DAY 1 – SUNDAY
AM: FLIGHT TO BALTRA AIRPORT (GPS)
As soon as our visitors arrive at Baltra airport, personnel of Galapagos National Park will check your luggage to avoid the introduction of foreign plants or animals to the Islands. An entrance fee of $ 100 must be paid to them.
Passengers are picked by our naturalist guide and taken on a five-minute bus drive to the pier to board the Galapagos Sea Star Travel.
PM: DRAGON HILL (SANTA CRUZ ISLAND)
Dry landing. The trail leads across a brackish lagoon to see flamingos and shore birds and a typical dry zone vegetation (cacti, incense trees, Galapagos cotton, sesuvium) going up until Dragon Hill, this is an important nesting area of land iguanas, offering lovely views of the anchored boats and neighboring islands. The incense tree forest is home of many birds such as mockingbirds, Darwin finches, Galapagos flycatchers and yellow warblers.
DAY 2 – MONDAY
AM: BLACK TURTLE COVE
We can barely compare this unique place with any others in the Galapagos. A cove surrounded by a mangrove forest, home of green sea turtles and a baby white-tip reef sharks’ nursery. We can spot schools of golden rays, spotted eagle rays, marine turtles and, pelicans, herons, and frigates on top of the mangrove trees. We also see very colorful Sally light footed crabs and Blue footed boobies on the rocky area. We can appreciate this only on a zodiac ride.
PM: CHINESE HAT
Sombrero Chino, has its nickname, “Chinese hat” after the shape like an old-fashioned Chinaman’s Hat, it is one of the smallest Galapagos Islands having a terrific visitor site with an unforgettable view. Like the other islands in Galapagos, Sombrero Chino is from volcanic origin, known as a “spatter cone, it is located at the southeastern of Santiago Island. The visitor path starts at a gorgeous beach to observe, red sally light foot crabs, marine iguanas, Galapagos sea lions resting on the beach, Oystercatchers, Wandering tattler, herons and lava lizards.
There is an optional snorkeling activity off the zodiac to look for sea lions, white-tip reef sharks, colorful fish and occasionally Galapagos penguins.
DAY 3 – TUESDAY
AM: EL BARRANCO, PRINCE PHILIP’S STEPS (GENOVESA ISLAND)
There is a boat ride activity to look for Nazca boobies, Swallow-Tailed Gulls, the smallest sub species of marine iguanas, red billed tropic birds, Galapagos fur seals and Galapagos sea lions, followed by a dry landing to climb up
natural stairway to get to the top of the island. This path passes through colonies of Nazca and red-footed boobies, some frigates birds, the famous Darwin finches and Galapagos mockingbirds. At the end of the trail, Wedge-rumped storm petrels’ nest on the lava field where we look for short-eared owls. We have an optional kayak activity inside the bay in clear
water and smooth sea
PM: DARWIN BAY (GENOVESA ISLAND)
We have a wet landing on a coral sandy beach which is much younger than the ones on the other islands. Swallow-tailed gulls often are presented and also Galapagos sea lions. Our trail is flat and short going by the mangrove
forest and saltbush. It is one of the best sites to look for red footed-booby nesting. During the low tie, we have the possibility to observe the rarest gull in the world named lava gull, there is approximately nine hundred individuals
in all of Galapagos Islands. Genovesa is a special place for birdwatchers to see Darwin finches, Galapagos doves, mockingbirds, Nazca boobies and migratory birds.
Once back to the beach there will be another chance for snorkeling from the beach.
DAY 4 – WEDNESDAY
AM: BARTOLOMÉ ISLAND
From the summit of Bartolome, we have the most famous view, overlooking the pinnacle rock and Santiago Island beyond. This volcanic scenery has often been linked to a lunar landscape. The altitude of the island is just 114
meters. From the trail to the top of the island we observe, spatter cones, lava tubes and very few plants. This island has a small colony of Galapagos penguins which is the only specie of its family to live in the tropics
and has only one population in the northern hemisphere. This can be observed during a boat ride activity. We have a snorkeling time with good possibilities to see Galapagos penguins, white-tipped reef sharks and playful
sea lions.
PM: THE SULLIVAN BAY, SANTIAGO ISLAND
This site located at the southeastern part of Santiago Island is of important geological interest. Extensive lava flows, “pa-hoe-hoe” which is a smooth ropy formation and “aa” which is explosive, this was formed about 120 years ago. In the middle of the lava flow, older reddish-yellow colored tuff cones appear. There are few plants well adapted to the dry conditions such as Mollugo grow out of the fissures, lava cactus and chamaesyce.
Tree molds are holes in the surface of hardened lava where a tree once stood, indicating that in that position large size plants grew in small crevices, until the lava flow of past eruptions burned down the flora of the island.
DAY 5 – THURSDAY
AM: HIGHLANDS TORTOISE RESERVE (SANTA CRUZ ISLAND)
After a bus ride of 40 minutes from Puerto Ayora, we have the highlands in front of us, during our walk is possible to admire different kinds of birds, such as tree and ground finches, paint-billed crakes, yellow warblers
and cattle egrets (often standing on the tortoises’ shell and cows). This expedition offers great opportunities to see the contrasts of the different ecosystems that Galapagos has in each island. Galapagos giant tortoises are present on the trail, wandering through pastures in the paddocks.
A light rain jacket is suggested to visit this point because usually is misty or rainy.
AFTER THE EXCURSION WE GO BACK STRAIGHT TO THE BALTRA AIRPORT
