Day 1: Arrive in Baltra - Santa Cruz Highlands
Upon arrival in Baltra, you will be met by a representative and transferred to the boat. Aside from the Station headquarters, Santa Cruz Island is home to the largest town and economic center of the Galapagos, Puerto Ayora.
After lunch on the boat (guests may dine in town if they desire), you’ll explore the Santa Cruz Highlands, a moisture-rich area with fertile volcanic soils. You’ll learn about the vegetation and animal life of this zone, often strikingly different than that found at lower elevations.
Day 2: Cormorant Point - Devil's Crown - Post Office Bay
Your first stop is Punta Cormorant, where you’ll follow a footpath to a lagoon inhabited by flaming-pink flamingos. You will also pass by Carolina Beach, a sea turtle nesting area and a superb spot for watching sea birds and sea rays.
Back on the yacht, you’ll skirt the island’s coast until you arrive at La Corona del Diablo (the Devil’s Crown), a sub-marine crater that offers some of the most spectacular snorkeling in the Galapagos. This is a great spot for seeing the wide array of tropical fish, many endemic to the islands, including purple sea stars and spiky sea urchins. The crater’s most thrilling undersea creatures, however, are the white-tipped sharks.
After returning to the boat for lunch you’ll sail on to Post Office Bay, where the islands’ original post office (really only a wooden barrel) was established in 1793. The current system still functions as it did three centuries ago: visitors drop off unstamped letters and postcards and pick-up whatever mail they can hand deliver themselves when they return home!
Day 3: Suarez Point - Gardner Bay
Espanola is one of the most magical of all the islands. It is a place where the animals reign supreme and we humans are merely guests. As your dingy brings you to shore you’ll see sea lion pups sunbathing with marine iguanas and Blue-footed Boobies nesting in between, and nearby may be a Galapagos Hawk, Frigate Bird or a Waved Albatross.
As you make your way around the island, you will pass by El Soplador, a giant blowhole that explodes to heights reaching 25 feet. In the nearby tide pools you can often find lounging sea lions enjoying the blowhole’s misty spray.
In the late afternoon, you will visit Gardner Bay, a great place for sunbathing, swimming and snorkelling. Lionfish, Flycatchers, and Galapagos Hawks will keep you company as you relax under the rays of the evening sun.
Day 4: Lobos Island - Interpretation Center
You’ll arrive early in the morning to San Cristobal, the capital of the Galapagos. The first site will be Lobos Island, a very small islet made of volcanic rocks that gets its name from the colony of sea lions that live there. Here you can observe the behavior and interaction of sea lions living in a small community.
In the afternoon, you will pay a visit to the Interpretation Center in Puerto Baquerizo, the local branch of the Galapagos National Park Service. Here your guide will explain the formation of the islands, how the flora and fauna arrived and were established in Galapagos, and visit the corrals where there are several species of giant tortoises under the care of the National Park Service.
Day 5: Santa Fe Island - South Plazas
After breakfast on the yacht, you’ll continue to Santa Fe Island. Upon arrival to the island, you’ll be treated to a noisy welcome from the local Sea Lion colony. Following your naturalist guide on the island paths you’ll reach Santa Fe's main attraction, a towering forest of giant cacti. Scattered around the cacti trees you’ll see a number of the island's indigenous sun-seekers: marine and land iguanas, the rainbow-streaked lava lizards and, if you’re lucky, land tortoises - the namesakes of the islands. After the walk you’ll dive into the salty sea and snorkel in the company of sea lions, Lion Fish and sea turtles.
After lunch, we’ll navigate to Plazas Island, where a large colony of sea lions lounge daily in the equatorial sun. Plaza also boasts excellent examples of typical Galapagos native flora such as the towering cacti "trees" that form the principal diet for both the land iguanas and the Cactus Finch. Other birds that may flutter by include Lava Gulls, Yellow Warblers and Red-Billed Tropic birds.
Day 6: Charles Darwin Research Station - Depart Baltra Airport
Your morning visit will be to Charles Darwin Station, a non-profit institution that dedicates itself to studying and protecting the flora and fauna of the Galapagos. This is one of the best places to see land tortoises, including Lonesome George, the last survivor of his subspecies. Then you’ll visit the station’s Tortoise Rearing Center. Here you can find baby, hand-sized tortoises between the ages of one and five, and marvel at how they achieve such large sizes as adults (500 lbs. or more!).
After lunch, you will be transferred to Baltra Airport for your outbound flight.
