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Day 2
Monday Morning: Hood (Española) Island—Punta
Suarez
Punta Suarez is one of the most outstanding wildlife
areas of the archipelago, with a long list of species
found along its cliffs and sand or pebble beaches.
In addition to five species of nesting seabirds there
are the curious and bold Hood Island mockingbirds,
Galapagos doves and Galapagos hawks. Several types
of reptiles, including the brilliantly colored marine
iguana and the oversized lava lizard, are unique to
this island. When heavy swells are running, Punta
Suarez is also the site of a spectacular blowhole,
with thundering spray shooting 30 yards into the air.
Monday Afternoon: Hood (Española)
Island—Gardner Bay
One of the oldest of the islands, Hood is small and
flat with no visible volcanic crater or vent. Gardner
Bay is on the eastern shore and has a magnificent
beach. This beach is 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 lots of fish and sometimes turtles and sharks.
On a trail leading to the western tip of the island
you'll pass the only nesting sites in the Galapagos
of the waved albatross, huge birds with a 6-foot wingspan.
These huge birds nest here from April to December
and represent the majority of the world’s population
of this species.
Day 3
Tuesday: Floreana (Santa Maria, Charles) Island -
Devil's Crown - Punta Cormorant - Post Office Bay
Punta Cormorant offers two highly contrasting beaches;
the landing beach is of volcanic origin and is composed
of olivine crystals, giving it a greenish tinge. At
the end of the short trail is a carbonate beach of
very fine white sand, formed by the erosion of coral
skeletons; it is a nesting site for green sea turtles.
Between these two beaches is a salt lagoon frequented
by flamingoes, pintails, stilts, and other wading
birds. An old eroded volcanic cone called Devil's
Crown is a popular roosting site for seabirds such
as boobies, pelicans, and frigates and it is not uncommon
to see red-billed tropicbirds in rocky crevices. The
center of the crown is an outstanding snorkeling spot
full of sea lions and colorful fish.
An old eroded volcanic cone called Devil's Crown
is a popular roosting site for seabirds such as boobies,
pelicans, and frigates and it is not uncommon to see
red-billed tropicbirds in rocky crevices. The center
of Devil's Crown is an outstanding snorkeling spot
full of sea lions and colorful fish.
Day 4
Wednesday Morning: Santa Cruz Island—Highlands
The lush greenery of the Santa Cruz Highlands is a
definite contrast with the arid scenery of the smaller,
lower islands. A point of interest is the famed lava
tunnels, a fun and geologically informative visit.
The trip to the highlands ends with a visit to the
Twin Craters.
Wednesday Afternoon: Santa Cruz (Indefatigable)
Island—Puerto Ayora Town
Santa Cruz is the only inhabited island to be visited
during this Galapagos cruise. Puerto Ayora, with a
population of about 10,000 people is the location
of the Charles Darwin Research Station, world famous
for its tortoise breeding programs. After touring
the Station, journey by bus into the highlands to
Los Gemelos the two deep pit craters situated in the
Scalesia forest with lots of interesting bird life.
Go for a walk through the giant lava tubes, visit
the Tortoise Reserve to search for giant tortoises
in their natural surroundings. There will be some
free time to explore the town of Puerto Ayora on your
own.
Day 5
Thursday Morning: Tower (Genovesa) Island—Prince
Philip’s Steps
A second trail called Prince Philip Steps, leads to
an open area for masked boobies, frigates, and red-footed
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 sometimes
be seen here, hunting the storm petrels during daylight
hours.
Thursday Afternoon: Tower (Genovesa)
Island—Darwin Bay Beach
Tower is a collapsed volcano and ships sail directly
into its large breached caldera to anchor at the foot
of the steep crater walls. Tower attracts vast numbers
of pelagic seabirds that come here to nest and breed:
great frigate birds, red-footed boobies, swallow-tailed
gulls and storm petrels. A trail leads from a coral
beach past tidal lagoons where lava gulls and yellow-crowned
night herons are seen, then along the low shrubs populated
by frigates and boobies, and eventually to a cliff
edge where seabirds soar.
Day 6
Friday Morning: Isabela (Albemarle) Island—Punta
Vicente Roca
Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos islands, looks
a bit like a sea horse facing toward the west. Located
at the ‘mouth’ of the head of the sea
horse, which forms the northern part of the islands,
is Punta Vicente Roca, Here the remnants of an ancient
volcano form two turquoise coves with a bay well protected
from the ocean swells. The spot is a popular anchorage
from which to take panga rides along the cliff that
are the remains of the volcano or explore a partially
sunken cave at the water’s edge. Masked and
blue-footed boobies sit perched along the point and
the sheer cliffs, while flightless cormorants inhabit
the shoreline.
The upwelling of coldwater currents
in this part of the Galapagos, give rise to an abundance
of marine life which, in combination with the protection
of the coves, make Punta Vicente Roca one of the archipelago’s
sough after dive spots. One cove is only accessible
from the sea by way of an underwater passage. The
passage opens to calm waters of the hidden cove where
sea lions like to laze on the beach having traveled
along the underwater route. The entire area of Punta
Vicente Roca lies on the flank of 2,600 foot Volcano
Ecuador. This is the island’s sixth largest
volcano. Half of Volcano Ecuador slid into the ocean
leaving a spectacular cutaway view of the volcanic
caldera.
Friday Afternoon: Fernandina (Narborough)
Island—Punta Espinosa
Fernandina is the youngest and most active volcano
in the Galapagos 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
marine iguanas dot the sand.
Day 7
Saturday Morning: Santiago (San Salvador, James) Island
— James Bay
This island has several sites to visit at the western
end of James Bay. Puerto Egas with its black sand
beaches was the site of small salt mining industry
in the 1960s and a hike inland to the salt crater
is an excellent opportunity to sight land birds such
as finches, doves, and hawks. A walk down the rugged
shoreline, especially at low tide, will turn up many
marine species as iguanas basking on the rocks and
sea lions lazing in the tide pools. At the end of
the trail there is a series of grottoes or sea caves
where fur seals and night herons are found resting
on shady ledges. Just north of James Bay is Buccaneer
Cove, a particularly scenic area of steep cliffs and
dark beaches.
Saturday Afternoon: Bartolome (Bartholomew)
Island
Bartolome is a small island that has beautiful white
sand beaches, luxuriant green mangroves and a colony
of penguins. Activities will include swimming and
snorkeling and a climb to the summit of the island
for one of the most breathtaking views in all the
Galapagos. From the summit you will have the best
view of the often-photographed Pinnacle Rock.
Day 8
Sunday Morning: San Cristobal - Isla Lobos - Departure
Isla Lobos means Sea-Lion Island, and the name is
certainly appropriate because the frolic, leap and
make a racket here. Isla Lobos is located North of
San Cristóbal, 1 hour across a small channel.
It is also a nesting place for blue-footed boobies
and a good place for snorkeling; an early panga ride
will be offer.
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