Itinerary from Saturday to Saturday:
 Day
1.A.M. Arrival at San Cristobal Galapagos
The flight from Quito (via Guayaquil) to the Galapagos is approximately
2 ½ hours on a Boeing 727. Upon arrival at San Cristobal
airport travelers pass through an airport inspection point to insure
that no foreign plants or animals are introduced to the islands.
Guides will meet you, collect your luggage and escort you on the
short bus ride to the harbor. Motorized rafts, called 'Pangas' will
transport you to the M/Y Grace and our crew will welcome you onboard.
After a briefing and a light lunch the first site visit will start.
P.M. San Cristobal : Interpretation Center & Isla Lobos
San Cristóbal is the easternmost island in Galapagos; on
its southwestern side is the own town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno,
the capital of the providence of Galapagos. On Puerto Baquerizo
Moreno is the Interpretation Center newly opened by the Galapagos
National park in 1998, which is truly an extraordinary contribution
to the information and education of the islands communities and
the travelers; its 80% is focus in the anthropology of the Galapagos,
the 20% is scientific. Heading up the coast from Wreck Bay and Puerto
Baquerizo, you will see Isla Lobos across a small channel off the
coast of San Cristóbal. This basalt island outcropping lives
up to its name of "Sea Lion Island" with its noisy population
of frolicking and barking beasts. It is also a nesting place for
blue-footed boobies and an excellent spot for snorkeling.
Day
2 .A.M. Floreana (Santa Maria, Charles) Island: Punta Cormorant
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.
P.M. Floreana: Post Office Bay / Devil's Crown
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
3 .A.M. Hood (Española) Island: Punta Suarez
One of the oldest of the islands, Hood is small and flat with no
visible volcanic crater or vent. 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.
P.M. Hood (Española) Island: Gardner Bay
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 these species.
Day
4 .A.M. Santa Cruz (Indefatigable) Island: Charles Darwin
Research Station
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.
P.M. Santa Cruz (Indefatigable) Island: Highlands
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. The lush greenery of the Santa Cruz
Highlands is a definite contrast with the arid scenery of the smaller,
lower islands. There will be some free time to explore the town
of Puerto Ayora on your own.
Day 5.A.M. Tower (Genovesa) Island: Prince Phillip'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.
P.M. Tower: Darwin Bay
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 . A.M. 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.
P.M. 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.
Day
7 . A.M. 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.
P.M. North Seymour (Seymour Norte) Island
North Seymour is an uplifted (as opposed to volcanic) island and
so is generally flat and strewn with boulders. There are good nesting
sites here for a large population of magnificent frigate birds.
Blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance in the more open
areas and swallow-tailed gulls perch on the cliff edges. Despite
the tremendous surf that can pound the outer shore, sea lions haul
out onto the beach and can be found together with marine iguanas.
Day
8 . A.M.San Cristobal: Depart for Mainland Ecuador
Return flight to the continent.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON ITINERARY: This itinerary is subject
to change without notice for various factors including but not limited
to: safety, weather, mechanical breakdown, unforeseen emergencies,
and the discretion of the Captain, Guide, Quasar Expeditions and
the Galapagos National Park.
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