Footsteps Back in Time - 7 nights
Saturday to Saturday
Day 1 - Arrival at San Cristobal
The flight from Quito (via Guayaquil) to the Galapagos is approximately 1 ½ hours. 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 and to pay the park entrance fee of $100 (unless prepaid). 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/V Evolution and the crew will welcome you on-board. Upon arrival we board the boat, where you will have lunch and a quick briefing en route to our first visitor sites: Ochoa Beach, a beautiful white coral sand beach next to a turquoise bay, and home to a small colony of sea lions. We end our day at Kicker Rock, a spectacular rock formation that rises 152 meters (500 feet) out of the Pacific. It takes the form of a sleeping lion, but from another angle you can see that the rock is split, forming a colossal tablet and, piercing the sea, a great chisel ready for etching. After these visits we get ready for our welcome cocktail and first briefing before continuing to dinner. (Lunch, Dinner)
Day 2 - South Plaza Island & Mosquera Island
In the morning we visit South Plaza Island and its land iguanas wandering through bright red carpet weed. We will see swallow tailed gulls nesting around the overhang tops and red-billed tropicbirds, frigatebirds and shearwaters flying with dancing displays.
Early afternoon snorkeling at Punta Carrion. Located between North Seymour and Baltra is the small island of Mosquera. The island consists of a long narrow stretch of white sand, rocks and tide pools. Created by geological uplift, the island has a flat look to it rather than the conical shape of the volcanically formed islands. A stroll down the beach offers views of the brown pelicans, boobies and colonies of sea lions that like to laze here. The tiny spit of land has one of the largest populations of sea lions in Galapagos. Along the rocks and in the tide pools are the now familiar sally lightfoot crabs (red lava crabs). They follow the tide eating the algae and detritus left behind. Ever aware of movement around them, the sally lightfoot is quick to escape from approaching predators, in stark contrast. The island consists of a long narrow stretch of white sand, rocks and tide pools. Created by geological uplift, the island has a flat look to it rather than the conical shape of the volcanically formed islands. A stroll down the beach offers views of the brown pelicans, boobies and colonies of sea lions that like to laze here. The tiny spit of land has one of the largest populations of sea lions in Galapagos. Along the rocks and in the tide pools are the now familiar sally lightfoot crabs (red lava crabs). (B,L,D)
Day 3 - Chinese Hat Islet & Santiago Island
Morning visit to Chinese Hat Islet, a fairly recent volcanic cone; it has the shape of a down-facing Chinese hat. On the rocky shoreline of nearby Santiago, Galapagos penguins are often seen. There is a small sea lion cove on the north shore, where boats anchor and land at the visitor site. Late morning snorkeling with sea lions and penguins and swimming opportunities in the cove. Afternoon visit to James Bay, where we land on a black beach with intriguing eroded rock formations. A trail leads to a series of crystal-clear grottos formed of broken lava tubes, which are home to sea lions, fur seals, marine iguanas and tropical fish. (B, L, D)
Day 4 - Genovesa Island
Tower Island could serve as a film set for a secret submarine base! The southwestern part of the island is an ocean-filled caldera ringed by the outer edges of a sizeable and mostly submerged volcano. The island sits to the northwest, slightly removed from the Galapagos archipelago. It is also known as "Bird Island," a name it lives up to in a spectacular way! (B, L, D)
Day 5 - North Seymour & Santa Fe Island
Morning visit to North Seymour Island which is teaming with wildlife! Cliffs only a few meters high form the shoreline are home to swallow-tailed gulls. A tiny forest of silver-grey Palo Santo trees stands just above the landing, where a trail will take us to see sea lions, marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, pelicans, magnificent frigatebirds and land iguanas. Afternoon visit to Santa Fe Island, home to one of the most beautiful and sheltered bays of the archipelago, and to some of the best snorkeling - with its crystal clear waters. Certainly one of the best locations to see sea turtles, swim with sea lions and glimpse of the Galapagos White-tipped Shark. After a wet landing you will walk up to a nearby cliff to see the land iguanas through an area of Opuntia Cactus. (B, L, D)
Day 6 - Floreana Island
Floreana has had a colorful history: Pirates, whalers, convicts, and a small band of somewhat peculiar colonists-a Baroness among them-who chose a Robinson Crusoe existence that ended in mystery and death. We visit Post Office Bay, where in 1793 British whalers set up a barrel as the island's Post Office, to send letters home on passing ships. The tradition continues to this day, simply by dropping a post card into the barrel without a stamp. Afternoon visit to Punta Cormorant which offers two highly contrasting beaches; a green-olivine beach and an iron-red beach. Between the two beaches is a salt lagoon frequented by flamingos, pintails, stilts and other wading birds. Late afternoon snorkeling at Devil's Crown, which is home to a myriad of marine species including a variety of corals, pencil sea urchin, wrasses, angelfish and amberjacks - making for some of the best snorkeling in the Galapagos. (B, L, D)
Day 7 - Santa Cruz Tortoise Reserve & Charles Darwin Research Station
Santa Cruz is the second largest island in the Galapagos and its capital, Puerto Ayora, is the economic centre of the Islands. In the morning we visit the Charles Darwin Research Station to visit the Giant Tortoise and Land Iguana Breeding and Rearing Program. Afternoon visit to the Highlands, where the dry coastal vegetation transitions to lush wet fields and forests overgrown with moss and lichens. Our destination is the Tortoise Reserve, where we will have chances see these animals in the wild. (B, L, D)
Day 8 - Santa Cruz Island & Depart for mainland Ecuador
Today our Galapagos cruise comes to an end, but before we bid farewell to the Evolution and her crew we pay a visit to Black Turtle Cove, a beautiful mangrove estuary where we quietly drift in our panga to see spotted eagle rays, diamond shaped mustard rays, white-tipped reef sharks, pacific green sea turtles and a large variety of shore birds. Next we head to Baltra Island airport for the flight back to the Ecuadorian mainland.
