GALAPAGOS  EXPLORER  NATURE  CRUISE - EGIC01
8 days / 7 nights -  Wednesday thru Wednesday

 Day 1 - Wednesday
AM or PM - QUITO or GUAYAQUIL - SAN CRISTOBAL (CHATHAM) ISLAND
You will fly from either Quito or Guayaquil (flights not included) to the island of San Cristobal (Chatham) - Galapagos. This is the easternmost island of the Galapagos Islands. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the capital of the Galapagos province and the location of the extraordinary Interpretation Center for Galapagos National Park. You will be met by the crew of the M/V Galapagos Explorer II outside the customs area at the airport. Transfer to the ship where you will board and settle into your cabin.

PM - SAN CRISTOBAL (CHATHAM) ISLAND - Cerro Brujo
Lunch on board followed by the first excursion of the cruise. On this first day in the Galapagos you will visit one location near San Cristobal Island. We head out to Cerro Brujo for a wet landing. Here we have a chance to observe blue footed boobies, brown pelicans, coast bird (Whimbrels, sander lings, etc), Darwin’s finches and yellow warblers. There will be time to go to the beach for swimming and snorkeling activities before returning back to the ship.
 
EVE - Dinner on board and evening at leisure. Overnight on board
(L, D.)



 Day 2 - Thursday
AM - ESPANOLA (HOOD) ISLAND - Punta Suarez
After breakfast disembark for excursion to Espanola (Hood) island, the southernmost island of the archipelago. Because it is so isolated, the island has a large population of indigenous wildlife. You will explore Punta Suarez, one of the most spectacular spots in the Galapagos, where you’ll look for sea lions surfing the breaking waves and groups of iguanas basking in the sun. Further inland, Masked and Blue-footed Boobies nest beside the trails. You can hike a trail towards the cliffs to the Blowhole, a fissure in the lava cliffs where seawater jets high in the air.
 
PM - ESPANOLA (HOOD) ISLAND - Gardner Bay
In the afternoon, after lunch, we visit Gardner Bay on Espanola (Hood) island. This long beach is about 1 kilometer long and is among the most magnificent in the Galapagos. It is home to many sea lion colonies and the turquoise colored water makes a beautiful contrast to the white sand that consists of shell dust. Mocking birds fight for their territory and inspect the backpacks of the tourists. About 50 meters of the coast there is a rock where you can encounter tropic fish and rays while snorkeling. But more spectacular is the Gardner Rock that can be reached with a dinghy. It is home to white-tipped reef shark, cactus finch and other colorful sea dwellers and very popular among snorkelers.
 
EVE - Dinner and evening at leisure. Overnight on board.
(B, L, D.)
  
 Day 3 -Friday
AM - SANTA CRUZ (INDEFATIGABLE / CHAVEZ) ISLAND - Charles Darwin Research Station & Puerto Ayora
In the morning hours, you will visit Santa Cruz (Indefatigable / Chavez) Island, landing in the town of Puerto Ayora. Here we will visit the Darwin Station to learn about the research conducted on the island. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a Galapagos tortoise breeding and rearing center, where tortoises of different subspecies are prepared for reintroduction to their natural habitats. Afterwards, you can stroll through Puerto Ayora, largest town on the islands before returning to the ship for lunch.
 
PM - RABIDA (JERVIS) ISLAND
While lunching the ship moves on to our next island, Rabida (Jervis). The island is covered by dry and coastal vegetation, and has a central volcano of 367 square meters. Rabida contains the largest variety of lava types, being red the dominant color. A salt-water lagoon provides occasional sights of Flamingos. While the beach holds a large sea lion colony, fur seals also may be seen here. Red sands and teal waters characterize this island. Sea lions cover the waterfront, and the bull is always making a show of his bravado. There's a short walk to the top of the trail where you can take fabulous photos of the clear waters and volcanic peaks. There's also great snorkeling. Keep near the rocks and keep your eye out for sharks and rays.
 
EVE - Dinner and evening at leisure. Overnight on board.
(B, L, D.)
  
