Galápagos ...

The Trip of a Lifetime

from GALAPAGOS TRAVEL

TOURING THE ISLANDS

Typical GALAPAGOS TRAVEL 11 Day Cruise Routings

The Galápagos National Park has given us two great 11-day routings (in addition to our 15-day routing), both exploring the key islands of Española, Floreana, Tower, Isabela, Fernandina and Santa Cruz. Each will also call on a number of the central islands offering a more complete perspective on the unique Galápagos flora & fauna. One itinerary is for workshops beginning on Tuesdays, and the other is for workshops beginning on Fridays.

Baltra / North Seymour

Tower: Prince Phillips Steps & Darwin Bay

Isabela: Punta Vicente Roca / Fernandina

Isabela: Urvina Bay & Elizabeth Bay

Floreana: Punta Cormoran & Post Office Bay

Española: Gardner Bay & Punta Suarez

Santa Cruz: Charles Darwin Research Station & Highlands

Santa Cruz: Jacqueline's & Puerto Ayora / Santa Fe

San Cristóbal: Cerro Brujo & Kicker Rock

South Plaza / Bartolome

Santa Cruz: Black Turtle Cove / Baltra

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Baltra / Mosquera

Santiago: Sullivan Bay / Sombrero Chino

Santiago: Puerto Egas / Rabida

Santa Cruz: Cerro Dragon / North Seymour

Tower: Prince Phillips Steps & Darwin Bay

Isabela: Punta Vicente Roca / Fernandina

Isabela: Urvina Bay & Elizabeth Bay

Floreana: Punta Cormoran & Post Office Bay

Española: Gardner Bay & Punta Suarez

Santa Cruz: Charles Darwin Research Station & Highlands

Santa Cruz: Jacqueline's & Puerto Ayora / Baltra

Island and Visitor Site highlights on our itineraries...

BALTRA • This relatively small central island holds the principle Galápagos airport, plus the main fueling port for Galápagos yachts. A very small military base makes it one of just 5 inhabited islands in the archipelago.

BARTOLOME • One of the most popular visitor sites for the panoramic views (gained by climbing 360-plus wooden stairs). The view is educational as well as inspiring; the volcanic features include lava formations such as spatter cones, cinder cones, and tuff cones. There are also wonderful examples of pioneering plants and some beautiful stands of endemic lava cactus. The shoreline around Pinnacle Rock might be your best chance to snorkel with penguins.

DAPHNE MAJOR • Here Drs. Peter & Rosemary Grant continue documenting evolution of the Darwin finches; their research is featured in the Pulitzer Prize winning BEAK OF THE FINCH. While not able to land on this small island, a circumnavigation will give you a bit of insight into the life of a scientist in the field, and what goes into their work.

ESPANOLA • Gardner Bay is a tranquil white sandy beach known for sea lions, lava lizards, finches, yellow warblers & Hood Mockingbirds, to name just a few. Gardner or Tortuga Rocks offer great snorkeling, as well as the occasional chance to kayak. • Punta Suarez is a paradise for birders, with waved albatross, Nazca Boobies, blue-footed boobies, Galápagos Hawks, Galápagos Doves, and also marine iguanas (the most colorful in the islands) all vying for center stage.

FERNANDINA • This is the youngest of the Galápagos Islands. Punta Espinosa is a wonderful visitor site, with the largest colony of marine iguanas in the islands, in addition to flightless cormorants, Galápagos Penguins, herons and Galápagos Hawks. This is often the best place to see marine iguanas in the water as they feed on the barely submerged rocks along the shore.

FLOREANA • Punta Cormorant is one of the most interesting landings (on an olivine beach), with an emphasis on plant life and shore birds. A brackish lagoon is home to flamingos, pintail ducks and commons stilts. Favorite snorkeling areas are the offshore islets of Devil’s Crown and Champion (where you might also get a glimpse of the endemic Charles Mockingbird on shore). • Post Office Bay, while possibly not the most scenic visitor site, is one the most historically famous - be sure to bring a postcard or two ashore with you to "mail." • Black Beach & the Highlands - while not official park visitor sites, both are rewarding. Much of the early human history of the Galápagos, and especially the Wittmer family played out in the highlands of Floreana. A visit to the highlands is also your only opportunity in the islands to search for the medium tree finch. The seaside Wittmer hotel features an exhibit of early photographs of sailing exibitions and explorers to call on the island.

ISABELA • Comprised of 6 volcanoes, this is by far the largest island in the archipelago. Along the south and eastern coasts you will find some of the best whale watching opportunities in Galápagos. • Elizabeth Bay is a mangrove inlet explored by zodiac, with an amazing concentration of green sea turtles and rays. The neighboring Marielas Islets are home to the largest colony of Galápagos Penguins. • Urvina Bay is the site of a dramatic volcanic uplift in 1954, where 4 miles of coastline suddenly raised nearly 15 feet, with the coastline driven three quarters of a mile farther out to sea. The marine remnants and giant coral heads are a stark reminder. Inland land iguanas, and an occasional tortoise, are found here. Along the shore flightless cormorants and brown pelicans typically nest. • The cold waters approaching Punta Vicente Roca offer some of the best opportunities for whales and dolphins, and maybe the chance to kayak or snorkel with a mola mola.

MOSQUERA • This is a tiny islet, really more of a long, narrow beach, with a huge population of sea lions. Additional occupants include Sally Lightfoot Crabs and lava lizzards, plus a wonderful variety of birdlife flying over.

