago Island, its main attractive is its black sand beach, where you can also see Galapagos Fur Seals, Galapagos Hawks, and salt water lagoons where flamingos can be seen. After lunch, head to Espumilla Beach in James Bay, where you can see playful sea lions, fur seals and various species of seabirds. This is also a good place to snorkel. End of the activities and dinner onboard.

After breakfast you will head to Dragon Hill at Santa Cruz Island, where you can walk through a trail that leads to a hyper-saline lagoon, that is frequently visited by flamingos, pintail ducks and other species of birds. After lunch, you will take a dinghy ride through Black Turtle Cove, where you can find 4 species of mangrove, and where you will spot turtles, herons, sharks and rays. End of the activities and dinner onboard.

Early start after landing at Rabida Island, where a red sand beach waits for you. You will take an excursion through a short trail to a water lagoon, home to waging flamingos. You will also visit a Palo Santo Forest. After lunch, head to Chinese Hat, a small islet located near the south-east coast of Santiago. It’s shaped like a Chinese hat when seen from afar. In this place you will see lava formations and lava flows. After this activity, head back to the yacht for dinner.

Today´s activity will be the visit to North Seymour to see the various species of birdlife that inhabit there, like blue footed boobies and frigate birds. After this visit, you will be transferred to the airport to take your flight back to the continent.