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 Tour Description:
Sail and Discover the Galapagos islands on the
"Evolution Nature cruise" in style and comfort onboard
one of the newest vessels currently sailing the waters
around the Archipelago, the "M/V
Evolution". With spacious social areas and
accommodations, great ambiance and excellent service,
provided by a professional and friendly crew, the ship alone
will make this an unforgettable experience.
During this eight day nature cruise you will visit 10 of the most interesting islands of the archipelago.
Profesional Naturalist guides
will accompany you on all your shore excursions to explain and teach you about the
history of the islands and show you the fascinating
Flora, Fauna and underwater world of the this amazing
group of islands.
A day on the
"Evolution Nature cruise" begins with breakfast
followed by the morning excursion. Excursions are scheduled either
in the morning and afternoon and can be a "dry" or "wet"
landing. During dry landings passengers step from a
dinghy onto rocks or a dock while on a wet landing the
dinghy will edge onto a sandy beach where passengers
will step into knee deep water and wade ashore. Every night the Naturalist guides
will give a briefing on the day's activities and the
excursions planned for the following day. Enjoy your
Galapagos cruise. |
Day 1
- Sunday
AM -
SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND
The flight from Quito (via Guayaquil) to the Galapagos
is approximately 2 ½ hours on a Boeing 727. Our services will begin
upon arrival at
San Cristobal airport. Arriving passengers will pass
through an airport inspection point to insure that no foreign plants
or animals are introduced to the islands and it is here where the
park entrance fee of $100 will be paid (unless prepaid). Guides will
meet you, collect your luggage and escort you on the short bus ride
to the harbor. Motorized rafts, called ‘Pangas’ will
transport you to the
M/V Evolution and the crew will welcome you onboard. After a
briefing and a light lunch prepare for the first excursion.
|
Contact us for services in Quito and Guayaquil and airfares
to the Galapagos and Ecuador |
PM - SAN
CRISTOBAL ISLAND - Isla Lobos
We will disembark at Isla Lobos which means Sea-Lion Island.
The name is
certainly appropriate because here we can appreciate the sea lions
frolic, leap and make a racket. Isla Lobos is located North of San Cristóbal,
one hour across a small channel. It is also a nesting
place for blue
footed boobies and a good place for snorkeling.
EVE - Dinner and overnight on board.
(L, D.)
Day
2 - Monday
AM - HOOD (ESPANOLA) ISLAND - Punta
Suarez
After breakfast we will visit
Hood,
one of the oldest of the islands in the Galapagos. It is small and
flat with no visible volcanic crater or vent. Punta Suarez is one of
the most outstanding wildlife areas of the archipelago, with a long
list of species found along its cliffs and sand or pebble beaches.
In addition to five species of nesting seabirds there are the
curious and bold Hood Island mockingbirds, Galapagos doves and
Galapagos hawks and we can observe several types of reptiles,
including the brilliantly colored marine iguana and the oversized
lava lizard, unique to this island. When heavy swells are running,
Punta Suarez is also the site of a spectacular blowhole, with
thundering spray shooting 30 yards into the air.
PM - HOOD (ESPANOLA) ISLAND -
Gardner Bay
Gardner Bay is on the eastern shore and has a magnificent
beach which we will visit this afternoon. The beach is frequented by a transient colony of sea lions,
and is a major nesting site for marine turtles. Around the small
islets nearby, snorkelers will find lots of fish and sometimes
turtles and sharks. On a trail leading to the western tip of the
island you'll pass the only nesting sites in the Galapagos of the
waved albatross, huge birds with a 6-foot wingspan. These huge birds
nest here from April to December and represent the majority of the
world’s population of this species.
EVE - Dinner and overnight on board.
(B, L, D)
Day 3 - Tuesday
AM - SANTA CRUZ (INDEFATIGABLE) ISLAND
- Puerto Ayora Town
Santa Cruz is the only inhabited island to be visited during this
Galapagos cruise. Puerto Ayora, with a population of about 10,000
people is the location of the Charles Darwin Research Station, world
famous for its tortoise breeding programs. After touring the
Station, journey by bus into the highlands to Los Gemelos the two
deep pit craters situated in the Scalesia forest with lots of
interesting bird life. Go for a walk through the giant lava tubes,
visit the Tortoise Reserve to search for giant tortoises in their
natural surroundings. There will be some free time to explore the
town of Puerto Ayora on your own.
PM - SANTA CRUZ (INDEFATIGABLE)
ISLAND - Highlands
In the afternoon we explore the lush greenery of the Santa Cruz Highlands, a definite contrast
with the arid scenery of the smaller, lower islands. A point of
interest is the famed lava tunnels, a fun and geologically
informative visit. The trip to the highlands ends with a visit to
the Twin Crater.
EVE - Dinner and overnight on board.
