Saturday / Miami — Guayaquil, Ecuador
Most guests will fly today from the USA to Guayaquil, Ecuador, the large coastal city that serves as the jumping-off spot to the Galápagos Islands. Arriving in the evening, we overnight in a comfortable hotel and fly to the islands in the morning.

Day 1/ San Cristobal Island
Cerro Brujo / Leon Dormido
After an ample breakfast we will transfer to the airport for our flight west over the Pacific Ocean to the tips of submerged volcanoes, the Galápagos Islands. We will land on the small island San Cristobal and with our crew go directly to our vessel at anchor in the harbor of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. This afternoon we visit Cerro Brujo which has a beautiful white, powder-sand beach where, time permitting, we can swim and go snorkeling and get an idea of the rhythm of the islands. As the sun sets, we will cruise around Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido), a vertical tuff cone formation that abruptly juts up almost 500 feet out of the ocean. We will watch sea lions, blue-footed boobies, masked boobies and magnificent frigate birds on the cliffs of Baltra Island, which is the tip of an extinct volcano.

Day 2 / Genovesa Island
Darwin Bay / Prince Philip’s Steps
Today will be spent entirely on Genovesa Island, one of the most spectacular in the Galápagos Archipelago. We’ll first make a wet landing at the coral beach of Darwin Bay. This bay is actually the caldera of a partially submerged volcano and the surrounding cliffs were formed by the ancient volcano’s rim. We walk along a marked trail that winds around tide pools populated by swallow-tailed and lava gulls. We’ll enter a forest of mangroves where colonies of great frigatebirds and red footed boobies nest. To attract mates the male frigatebirds flap their wings and inflate a bright red balloon-like sac in their throats. When a female flies over the colony, all of the mating males simultaneously inflate their red pouches and spread their wings hoping their desire will not go unnoticed.

Later in the day, after swimming or optional sea kayaking, we will board our panga and explore along the base of the cliffs that form the jagged shoreline. We should see squadrons of frigate birds and red-billed tropic birds flying overhead. We will disembark at Prince Philip’s Steps and climb the rock staircase. At the top, the trails lead to an open area of nesting masked boobies and great frigate birds. The trail continues to open lava fields where we should see groups of storm petrels and perhaps at the periphery their greatest predator, short-eared owls. From our vantage point on the rim of the extinct volcano we will be treated to a majestic view of the bay and great masses of sea birds hovering and circling near their roosts. With luck this can be our first sighting of fur seals. (BLD)

Day 3 / North Seymour Island
Santa Cruz Island: Cerro Dragon
This morning we’ll explore the island of North Seymour, a tiny square mile of uplifted rock off the north coast of Baltra Island. Though small, this island has some of the largest seabird colonies in the islands. Our trail takes through the boisterously active nesting sites of blue footed boobies and the largest colony of magnificent frigatebirds in the Galápagos. We will also visit the resident sea lion colony and may see some of them body surfing in the northern swells. On North Seymour should see swallow-tailed gulls, marine iguanas and lava lizards.
In the afternoon we will disembark at the relatively new visitor site called Cerro Dragon (“Dragon Hill”) on the north side of Santa Cruz Island. Walking quietly along the footpath we should see some of the land iguanas that are endemic to this island. Once part of the Darwin Station’s breeding program, these repatriated iguanas display orange-yellow skin and large spines along their backs. The path skirts a salt water lagoon and we should be treated to the sight of startlingly pink flamingos feeding in the shallows. Other birds often found here are Darwin finches and yellow warblers. The terminus of our easy hiking will be the top of Dragon Hill for a majestic view. In the late afternoon we return to the vessel and during the night we will voyage to a different island to explore. (BLD)

Day 4 / Isabela Island: Tagus Cove
Fernandina Island: Punta Espinoza
This morning we disembark at Tagus Cove on the island of Isabela. The largest island in the Galápagos, Isabela was formed by the combined lava flow of six different volcanoes. We will walk inland on this extremely scenic island and marvel at the spectacular lava fields and bizarre volcanic formations. Our guides will point out some graffiti on the rocky cliffs that date back to the 1800’s when the islands were welcome stops for square rigged sailing ships as they cruised the vast expanse of the Pacific. Following our walk we may explore the water’s edge searching for Galápagos penguins and other seabirds.

