Day 1: San Cristobal Airport - Breeding Center David Rodriguez (San Cristobal Island)
As soon as our visitors arrive at San Cristobal airport, personnel of the Galapagos National Park will check your luggage in order to avoid the introduction of foreign plants or animals to the Islands. An entrance fee of $ 100 must be paid to them. Passengers are received by our naturalist guide and taken on a five-minute bus drive to the pier, to board the Galapagos Sea Star Travel.
In the afternoon, we will visit the David Rodriguez giant tortoises breeding center also known as “La Galapaguera”. Here the tortoises wander in a semi-natural habitat, which will be perfect for a photography. It will be the only chance to observe this emblematic species. Along the trail you will be able to see: San Cristobal mockingbirds, lava lizards, Darwin finches, yellow warblers and Scalesia trees, which are endemic from the Galapagos.
Day 2: Suarez Point (Española Island) - Gardner Bay, (Española Island)
This is one of the highlights of our cruise. At the moment of arrival at the pier we will be received by a welcome committee
of marine iguanas and sea lions. We will meet the biggest bird of the archipelago, the large Waved albatross, which use the
edge of the cliff to start the fly. Suarez Point seems to have everything: Nazca boobies, endemic lizards, gulls, Darwin finches,
Galapagos hawks, endemic mockingbirds, Galapagos doves and even a dramatic blow hole.
One of the most beautiful beaches in all of Galapagos, is located on the north-eastern coast of Española, Gardner Bay has a white sandy coral beach giving us the chance to observe one of the biggest colonies of Galapagos sea lions. We will see Española mockingbirds, they enjoy flying around the visitors. After our excursion we can also snorkel from the beach, in the shallow waters of the bay or relax and enjoy the landscape.
Day 3: Cormorant Point, Devil’s Crown (Floreana Island) - Post Office & Baroness Lookout (Floreana Island)
After a wet landing, we will walk on an olivine green sanded beach. Our walk is going from the beach through the vegetation (white and black mangrove, holly stick, endemic Scalesia villosa), to get the first viewpoint to look for the famous flamingos, common stilts, white-checked pintail ducks and other migratory birds. The other trail goes to another beautiful white sandy beach, where the Green Pacific Sea Turtles are come for nesting during the breeding season. It is not permitted to walk in the water due to the Sting Rays that may be hiding in the sand. Occasionally we observe small reef sharks along the shoreline. Deep water snorkel is another optional activity around the Devil’s Crown which is a volcanic natural formation where we have the chance to see white-tipped reef sharks, reef
fish such as parrot, trumped, puffer, king angel, surgeon fish and occasionally Galapagos sea lions.
Located on the north side of Floreana, the Post Office Bay was named because in 1973 Captain James Colnett installed a wooden barrel which served as an informal post office for sailors passing through, who would take letters with them back to their destinations. Today, visitors continue the tradition by placing unstamped postcards inside the barrel, hoping that some other traveler, going to
the letter destination, will take it back for free. We will have a wet landing on a greenish beach for a short walk to visit the Post Office Barrel, we will walk back to the beach for snorkeling in the shallow waters, good opportunity to observe marine turtles and sting rays.
Our next optional activity will be in the Baroness Bay, where we can kayak and see a great scenery with mangrove
trees and volcanic natural formations.
Day 4: Santa Fe Island - South Plazas (Plazas Island)
We will have a wet landing on one of the two white sand beaches where a big colony of sea lions are in the area with alfa males fighting to get a harem, there is an interior path through the island with an endemic cactus forest (Barringtonensis). Santa Fe land iguanas (Conolophus pallidus), Galapagos hawk, Galapagos snakes, rice rats (one of the few endemic Galapagos rodents), a variety of finches and one of the four mockingbird species of the archipelago. Two more additional activities kayak or snorkeling off the zodiac in the turquoise water, good view for sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, sea lions and white-tipped reef sharks and colorful fish.
There are two Plaza Islets (north and south) located east of Santa Cruz Island. After a dry landing, the path is going along an
impressive cactus forest where colorful yellow land iguanas live, it is estimated a population around 300 individuals; during
the dry season they survive on fruits and flowers of the opuntia cacti.
South Plaza Island is the only place on Galapagos where we find hybrid iguanas (sea and land), with very sharp claws making
easy to climb up to reach the fruits of the cacti. During the cool dry season walking along the edge of the cliff we observe
red-billed tropicbirds, blue footed and Nazca boobies, brown pelicans, swallow tailed gulls and frigates flying around. At the
end of this path, we find a bachelor sea lion colony area; at the same time the greenish and yellowish vegetation (sesuvium
edmonstonei plant) changes color creating a bright red landscape.
Day 5: North Seymour Island - Bachas Beach (Santa Cruz Island)
One of the uplifted islands of Galapagos: North Seymour, is a small flat island has the perfect conditions for a nesting site for
the two species of frigate birds (great and magnificent) that coexist in the Islands. Frigate birds are the only marine sea birds
in Galapagos that they lost the capability to plunge in the water because they don’t produce enough oil to cover all of their plumage and that enables them to float; for this reason they need to steel the food from the others seabirds, getting the “pirates of
the air” nickname. Here is the only place all year around the courting dance, especially males displaying the bright red gular
sack to get a female attention. Blue footed boobies, land iguanas, sea lions, swallow tailed gulls, Darwin finches and lava
lizards we will encounter along the trail of our excursion, and on a lucky day, you might even come across a Galapagos Snake.
After a wet landing on a white coral sandy beach which is one of the most important nesting areas for Green Sea
Turtles they arrive usually after 6 pm, the trail is about 500 meters long divided in two sections, at the end of the trail
we can find a small brackish lagoon where usually flamingos and shore birds such as whimbrels, black necked stilts,
plovers, herons, white cheeked pintail, sandpipers, sanderlings, are feeding. Also Darwin finches, yellow warblers and
marine iguanas. After we come back to our landing spot, we will have an outstanding chance to submerge in tropical
waters.
Day 6: Mosquera Islet - Baltra airport
Wet Landing, Mosquera Islet is located between North Seymour and Baltra Island. This flat, sandy island is formed by a geological uplift. A colony of sea lions are present here. It is also an excellent site to observe shorebirds such as herons and lava gulls.
There is no trail on the islet, however the visitor can enjoy the open area. Most of the islet is covered with sand and barren lava
rock. Very little Sesuvium portulacastrum plants grow on the sand.
After the visit we will sail to Baltra Island for your return flight to mainland.
