Galapagos Sky Dancer
ITINERARY DAY BY DAY
8 days / 7 nights
Sunday to Sunday
Day5
Wolf Island / Darwin Island
In the morning you will have two more opportunities to catch some sightings of the fascinating creatures to be found in the waters around Darwin, with a similar prospect at Wolf, in the afternoon.
Day 6
Cape Marshall (Isabela Island) / Puerto Egas (Santiago Island)
At Cape Marshall on the eastern side of Isabela Island, you encounter rocky volcanic cliffs, that drops down to the ocean floor as an almost vertical wall. You might see large animals like manta rays, marbled rays, hammerhead sharks mola mola (sail fish) and marine turtles, but also Chevron barracuda, snappers, yellow fin tuna, rainbow runners, wahoo and groupers. There are also a lot of smaller fishes like creole fishes, parrotfishes, scrawled filefishes, pacific boxfishes and tiger snake eels.
This afternoon, you disembark for a land visit along the shore at Puerto Egas, Santiago Island looking for octopus, starfish and other sea life caught in the tide pools. At low tide, catch a glimpse of marine iguanas as they feed on exposed green algae.
Watch for great blue herons, lava herons, American oystercatchers and yellow-crowned night herons. Our walk ends at the grottos, deep pools of clear water where we encounter fur sea lions once on the verge of extinction. During the night dive at a depth of no more than 30 feet we may find the red-lipped bat fish.
Day 7
Gordon Rocks (Plazas Island) / Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz Island)
Gordon Rocks, off South Plaza Island, an advanced dive, is famous for white-tipped, hammerhead and the Galapagos shark, large moray eels, spotted eagle rays, golden rays, sting rays, fur sea lions, sea turtles, Amberjacks, reef fish, sponges and black coral.
Dive with wahoo, tuna, sailfish and other big pelagic fish. Divers consider the wall at Gordon Rocks one of the best dive sites in the Central Islands. The current is strong and the maximum depth is 100 feet.
Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station on the Island of Santa Cruz. Scientists from all over the globe work at the station and conduct biological research from anatomy to zoology. Get your picture taken with the giant tortoises.
Observe year-old tortoises and learn about the captive-breeding program. Stroll through the town of Puerto Ayora (population: 10,000) –the largest town in the Galapagos. Buy souvenirs, mail postcards and absorb local charm in the social heart of the Islands.
Day 8
Interpretation Center/ San Cristobal
The last morning, visit the Interpretation Center in San Cristobal Island to learn more about the natural and human history of the Islands.
Before returning to Puerto Baquerizo to connect with your flight back to the Ecuador mainland to Quito or Guayaquil.