 Day 4 - Saturday
AM - SANTA CRUZ (INDEFATIGABLE / CHAVEZ) ISLAND - Bachas Beach
In the morning we will visit Bachas Beach on Santa Cruz (Indefatigable / Chavez) island. The white sand beach is a great place for swimming. We can also see some nesting site for sea turtles and in the small lagoon behind it we can see flamingos and marine iguanas frequent the shore. Whimbrels, blue heron, pelicans, sally light-foot crab and other species can also be found here.
 
PM - SANTA CRUZ (INDEFATIGABLE / CHAVEZ) ISLAND - Dragon Hill
After lunch we visit a bay located at the northwest site of the Santa Cruz (Indefatigable / Chavez) Island, known as Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill). Since long this bay has been known by whaling men because of the important colonies of land iguanas that lived in this area. During almost the entire year we can see flamingos in the marshland lakes as well as some migratory birds. You will also have the opportunity to see Darwin Finches, Hood Mockingbirds and Lava Lizards. The area has an arid vegetation where you can find some Opuntia cactus, Palo Santo and some other endemic plants. The visit has a wet landing and a 2 kilometer flat trail (about 2 hours hiking), we suggest comfortable walking shoes, walking sticks (if it is necessary) and binoculars for bird watching at the marshland lakes.
The location has a wonderful landscape as we can see Rabida Island at the west and Santa Cruz Island at the East. In the beach zone you can see some endemic coast plants and also some marine iguanas, sea lions, American oystercatchers, pelicans and a small blue-footed bobbies colony.
- Some passengers will disembark here and others will join us for the remainder of our cruise -
 
EVE - Dinner and evening at leisure. Overnight on board.
(B, L, D.)
 
 Day 5 - Sunday
AM - BARTOLOME (BARTHOLOMEW) ISLAND
Today we will visit two different islands. The first destination is the island of Bartolomé (Bartholomew), an island of varied volcanic formations with a 350 foot summit and a fabulous 360º view. Depending upon the weather, you may be able to spot five other islands, one of the most spectacular views of the archipelago. You’ll make a wet landing in a cove to see a small colony of Galapagos penguins - the only penguins north of the equator. Sea lions are also found here. Behind the beach we find red and white mangroves, salt bush, morning glory and prickly pear cactuses.
  
PM - SANTIAGO (JAMES / SAN SALVADOR) ISLAND - Puerto Egas
In the afternoon you will visit Puerto Egas on Santiago (James / Salvador) island. The landing is on a black beach with eroded rock formations in the background. The trail crosses the dry interior, where the remains of a salt-mining enterprise can still be seen and then continues along the coast. Inter-tidal pools are home to a variety of invertebrate organisms. Land iguanas are scattered around feeding on exposed algae while Oyster Catchers try to capture Sally Lightfoot Crabs. The trail then leads to the Fur Seal Grottos, one of the only places in the islands where Fur Seals can be seen. Puerto Egas is a good spot for taking pictures.
 
EVE - Dinner and evening at leisure. Overnight on board.
(B, L, D.)
 
 Day 6 - Monday
AM - FERNANDINA (NARBOROUGH) ISLAND - Punta Espinosa
After breakfast we visit Fernandina (Narborough) island, the youngest and westernmost island in the Galapagos. You will land at Punta Espinoza, a narrow stretch of land where some of the most unusual Galapagos species can be seen. While the "panga" driver skillfully eludes the reef to reach the landing site near a small mangrove forest, look for penguins diving off the rocks into the water. Sally Lightfoot Crabs disperse on the lava near the shore and Herons, Sandpipers and Whimbrels explore the mangrove roots. Marine Iguanas congregate in larger groups here than on any other island. They are everywhere: basking in the sand, swimming near the shore, grazing on the exposed seaweed in the lava and blocking the way at the landing dock. This is one of the few places where there is the opportunity, if the water is clear, of watching them feed underwater while snorkeling.
Following a trail inland, two different types of lava flows can be seen and compared. At the tip of one of the small peninsulas, Flightless Cormorants are found. Without predators on the island, these serpent-necked birds adapted for swimming and not for flight, another example of evolution at work in “nature’s laboratory.”



