7 days cruise yacht Solaris – A

Morning – Arrival at Baltra Airport: At the mainland airport, you have purchased your TCC or Ingala card and a luggage inspection has already been conducted to ensure that no foreign plant or animal species are introduced. Upon your arrival at Seymour Ecological airport, your TCC (Transit Control Card) will be stamped. This must be kept in a safe place during your trip, as it must be presented again on your return flight. In addition, the Galapagos National Park entrance fee is due upon entry (US$200), if not already paid. Your guide will meet you at the airport, help you with your luggage and will accompany you on the short bus ride to the port. Here you will board the yacht. After greeting the crew and captain, you will be assigned your cabins and then have your first lunch together.

Afternoon – Bachas (Santa Cruz): These two small beaches are located to the west of Turtle Bay on Santa Cruz. Their sand is made of mined corals, which make it white and soft. This makes it a favorite nesting spot for sea turtles. Behind one of the beaches is a smaller water lagoon where you can seasonally see flamingos or other shorebirds, as well as American Stilt and Rainbows. On the second, wider beach, you’ll explore the remains of two abandoned warships. These were abandoned by the U.S. during World War II, when Baltra was used as a strategic base to protect the Panama Canal.

Meals: Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Tintoreras (Isabela): The guided hike follows a bumpy path of volcanic rock (easy/moderate level) to a unique tidal channel. A collapsed lava grotto forms a channel that fills at high tide and closes the entrance at low tide. Marine life is caught, including turtles and elegant spotted eagle rays or golden rays. You can also spot whitetip reef sharks (in Spanish they are called “tintoreras”, hence the official name of the place) resting from their hunt in the crystal clear waters at this site. Here snorkeling is on the agenda for the first time.

Afternoon – Wetlands, Wall of tears, Turtle breeding center (Isabela): After lunch, you will visit the turtle breeding center, where you can see hundreds of giant turtles of all sizes. The defenseless hatchings are not big at all, in fact they are smaller than the size of your palm! This project outside of Puerto Villamil was created to save the endangered populations on the southernmost volcanoes. Puerto Villamil and the surrounding wetlands are home to the historic “Wall of Tears” (national heritage site). Prisoners had to build this long wall of lava stones as a punitive measure. You will also have a chance to see flamingo colonies. At the end of the afternoon, you will have free time to explore the area.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Morning – 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 group of several coastal lagoons. The main attraction are different species of birds that can be found at the lakes and in the mangrove forests.

Afternoon – Mangle Point (Fernandina), Tagus Cove (Isabela): At noon you will sail through the Bolivar Channel to Tagus Cove (travel time 3 h). After enjoying your delicious buffet lunch at full speed on the way, you will snorkel in Tagus Cove. Explosive eruptions have broken off portions of the volcanoes that now form the hoof-shaped Tagus Bay. The inner crater rim encompasses Lake Darwin. In the past, it was a tradition for sailors to write the names of their ships on the eastern cliffs of Tagus Bay. While walking along the crater rim of Darwin Lake, you will have a great view of the outer collapse crater and the extensive lava slope on Darwin Volcano. The arid interior of the island is overgrown with tropical dry forest vegetation with a special variety of palo santo, Galapagos cotton and yellow cordia (muyuyu). During the hike you may also observe finches, flycatchers and Galapagos buzzards.

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, Buccaneer Cove: 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. At the nearby Buccaneers Bay you will have the opportunity to snorkel.

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 form 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 colour. 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 – Charles Darwin Station: After breakfast, rubber boats will take you to the tourist pier of Puerto Ayora, from where you will continue to the Charles Darwin Research Station. Here biological research and indispensable conservation of the unique archipelago are carried out. The complex houses the Interpretation and Information Center of the National Park and the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The most unforgettable part of your visit will most likely be the successful hatchery and encounter with the Galapagos giant tortoises. Afterwards, you will be transferred to Baltra Airport for your flight to the mainland.

Meals: Breakfast