Galapagos Eric, Letty and Flamingo
ITINERARY DAY BY DAY
8 days / 7 nights
Sunday to Sunday
Day 1
San Cristobal arrival, Cerro Brujo / Leon Dormido
Arrive at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island, where your crew meets you at the airport and escorts you to your anchored yacht.
This afternoon, visit Cerro Brujo, where you enjoy a subtle introduction to the Galapagos with a beautiful, white, powder-sand beach. As the sun sets, you cruise around Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido), a vertical tuff cone formation that abruptly juts up almost 500 feet out of the ocean. Watch sea lions, blue-footed boobies, masked boobies and magnificent frigate birds on the cliffs.
Day 2
Darwin Bay Beach / Prince Philip’s Steps (Genovesa Island)
You spend the entire day on Tower (Genovesa), one of the most spectacular Islands in Galapagos. After a wet landing on Darwin Bay’s coral beach, wind your way past tide pools where swallow-tailed and lava gulls gather. Enter a forest of mangroves where colonies of great frigate birds nest. The males inflate their red-throated pouches to attract females that fly overhead. After swimming or sea kayaking, take a panga ride along the jagged shoreline. See the beautiful red-billed tropic bird.
At Prince Philip’s Steps, find storm petrels and the elusive short-eared owl, and watch the famous red-footed boobies nesting in Palo Santo trees.
Day 3
South Plaza Island / North Seymour Island
This morning, you visit South Plaza, a geological uplift with tall cliffs offering spectacular views. After a dry landing, the trails lead you through “Prickly pear cactus” or Opuntia and Sesuvium. Here, you find the Galapagos land iguana feeding on the cactus leaves. Toward the end of the cliff, you encounter a colony of bachelor sea lions. The dominant bulls are in various stages of recovery from battles lost over prime beach territory. You also find swallow tailed gulls, shearwaters and red-billed tropicbirds who build their nests along the cliffs.
This afternoon, you disembark on North Seymour, also a small geological uplift. After a dry landing, you follow a trail that leads us to sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls and blue-footed boobies. Visit the largest colony of magnificent frigate birds found in Galapagos. As you stroll along the beach, watch for sea lions body surfing the northern swells.
Day 4
Tagus Cove (Isabela Island) / Punta Espinoza (Fernandina Island)
This morning, you visit Tagus Cove, Isabela Island. Six volcanoes flowed together and formed Isabela, the largest Island in Galapagos. On a nature walk, discover a salt-water lagoon, a scenic overlook, and a spectacular view of lava fields, volcanic formations and the ocean. Note graffiti dating back to the 1800's is written on the rocky cliffs. Explore Tagus Cove in pangas or sea kayaks and find Galapagos penguins and other seabirds. After lunch, you cross the Bolivar Canal and disembark at Punta Espinoza, Fernandina.
Fernandina is the youngest and most pristine Island in Galapagos. Hundreds of marine iguanas, the largest colony in Galapagos, bask in the sun along the rugged shoreline. Observe sea lion harems with resident bulls carefully guarding their territory. Cormorants build their nest on the point and Galapagos Hawk fly overhead. Evidence of recent lava flows formed by an active volcano stretches their way around the coast.