PM - ISABELA (ALBEMARLE) ISLAND - Punta Vicente Roca
After lunch we visit the largest of the Galapagos islands, Isabela (Albemarle) is composed of six shield volcanoes merged into a single land mass. Wolf Volcano on Isabela is also the highest point in the archipelago. The M/V Galapagos Explorer II is one of only a few faster, better-equipped boats able to make the long journey from the central islands to the visitor sites on the western side of Isabela. The trip is more than worthwhile, however, for the unique species that occur only in this part of the archipelago, and because the landscape, with massive volcanoes silhouetted against the sky, offers a striking contrast to the lower-lying islands of the east.
 
Located on the north-western tip of Isabela island, the visit of Punta Vicente Roca is completely by dingy. The dinghy's are launched on a coastal dingy-ride that skirts 400 - 500 feet cliff sides. Blue-footed boobies, masked boobies & pelicans can be seen here. Also, a lot of sea-turtles feed along this shoreline. Reaching a rocky pile of large basalt, there are colonies of fur-seals & marine iguanas in groups, basking in the sun. Sea lions are also present.
Continuing along the sheer cliffs we approach a secluded cove where, at it's end, dark and yellow rock are superposed. Now we are close to the large cave that allows for snorkeling or sight seeing. Snorkeling at the cave produces a great variety of marine life, specially marine invertebrates. One starts at the intersection between the dark and yellow rock and swims all the way around the small point into the cave, all the way into the cave & then out of the cave until the next point.
 
The water is often murky and very cold as it is called the Galapagos Ice-box . Therefore, one must snorkel very close to the rock in order to see anything but it may produce some of the most exiting snorkeling in Galapagos. Manta rays, Sea Turtles, Sea Lions, Sting-rays, many fish, even Dolphins & Sunfish have been seen and snorkeled with in this bay. Along the cave there are Galapagos Penguins, Marine Iguanas, Swallow-tailed gulls, Masked boobies, Brown noddy 's, Blue footed boobies and a breathtaking scenery.
 
EVE - Dinner and evening at leisure. Overnight on board.
(B, L, D.)
 
 Day 7 - Tuesday
AM - NORTH SEYMOUR ISLAND
In the morning we make a dry landing on North Seymour island, a small flat island with rocks and a long sandy stretch where sea lions and marine iguanas hang out next to a surf wave. The interior has a Palo Santo small Opuntia cactus forest with Blue-footed boobies and magnificent Frigate bird colonies.
 
PM - SANTA CRUZ (INDEFATIGABLE / CHAVEZ) ISLAND - Highlands
In the afternoon we board a bus for a 45-minute ride through changing vegetation zones to the Highlands of Santa Cruz (Indefatigable / Chavez) Island. Here, about 40 giant tortoises live in the wild. By approaching quietly, you can find and observe a turtle on your own. You also hike to tunnels made by cooling lava.
 
EVE - Farewell dinner and evening at leisure. Overnight on board.
(B, L, D.)



 Day 8 - Wednesday
AM - SAN CRISTOBAL ( CHATHAM) ISLAND - Isla Lobos / Interpretation Center / GUAYAQUIL or QUITO
Overnight the ship returns to San Cristobal (Chatham) island. Considering the changes in flight schedules, weather conditions and National Park Regulations, the operator of the M/V Galapagos Explorer II has included several alternatives to the visits offered to passengers on the last day of the cruise program, some of the options are detailed below:
 
- La Loberia: Sea lion colony, Marine iguanas, Warbler, Finches, Blue-footed boobies.
- Isla Lobos: Situated less than an hour's ride from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Lobos Islet is a seasonal nesting location for the Blue-footed Booby. Snorkeling.
- El Junco Lake: Fresh water lake and water reservoir located at 700 meters offers great views, Miconia, ferns, sedges, club moss, tree ferns, white-cheeked pintails, common gallinules
- Interpretation Center: Donated by the Spanish Government in 1998, this state of the art facility offers both tourist and the inhabitants a complete education on the Islands. Your visit to the Archipelago is taken to a new level, since its inauguration.
 
PM - Transfer from the ship to the airport for the return flight to Guayaquil or Quito
(B, L.)
 
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