Galapagos Rachel
ITINERARY DAY BY DAY
8 days / 7 nights
Saturday to Saturday
Day 1
Baltra Island arrival / Santa Cruz Island
This morning, depart on a three-hour flight to the island of Baltra in the Galapagos. Transfer to the ship and continue on to Santa Cruz.
The second largest island in the Galapagos, Santa Cruz offers the Charles Darwin Research Station, the lush greenery of the Santa Cruz Highlands, the famed lava tunnels and the Twin Craters.
Day 2
Prince Philip's Steps / Darwin Bay Genovesa Island
On the way to Tower Island, the most northeastern part of the archipelago, you may encounter dolphins, whales and immature red-footed boobies, which sometimes land on the boat's railings and lines to hitch a free ride home.
The island of Tower is a collapsed volcano, and ships are able to 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.
This morning, explore a trail known as "Prince Philip's Steps", which leads to an open area popular with frigate birds and red-footed and masked 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 also sometimes be seen here, hunting the storm petrels during daylight hours.
This afternoon, follow along another trail, which 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 where seabirds soar.
Day 3
Bartolome Island
Most likely the first of the islands to rise from the sea, Bartolome is a small island that has beautiful white sand beaches and luxuriant green mangroves. Here, penguins may join you at the white sand swimming beach, and a hike to the summit of a once-active volcano rewards you with beautiful panoramic views of the often-photographed Pinnacle Rock.
Day 4
Puerto Egas / James Bay (Santiago Island)
A highlight of the journey comes at Puerto Egas on the island of James. Puerto Egas, with its black sand beaches, was the site of a small salt mining industry in the 1960s, and a hike inland to the salt crater is an excellent opportunity to sight land birds such as finches, doves and hawks.
A trail leads to the Fur Seal Grottos, one of the only places in the islands where Fur Seals can be seen.
You may see sea lions basking on the rocks beneath a natural rock bridge, diving blue-footed boobies, Sally Lightfoot crabs and colorful lava lizards scurrying at your feet. Just north of James Bay is Buccaneer Cove, a particularly scenic area of steep cliffs and dark beaches.