Galapagos Cachalote
ITINERARY DAY BY DAY
8 days / 7 nights
Wednesday to Wednesday
Day 1
Baltra Island arrival / North Seymour Island
Arrival at Baltra travellers 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 harbour. There our crew will welcome you onboard. After departure and lunch, the first island visit is made.
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 2
Charles Darwin Research Station / Highlands (Santa Cruz Island)
Santa Cruz is the second largest island in the Galapagos. The small town of Puerto Ayora is the economic centre of the archipelago, with the largest population of the 4 inhabited islands. The Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park offices are based here. You will have an opportunity to visit some of the best scientists of their kind. Scientists, park rangers and park managers among others, who make huge efforts to preserve this Unesco World Heritage Site, conduct the conservation of the islands. The most popular inhabitant of this island will probably be Lonesome George. He is the only survivor of the specific turtle species.
The lush greenery of the Santa Cruz highlands is a welcome contrast with the arid scenery of the smaller, lower islands. Points of interest are the famed lava tunnels, a fun and geologically informative visit. The trip to the highlands ends with a visit to the Twin Craters. The vegetation around these is very special and is renown for its about 300 fern species and the many sunflowers.
Day 3
Punta Suarez / Gardner Bay (Española Island)
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 Española 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.
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.
Day 4
Punta Cormorant / Devil's crown / Post Office Bay (Floreana Island)
Floreana Island is perceived as one of the most exotic Islands of the archipelago. At Punta Cormorant you land on a green olivine sand beach.
Following a 100 m long path you will soon reach a lagoon with flamingoes, white-checked pintail ducks and other shorebirds. The trail goes on to a white beach made of grinned coral, so it looks like flour. This is the green sea turtle's nesting place. North of Punta Cormorant and eroded volcano, Devil's Crown, is a snorkel's delight. To the west, Post Office Bay keeps the legendary post barrel that whalers used to send their mail.