Today we get ready to explore the most amazing archipelago on the Pacific coast and the place where Charles Darwin based his theory of the evolution of species. We will board a morning flight from Quito to the island of San Cristóbal. Once arrived, we have a transfer to the hotel in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and a short briefing about the next days, before the adventure begins. In the afternoon we will head to “La Loberia”, which is a home beach for large Galapagos sea lions, we can spot them while snorkeling, as they are very curios and approach to swim next to you underwater. They may also be lazing over rocks or just lazy dozing in the sand. We also get to see yellow warbler birds, frigate birds, and several species of Darwin’s finches along the beach. In between the rocks we can find marine iguanas, which you can only see in Galapagos. We also have the time to go for a refreshi ng swim, explore the waters with our snorkel equipment and enjoy the beach.

LIST OF POSSIBLE BIRDS: Swallow-tailed Gul, Red billed tropicbird, Nazca booby, Blue footed booby, Common Tern, Great Frigate Bird, Magnificent Frigate Bird, San Cristobal Mocking bird.

The Spanish island (or Hood, in honor to the British admiral Samuel Hood) is, with 60 km ², one of the smaller that form the Ecuadorian archipelago of the Galapagos islands. It is the oldest of all, with about 300 million years of existence. Uninhabited, there live several animal species of interest, such as the endemic mockingbird of Hispaniola, the Galapagos dove, the Galapagos Gull, the marine iguana, albatross and pinnipeds.

Two places are especially popular with visitors: Gardner Bay, which has a beach renowned for its beauty, and Punta Suarez, of interest for its variety of birds.

Gardner Islet is the most beautiful in all of Galapagos. It is home to many colonies of sea lions and turquoise water makes a beautiful contrast with white sand consisting of shell dust. On the rocks are mixed large marine iguanas and zayapas.

Cucuves fight for their territory and inspect the backpacks of tourists. About 50 m from the shore is a rock where you can find tropical fish and rays while doing surface diving. But more spectacular is the Gardner Rock that can be reached with a panga. This is home to white-fin reef sharks and other colorful sea-dwellers very popular among divers.

Punta Suarez is located on the west end of the island. The tourist trail is about 2 km long and goes from one end of the island to the other while revealing the spectacular life of the birds. There are many blue footed boobies nesting, you should be careful not to step on one of their nests (depending on season). You can observe red marine iguanas that are spread in the sun or the buzzards on the top of the trees. They hunt juvenile blue-footed boobies. Following the path, you can find masked boobies that are nesting almost all year round on the cliffs.

LIST OF POSSIBLE BIRDS: Galapagos Hawk, Waved Albatross, Espanola Mockingbird, Espanola Ground-finch, Blue Footed booby, Nazca Booby, American Oyster-catcher, Galapagos Shearwater, Galapagos Petrel., Vegetarian Finch.

In the morning we will fly to Isabela Island, to visit the breeding centre, wetlands and the Flamingo lagoon of this unique island.

In the afternoon we will head towards Tintoreras Islet, located at a short distance from Puerto Villamil and home to a great variety of wildlife. Its turquoise, crystalline waters are inhabited by white-tipped reef sharks, Galapagos Penguins, marine turtles and sea lions. One of its beaches, surrounded by mangroves, is one of the few sites where marine iguanas can reproduce successfully.

LIST OF POSSIBLE BIRDS: Flamingo, Blue-winged Teal, Galapagos Dove, Large-ground finch, Black-necked Stilt, American Oyster Catcher, Great Blue Heron, Small ground finch, Medium ground finch, Galapagos penguin, Red necked Phalarope, Pied-billed Grebe, Brown pelican, Whimbrel, White Cheeked Pintail, Willet.

Explore the amazing formations of lava created by the last eruptions of the volcanic island along the seashore. This magical place has historically been filmed by BBC and National Geographic for their documentaries. It is a labyrinth of lava arches comprised of crystal-clear water full of sea turtles, eagle rays, sea lions, sharks and more. The turtles navigate their own highway from the mangroves to the open sea through “Los Tuneles”. Here, we will have the best snorkelling opportunity with all these beautiful animals, including the curious Galapagos penguins playing around. Before or after the trip, you can enjoy some optional activities such as snorkelling at “Concha de Perla”, biking or just relax on the exotic white-sand beaches of Isabela Island. We recommend you to take some time to visit the giant tortoise breeding centre located walking distance from the hotel.

In the morning, traverse from Isabela to Santa Cruz Island to visit ‘El Chato’ reserve in the highlands of Santa Cruz, home to the famous Galapagos tortoises. Hiking through El Chato’s beautiful landscape with these lumbering giants is an unforgettable experience! We will also see other highland wildlife such as pintail ducks, egrets, flycatchers, finches and frigatebirds, which gather to wash the salt off their feathers at a fresh water lake.

We will then visit the Charles Darwin Research Station to learn more about many of the endemic species seen in the wild, as well as the ongoing conservation and management efforts on the Galapagos Islands.

Afterwards, return to Puerto Ayora to spend the evening in Galapagos’ most populous town.

The check point to visit Santa Fe is the northwest of the island. It is a beautiful turquoise bay with two white sand beaches populated by sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) sunbathing. The landing is made at any of the beaches and the trail begins behind the vegetation, such as saltbush, Galapagos thornbush, leatherleaf trees, palos santos. The path is rocky, but it is not a quick or difficult hike, it takes about an hour and a half to look at the different such as Santa Fe lava lizards, Darwin finches, Galapagos doves, Galapagos snakes, rodents and perhaps the Galapagos hawk (Buteo galapagoensis) looking for a potential prey. The star on Santa Fe is the pale land iguana (Conolophus pallidus), endemic to the island, this means that it is the only place where you can find it.

Santa Fe Island also has a type of cactus found only there (the cactus Opuntia echios var Barringtonensis) larger and thicker than any other in Galapagos, reaching a height of twenty-five feet and a circumference of about five feet.

The trail ends at the second beach.

LIST OF POSSIBLE BIRDS: Darwin finches, Galapagos Doves, Galapagos Hawk.

This is a flat, rocky island, that requires comfortable shoes for hiking, the trail is only 2 miles, but do not forget a bottle of water and sun protection because the visit is about an hour and a half.

North Seymour is a small island located at the north of Baltra (also known as South Seymour, by the location of the airport) the land is quite barren and rocky and the vegetation consists mostly of cactus, palo santo trees, green sticks, muyuyos and sesuviums. The island is one of the most beautiful attractions in Galapagos, and we can find the most iconic animals of the islands. It is one of the few places where we can enter and visit the colony of frigate birds (Fregata minor), nesting in the bushes near the trails. The male frigate birds in their mating season, inflate their red gullar sack to attract females. Later, we find the famous blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii), which also nest on the island. They can be seen performing courtship, which is one of the most amazing spectacles of nature. They are seen incubating eggs, feeding their chicks or juveniles training to become strong and able to fly and fish on their own.

We can also find land iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus) around the cactus patrolling their territories, Darwin finches, Galapagos doves, lava herons, sally light foot crabs (Grapsus grapsus) and playful sea lion pups on the banks.

Today we will return from the islands to Quito city. Departure day!