OperationDay: Every Tuesday
Meeting point and hour: 8h00 / At the entrance of Puerto Ayora's Church, in front of the pier and aside from the restaurant "El Descanso del Guía"
Departing pier: Puerto Ayora
Arriving pier: Itabaca Channel
Coming hour: 16h00 approx.
We will meet at Puerto Ayora's pier early in the morning, begin the adventure, and head toward Santa Fe Island. Once we have embarked on the Galaxy Daily, we will sail for a couple of hours to enjoy the view and the soft Galapagos Sea breeze.
Did you know that Santa Fe Island is one of the oldest islands in the entire Galapagos archipelago? Indeed, Santa Fe has underwater rock formations dating back approximately 4 million years. Its relatively flat surface is the result of tectonic uplift.
Did you know that at Santa Fe, we can find one of this island's most iconic endemic species? That's the Santa Fe land iguana, a very characteristic yellowish iguana. The other endemic species is the Santa Fe rice rat; don't worry! This small rat only appears at night.
During this day of adventure, we will also be able to appreciate the largest species of opuntia cactus and the Galapagos hawk (the largest predator on the island), the blue-footed booby, the Galapagos sea lion, the magnificent frigate birds, and the marine iguana, also known as the Galapagos dragon due to its peculiar appearance.
The landing in Santa Fe will be wet, so we will have to jump on the impressive white sand beach.
Several sea lions will immediately receive us, inviting us to start a walk to look for the resident species of Santa Fe.
Once the walk ends, we can swim in the Encañada. Here, we can snorkel and observe sea turtles, rays, sea lions, and colorful fish while swimming in this island's warm, crystalline waters.
In this itinerary, we will enjoy a delicious lunch on board the Galaxy Daily before a short rest and later navigation back to Santa Cruz Island.
As we conclude this incredible day of exploration on Santa Fe Island, we will head to the Itabaca Channel. From there, we'll take a bus ride of approximately 35 minutes to Puerto Ayora, where this unforgettable adventure will come to an end.