After lunch the vessel will cross the Bolívar Canal to Punta Espinoza on Isla Fernandina. Located in the western part of the archipelago, Fernandina is the youngest and one of the most pristine islands of the archipelago. Fernandina as yet has no introduced plant or animal species. The giant volcano, Volcán La Cumbre, dominates the landscape. At the coast the slope is gentle, but inland the volcano gradually steepens, rising to some 4,900 feet to the rim of the caldera which then plummets more than 3,000 feet. With its dark, rocky shores, black sand beaches, and frequent volcanic upheavals, Fernandina is in many ways the most forbidding and yet the most fascinating of the Galápagos islands. This primeval character is also reflected in its wildlife. Along the shoreline armies of marine iguanas bask in the sun like hundreds of small dragons. Punta Espinoza has the largest colony of marine iguanas in the Galápagos.

We will disembark at Punta Espinoza which is rimmed at its base with green mangrove forest and a wide swath of lava sand and black lava rock. The remains of recent lava flows stretch into the distance along the coast. Near the actual point of the island there is a large colony of sea lions which includes several noisy bulls. Flightless cormorants build their nests on the rocks and Galápagos hawks fly overhead. There are also a variety of herons, yellow warblers, pelicans, frigates, mangrove finches, petrels, shearwaters and, of course, the marine iguanas. (BLD)

Day 5 / Santiago Island: Puerto Egas
Bartolomé Island
This morning we will stroll along the shore at Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. Named after Hector Egas, the owner of the now closed salt mine during the 1960’s, Puerto Egas is in the northwest corner of James Bay. Perhaps the single dominant feature of the Puerto Egas / James Bay region is a volcanic cone called Sugarloaf, which rises to almost 1,300 feet. To the north and east is a massive lava flow that was noted by Charles Darwin during his famous six-week visit to the archipelago in 1835. The landscape surrounding Puerto Egas is a harsh one, covered primarily by a sparse forest of Palo Santo trees. The shoreline south of Puerto Egas is composed of striated yellow, brown, and black cliffs of hardened volcanic ash (“tuffstone”). This has been eroded, molded, and polished by the sea into coves and elaborately patterned rocky beaches. We will walk along the coastal trail looking for octopus, starfish and other sea life caught in the tide pools. We may be privileged to spot whales or dolphins cruising offshore or a feeding frenzy of hundreds of boobies or pelicans diving on schools of fish. At low tide we can catch a glimpse of marine iguanas as they feed on exposed green algae. Birds that we should observe at Puerto Egas include great blue herons, lava herons, oystercatchers and yellow-crowned night herons. At the end of the trail is a magnificent lava-walled grotto carved out of the rugged shoreline. In its shady crevices is often found a small group of fur seals. Though once on the verge of extinction, we can observe these seals cavorting in the crystal clear water.

Later we will visit the tiny island of Bartolomé, where it seems like we are walking on the moon. This small island on the east coast of Santiago is one of the younger islands in the Galápagos. It is still mostly volcanic rock only slightly colonized by plants and animals. The landing here is on the beach and we will walk 30-45 minutes on a good trail with fairly steep slope to the summit of the inactive volcano. Along the way we can see the remains of the last violent eruption: lava bombs, spatter cones and cinder cones. From the top we’ll have a panoramic view of the island including the famous Pinnacle Rock, a pointed obelisk of hardened volcanic ash called tuff. Down below, crystal clear water invites us to snorkel with schools of tropical fish and the occasional penguins. We may also explore the other side of the island where at times sea turtles and white-tipped sharks are found. During the night we travel to the southeastern edge of the archipelago. (BLD)

