Galapagos: 5-day cruise to discover the treasure of the archipelago

Day 1 : Quito Airport

Welcome to Ecuador !

A proverb says *Traveling leaves you speechless at first, before turning you into a storyteller*

… Let the adventure start in the country of the middle of the world ! Chulla vida ! You will take a flight of about 2 hours from Quito to Baltra.

Day 2 : Darwin Bay

GENOVESA (Darwin Bay – El Barranco)

*AM*: Darwin Bay has its origin when the crater of this island collapsed below sea level. The wet landing is on a beautiful white coral sandy beach. This is a favorite island for birdwatchers: red footed-booby, masked boobies, wandering tattlers, lava gulls, whimbrels, yellow-crowned, and black-crowned lava herons, and yellow warblers can be seen in the area. Continuing on the trail, visitors climb gradually to the edge of the cliff seeing red-footed boobies nesting in the mangrove trees below. Bird watching includes sightings of sharpbeaked finches, large cactus and ground finches, Galapagos doves, and swallow-tailed gulls. Reaching the end the trail at the cliff’s edge offers an incredible view of the island and the many birds living there.

*PM*: El Barranco is located in the southern part of Darwin Bay on Genovesa Island. The trail is on volcanic rock that has a length of 1.5 km and the tour can be done in about 2 hours. The youngest area of the island, from a geological point of view, lies in this area. The cliffs located in the south are composed of very fragile lava. The natural erosion that has occurred in these lava flows has become the ideal place for nesting Storm Petrels. You can see two species of petrels that nest in cavities and holes in the lava. One of its main predators is the short-eared owl. The red-footed boobies nests only in the outer islands of the archipelago, Punta Pitt, Gardner (Floreana), Wolf, Darwin and Genovesa. Also present on this island is the masked booby. During the panga rides along the cliffs fur sea lions can be seen and several species of seabirds.

Day 3 : Plazas South

SOUTH PLAZAS – SANTE FE

*AM*: South Plazas is located at the east of Santa Cruz Island, and forms part of two islands known as Islas Plazas. Despite its small size, some of the most interesting and outstanding species of the Galapagos are found here. The Plazas land iguanas are smaller than its relatives found at other islands. Throughout the island are several hybrid iguanas, a result of crossing a male marine iguana and a female land iguana, they are unique, recognizable at first glance by their black/gray color, with a land iguana’s crest, but face and tail of the marine iguana. The big population of iguanas is due to the presence of tunas, their favorite food. Swallow tailed gulls nesting in the rugged cliffs are seen along with other sea birds as: audubon shearwaters, red-billed tropicbirds, frigate birds, and brown pelicans.

*PM*: Santa Fe is located in the southeastern part of the Galapagos, this island was formed from an uplift instead than a volcanic origin, this is why is mostly flat. There are some theories which assure this could be the oldest island in the Archipelago. Santa Fe is the home of a number of endemic species like the Galapagos hawk, Galapagos snake, Galapagos mockingbird, rice rats, and one of the two species of lands Iguanas of the islands. After disembarking in the beautiful and clear waters you will be in contact with one of the many sea lion colonies. Along the trail many salt bushes can be seen as well giant pickly pear cactus, gigantism is a characteristic of oceanic islands. There are great possibilities of snorkeling with playful sea lions and tropical fishes.

Day 4 : Punta Pitt

SAN CRISTOBAL (Punta Pitt – Kicker Rock)

*AM* : Pitt Point is on the north of San Cristobal. Here there are endemic species such as lava lizards and red-footed boobies. The view is impressive when you walk up to the high part of the island. You may be lucky to see the red footed booby – the least seen of the bunch. It’s also the home of the Chatham mockingbird, only found here on San Cristobal Island.

*PM*: Kicker Rock is also known as the Sleeping Lion (take your time to look for its resemblance). It is located off the coast of San Cristobal., at the north. The remains of a lava cone eroded by the sea, the two vertical rocks rising 500 feet from the ocean form a small channel that is navigable by small boats. This Galapagos Islands natural spot has become a favorite one for cruises due to the many tropical birds, frigates and boobies that fill the area. Beneath the sea the nearly crystal waters offer a brilliant show of colorful tropical fish and invertebrates, with tortoises ans sharks.

On the return back to the harbour, you will stop at Lobos Island. There is a trail of about 850 meters that can be walked along by one hour. You shall observe a small population of blue-footed boobies and common frigate birds nesting on this site. As well as two species of sea lions present in the archipelago. During the tour you go through a dry vegetation zone, substrate of volcanic rocks and a sandy area. During the panga tour brown pelicans and several species of shorebirds can be observed; although, snorkeling, it’s common to see juvenile sea lions, manta rays and sea turtles.

Day 5 : San Cristobal

Domestic flight San Cristobal – Guayaquil. Free connection with your international flight.