NORTH SEYMOUR • In addition to being a major nesting area for the blue-footed booby, the island is home to the largest colony of magnificent frigatebirds in the Galápagos. Both marine and land iguanas are found in good numbers, and sea lions often surf the rocky shore break.

RABIDA • This is one of the best snorkeling sites in the islands. The red sand beach makes a striking backdrop for the ever-present sea lions. Just inland a salt-water lagoon often has a few flamingos, while yellow warblers are in the salt bush, and brown pelicans nest in the mangroves. The higher elevations of the island host palo santo trees.

SAN CRISTOBAL • This is the easternmost island in the archipelago (and also the provincial capital). • Cerro Brujo is a very striking, eroded tuff cone. One of the first places visited by Charles Darwin, the beautiful white coraline sand beach and lagoon are home to brown pelicans, blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls, plus a variety of shore birds. Stroll the beach and you will soon realize that you are being watched by hundreds of shy ghost crabs. San Cristóbal is also home to the endemic Chatham Mockingbird. • Kicker Rock is a similarly eroded tuff cone, this time rising almost 500 feet from the ocean. The yacht will cruise around Kicker Rock as the sunlight plays off the contours of the cliffs and formation (complete with blue-footed boobies, Nazca Boobies, and frigatebirds).

SANTA CRUZ • Puerto Ayora is the scientific heart of Galápagos, including the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS), as well as the primary population center. • A trip to the highlands (by van) traverses all 7 vegetation zones of the Galápagos. In addition to two enormous pit craters, other volcanic formations include some of the largest known lava tunnels in the Galápagos. Not surprisingly, the lush highland vegetation is home to a variety of land birds, including vermillion flycatchers, Galápagos Flycatchers, woodpecker finches & dark-billed cuckoos. Tortoises are often seen in the wild here. • Black Turtle Cove is a mangrove-surrounded series of coves and inlets. Exploring by panga (zodiac) we often see mating green sea turtles, plus rays and white-tipped reef sharks. • Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill) is a small hill on the north coast, with a wonderful view. It is the nesting site to a growing number of land iguanas, many of which have been repatriated from the CDRS. Below the hill there is a hypersalinic lagoon that is often frequented by flamingos. • An early morning visit to longtime resident Jacqueline De Roy’s house allows us a glimpse of local life, plus an opportunity to see and compare dozens of finches at very close range! Afterwards enjoy a bit of time in Puerto Ayora.

SANTA FE • This island is home to a unique species of land iguana; some of these iguanas can be 5 feet long! The stands of giant prickly pear cactus here are specially adapted to a larger size as a form of protection against the iguanas. Santa Fe is also likely your best chance at seeing the endemic rice rat. Snorkeling and kayaking round out your visit.

SANTIAGO • James Bay/Puerto Egas is home to Fur Seal Grotto - not only a beautiful site, but this is your only chance to get close to the endemic fur seals. Some of the best tide-pooling is also here, drawing a wonderful variety of shorebirds and seabirds, with yellow-crowned night herons and American Oystercatchers being the most commonly seen. Inland you might have a chance to see painted locusts, grasshoppers, and possibly even the Galápagos snake. Galápagos hawks are also common on the inland trail. • Sullivan Bay offers a rare look at a recently-formed lava field, with fantastical Pahoehoe formations in every imaginable shape.

SOMBRERO CHINO • Perhaps more than any visitor site, this islet conveys the volcanic origins of the Galápagos. The shoreline is a wonderful snorkeling area with numerous coves and grottos. Recently we have been seeing penguins along the hearby shoreline of Santiago.

SOUTH PLAZA • This geologically uplifted island is vegetated with the distinctive red mats of sesuvium, along with prickly pear cactus - both being the food base for the land iguanas. A walk along the sea cliffs is wonderful, with swallow-tailed gulls, shearwaters, and red-billed tropicbirds in flight.

TOWER • Located in the northeast portion of the Galápagos, Tower is an outpost for many sea birds (as Española is to the south - perhaps this is why they are our two favorite islands). Depending on conditions we often will have a chance to snorkel and kayak within the bay. • Darwin Bay is an anchorage within a caldera, with surrounding cliffs forming the inner portion of the rim. Along the small beach there is a forest of salt bush where adjacent colonies of great frigatebirds and red-footed boobies are seen nesting. Frequently the endemic lava gull is also seen nesting here. • A visit to Prince Philip’s Steps begins with a panga ride along the cliffs, watching for red-billed tropicbirds and the occasional fur seal, while squadrons of frigatebirds fly overhead in their endless piratical pursuits. On shore a forest of dwarf palo santo trees is home to a colony of red-footed boobies, while Nazca Boobies nest below on the ground. Along the lava fields storm petrels fly overhead in great numbers, while short-eared owls hunt for them among the lava cracks.

Evening lectures by the Tour Leader will be on a broad range of Galápagos-specific topics, likely including Island Formation & Biogeographical Setting, Seabirds, Whales, Pinnipeds, Fishes, Sharks & Rays, Reptiles, Geology, Charles Darwin, Evolution, Conservation, and History of the Galápagos Human Inhabitants.

Routing variations may occur depending on flight schedules, the yacht, or based on modifications made by the Galápagos National Park Service (in an attempt to minimize tourist traffic on all visitor sites.)

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