Day 6 / Santa Cruz Island:
Darwin Station / Highlands
This morning we will disembark at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. Founded in 1959 at the centennial celebration of the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species, the research station has an international team of scientists that studies the biology and conservation of the Galápagos Islands. The station conducts captive breeding program of giant tortoises, and we’ll see the hatchlings of several subspecies that have been brought back from near-extinction. This will be a good chance to get a close photograph of the largest of our planet’s tortoises. Afterward there should still be time to stroll the quiet streets of Puerto Ayora (pop. 10,000), buy souvenirs, mail postcards and absorb the local charm of the social heart of the Galápagos Islands.
After lunch we will excursion by bus up into the gently sloping and forested highlands. The scenery changes continuously as we ascend through all seven vegetation zones found in the Galápagos. We will visit a private reserve where giant tortoises lounge around a quiet pond grazing on vegetation. After plenty of time to explore the reserve we will drive to a pair of large sinkholes called “The Twins” (Los Gemelos) where we will explore some ancient lava tubes. These tunnels are the largest lava tubes found in Galápagos and as we walk through them our feet will trace the path of the once-molten rock that flowed millions of years ago. This may also be an opportunity to observe the bright red vermilion flycatcher. (BLD)

Day 7 / Española Island:
Gardner Bay / Punta Suarez
This morning we will go ashore at Gardner Bay on the northeastern shore of Española Island. The beaches seem endless and are heaped with large colonies of sea lions lounging on the brilliant white sand. We will go for a swim and snorkel to enjoy the sea lions and great diversity found in this remote inlet.

In the afternoon, we will disembark at Punta Suarez, where 90 foot cliffs rise up from the sea offering a spectacular view of soaring birds. This rocky point of land sustains one of the most impressive and varied colonies of sea birds in Galápagos. Due to its distance from the major islands in the archipelago, Española has the highest rate of “endemism” in the Galápagos—that is, many species have evolved on these islands and are found nowhere else in the world. Sea lions will greet us noisily as we land on the beach. Curious mockingbirds will peck at our shoelaces. If we are lucky we may even observe the wild mating rituals of the waved albatross, found only on Española.

Certainly at Punta Suarez we will see blue-footed boobies engage in “sky-pointing” and masked boobies busily caring for their young. Stunning swallow-tailed gulls and red-billed tropicbirds take roost under the cliffs. Some of the many birds endemic to Española include several subspecies of Darwin’s finches, Galápagos doves and Galápagos hawks. We also will observe a type of marine iguana found only on Española. This species has traces of red and green markings. Colorful sally lightfoot crabs crawl along the shoreline near the famous “blow hole”, a bizarre natural tunnel connected to the sea where the surf spurts a column of spray 30 to 60 feet in the air. (BLD)

Day 8 / San Cristobal / Quito (or Guayaquil)
This morning, we drop anchor in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal and visit a newly opened site called La Galapaguera. We travel by bus into the highlands passing El Junco Lake. At La Galapaguera, we should find the Galápagos tortoise living in the wild. If time permits, we will also visit the Interpretation Center which opened in 1999. Afterwards, we head straight to the airport for our flight back to the mainland.

In the mid-afternoon we will arrive in Quito and settle into our hotel. The balance of the afternoon is without planned activities. Once the capital of the northern Inca Empire, Quito now has a population of just under one million. It is a fascinating colonial city with broad squares surrounded by well preserved colonial churches. We will spend the night in an excellent hotel. (B)

Day 9 / Flights back to the USA
Following breakfast there are no planned activities today until the transfer to the airport. Time permitting, it may be a good morning to walk around the city for some final gift shopping. We will transfer to the airport in plenty of time for our flights back to the USA. (B)

Meal Codes: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner

Please note that the itinerary must be considered approximate. Flights are subject to change and the itinerary may be modified due to weather or other scheduling considerations without penalty.

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