8 days cruise catamaran Seaman Journey – C

Morning – Arrival at Baltra airport:

Your TCC (Transit Control Card), also known as the Ingala card (US$20 per person), will be issued digitally after you complete an online form. At the airport, this digital card will be checked, and your luggage will be inspected to ensure that no non-native plant or animal species are introduced. In addition, the Galápagos National Park entrance fee (US$200) must be paid upon arrival if it has not already been paid. Your guide will meet you at the airport, help you with your luggage and accompany you on the short bus ride to the port of Baltra.

Afternoon – Highlands (Santa Cruz): You will visit the highlands of the island (so have your shoes and rain jacket ready). Observe giant tortoises in their natural habitat as well as a variety of native and migratory birds including tree finches, ground finches, Galapagos flycatchers and cattle egrets, often standing on the backs of tortoises. Lunch in the highlands. Then drive to Puerto Ayora, the capital of Santa Cruz and board the ship.

Meals: Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Mangle Point (Fernandina): Off the east coast of Fernandina is Mangle Point, an excellent spot for snorkelling and a beautiful place to cruise in a panga or Zodiac among mangroves. A hike of just under a kilometre is possible. During your trip you are likely to see sea lions, turtles, pelicans, rays and birds too numerous to mention.

Afternoon – Moreno Point (Isabela): Punta Moreno is located between the Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul volcanoes, on the north coast of Isabela Island. The trail leads along the lava river Pahoehoe to a complex of several coastal lagoons. The main attraction are various species of birds that can be found at the lakes and in the mangrove forests.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Urbina Bay (Isabela): Urbina Bay is located on the west coast of Isabela, between Elizabeth Bay and Tagus Cove. It is located near the base of the Alcedo volcano. The coastline underwent a major uplift in 1954, extending the shoreline for an kilometer. Here you can find corals, shells and many other calcareous organisms above water. Urbina Bay is home to the large and colorful land iguanas and giant tortoises of the Vulcan Alcedo population. There are also many Darwin’s finches to be seen.

Afternoon – Tagus Cove (Isabela): You will navigate around Tagus Cove along the cliffs. From the rubber boat you have a good chance to see the Galápagos penguins, the flightless cormorants and other seabirds. From the dock it is about a 30-minute walk to the cliff top where you can see Lake Darwin. The lake contains more salt than the sea itself. You can also see some volcanoes from here. Look out for the graffiti on the surrounding cliffs of the bay! They were written by pirates and whalers in the last centuries.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Espinoza Point (Fernandina): Espinoza Point is the only visitor destination by land on Fernandina Island and one of the few places where you can find some bizarre outgrowths of natural selection. The poster child for this is the flightless cormorant, which lives exclusively on the remote western side of the Galapagos and is a kind of Holy Grail of evolution. You’ll also love the almost alien view of the cone of La Cumbre volcano with its spectacular backdrop. The narrow headland you walk along is the end of the lava tongue that has reached the coast and solidified through contact with the cold sea water.

Afternoon – Vicente Roca Point (Isabela): During lunch you will cross the Bolivar Channel for the last time to reach Vicente Roca Point, at the mouth of the seahorse-like shape of Isabela Island. Entering a dark cave under a spectacular arch, the echoes of the waves will accompany you. Just around the corner, the collapsed amphitheater of the Ecuador volcano offers you another impressive view. The calm waters of the bay are well protected from the ocean waves. The water is quite cold, but an excellent place to snorkel among various species of sharks, penguins, puffer fish and seahorses.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Espumilla Beach: Espumilla Beach is a visitor site at the northern end of James Bay, on the west coast of Santiago. Hidden behind the beach are two picturesque lakes. The beach is an important breeding ground for turtles, which return year after year to bury their eggs in the cinnamon-colored sand dunes. Climbing a hill, you will be rewarded with a beautiful view of the transition from the sea to the beach, to mangroves to the Palo Santo forest.

Afternoon – Puerto Egas: At noon you will navigate south to Puerto Egas, which is famous for its fur seal caves, where you will take a special guided walk along the coast. The masterfully sculpted coastline with black basalt and multicolored ash layers forms a photogenic scenery with collapsed lava tunnels, natural arches, caves and holes like “Darwin’s toilet”. In a grotto just below a spectacular stone arch at the end of the beach, a colony of sea lions cavorts in the shade. Hundreds of red cliff crabs glow bright orange on the pitch-black stones.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Rabida: After breakfast and a wet landing on the extraordinary red beach of Rabida, there are two short guided walks planned. Oxidised iron particles give the stones and sand their rusty color. Behind the beach is a green-fringed lagoon. This oasis is the most fertile place on the otherwise dry island, which is overgrown with Palo Santo trees. The salty pool is attractive to all kinds of water birds, such as pintail ducks and sometimes American flamingos. Hidden among the evergreen foliage of the surrounding mangrove bushes, many species of songbirds breed. An outstanding attraction is the large breeding colony of brown pelicans, the only species that dive. On the way back, you will be picked up by inflatable boats where you will prepare for another snorkelling adventure.

Afternoon – Chinese Hat: Chinese Hat is a 52 meter high volcanic cone that forms another small island out of the rocky coast of Santiago, where a small colony of Galapagos penguins has settled. Because its primordial fire went out quite recently, this place is perfect for learning about volcanism, lava bombs and lava tubes. On the beach you can also discover pillow lava with coral on top. This area was originally underwater before it was raised above sea level. Beaches of white coral sand grow and the holes in the eroding lava fields are filled in with lava sand. Galapagos sea lions and marine lizards contribute to the fertility of the soil. All together they create further beneficial options for pioneer plants such as saltbush and the coloring sesuvium carpet.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Sullivan Bay (Santiago): Arriving at Sullivan Bay is like landing on the moon. The desolate, sprawling area seems mostly lifeless, but this island, which is popular with photographers, still offers much to discover. There’s even life! Green turtles burrow on the small white beach, where you can also spot crabs, Canada herons and oysterfischers.

Afternoon – Bartolomé: Bartolomé Island reaches 114 meters high and towers across from Sullivan Bay. Climb the steps of the Bartolomé Summit Trail and be rewarded with panoramic views of volcanic peaks, moon-like craters and lava fields. The island has two stunning beaches, is home to sea turtles, and a very small colony of Galapagos penguins at the base of Pinnacle Rock.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

The two small beaches of Bachas are located to the west of Turtle Bay. The sand is made of decomposed corals, so it is very white and soft, making it the favorite place for nesting sea turtles. Behind one of the beaches there is a small salty lagoon. From time to time you can see flamingos or other shorebirds here, as well as the American stilt and the whimbrel. The other beach is longer with two old barges from World War II, when the U.S. used Baltra Island as a strategic point to protect the Panama Canal. Over time, however, these ship ruins have been washed over by the sand and are currently barely visible.  After this excursion you will be transferred to the airport and say goodbye to the guide and crew!

Meals: Breakfast