(B, L, D)
Day 4 -
Wednesday
AM - TOWER (GENOVESA) ISLAND -
Prince Philip's Steps
Our morning excursion brings us to
Tower, where we will take a trail, called Prince Philip Steps, leading to an open area
where we observe
masked boobies, frigates, and red-footed boobies. At the end of this
trail are thousands of band - rumped storm petrels at the cliff's
edge, where they nest in crevices. Short-eared owls can sometimes be
seen here, hunting the storm petrels during daylight hours.
PM - TOWER (GENOVESA) ISLAND -
Darwin Bay Beach
Tower is a collapsed volcano and ships sail directly into its large
breached caldera to anchor at the foot of the steep crater walls.
The island attracts vast numbers of pelagic seabirds that come here to
nest and breed, Great frigate birds, red-footed boobies,
swallow-tailed gulls and storm petrels can be seen here. We will
take a trail leading from a coral
beach past tidal lagoons where lava gulls and yellow-crowned night
herons can be seen, then along the low shrubs populated by frigates and
boobies, and eventually to a cliff edge where seabirds soar.
EVE - Dinner and overnight on board.
(B, L, D)
Day 5 - Thursday
AM -
FERNANDINA (NARBOROUGH) ISLAND - Punta Espinosa
Fernandina is the youngest and most active volcano in the Galapagos
with eruptions taking place every few years. In the morning we
explore Punta Espinosa where the flat lava offers a stark and barren landscape,
Flightless
cormorants build their nests here on the point, sea lions sprawl on the
beach or play in the tide pools and marine iguanas dot the sand.
PM -
ISABELA (ALBEMARLE) ISLAND - Tagus Cove
After lunch we visit Tagus Cove on
Isabela.
The island was a favorite site of the early pirates and whalers
and Tagus Cove
has a continuing historical tradition (now discouraged), evident as
one reads the names of hundreds of ships which were first carved and
now are painted on the high cliffs that enclose the protected
cove. More important, however, is the inside trail around a salt
crater lake, called Darwin Lake, the Dry Zone vegetation and the
lave fields of Darwin Volcano. A dinghy ride (tour) along the cliffs
will give the visitor a good chance to see brown pelicans, marine
iguanas and to see Galapagos Penguins, flightless cormorants,
migratory birds, and quite a few marine invertebrates in the inter
tidal zone.
EVE - Dinner and overnight on board.
(B, L, D)
Day 6 - Friday
AM
- SANTIAGO (SAN SALVADOR / JAMES) ISLAND - Puerto Egas
In the morning we visit
Santiago island with several sites to visit at the western end of James
Bay. Puerto Egas with its black sand beaches was the site of small
salt mining industry in the 1960s and a hike inland to the salt
crater is an excellent opportunity to sight land birds such as
finches, doves, and hawks. A walk down the rugged shoreline,
especially at low tide, will turn up many marine species as iguanas
basking on the rocks and sea lions lazing in the tide pools. At the
end of the trail there is a series of grottoes or sea caves where
fur seals and night herons are found resting on shady ledges. Just
north of James Bay is Buccaneer Cove, a particularly scenic area of
steep cliffs and dark beaches.
PM -
BARTOLOME (BARTHOLOMEW) ISLAND
Close to Santiago we find the small island of
Bartolome
with its beautiful white sand beaches,
luxuriant green mangroves and a colony of penguins. Activities will
include swimming and snorkeling and a climb to the summit of the
island for one of the most breathtaking views in all the Galapagos.
From the summit you will have the best view of the
often-photographed Pinnacle Rock.
EVE - Dinner and overnight on board.
(B, L, D.)
Day 7 - Saturday
AM -
NORTH SEYMOUR (SEYMOUR NORTE) ISLAND
North Seymour is an uplifted (as opposed to volcanic) island and so
is generally flat and strewn with boulders. There are good nesting
sites here for a large population of magnificent frigate birds.
Blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance in the more open
areas and swallow-tailed gulls perch on the cliff edges. Despite the
tremendous surf that can pound the outer shore, sea lions haul out
onto the beach and can be found together with marine iguanas.
PM - SANTA CRUZ (INDEFATIGABLE)
ISLAND - Black Turtle Cove
On
Santa Cruz the panga will take you into a tidal lagoon to see three kinds of
mangrove plants, red, white and black. White-tipped sharks, spotted
rays, mustard rays and Pacific marine turtles frequent the waters
here.
EVE - Dinner and overnight on board.
(B, L, D.)
Day 8 - Sunday
AM - SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND - Kicker
Rock - Departure
On this last morning we get back to
San Cristobal. Here we will visit Kicker Rock, a magnificent rock in the middle of the
sea. Rising 500 feet strait from the ocean, this giant uplifted rock
has the shape of a sleeping lion. It has a split with towering
vertical walls on either side, forming a narrow channel through
which small vessels can navigate. Later transfer from the ship to
the airport for the departure flight to mainland Ecuador.
(B.)
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