8 days cruise yacht Aqua – B8

You will be transferred to the airport in the morning and fly to the Galápagos Islands. 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 Galápagos 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 – North Seymour. This small island is one of the most visited places and is teeming with birds. An easy circular walk takes you through the most extensive colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigate birds in the archipelago. At the beginning of the breeding season, the adult frigate birds inflate their bright red pouches into impressive football-sized balloons. This is one of the few places where you can compare the magnificent and the large frigate birds breeding side by side.

Morning – South Plaza. After breakfast, you will take an unforgettable guided walk on South Plaza, the best place to encounter the native Galápagos land iguanas. Also, note the unique mix between a male marine lizard and a female land iguana. Once on the top ledge, you’ll get an impressive view of booming waves crashing against the cliffs some 20 meters below. Clouds of petrels, storm petrels, shearwaters and noddy terns delight you with their spectacular flights. Take your binoculars and watch the red-billed tropic birds with their graceful tails and their spectacular mating fights. These cliffs are also the nesting sites of the native fork-tailed gulls. Before lunch, you will sail to Santa Fe, possibly accompanied by bottlenose dolphins.
Afternoon – Santa Fe. After lunch, you will be met directly by a Galápagos sea lion colony on the beach, where you will have time for either a refreshing swim or exceptional snorkeling surrounded by tropical reef fishes in the crystal clear waters of Barrington Bay. In addition, you will see vast opuntia cactus forests. The largest cacti on the island have extremely thick trunks and can grow over 10 meters tall. After a wet landing on Santa Fe beach, take a guided nature walk. This extraordinary island is a remnant of what is probably the oldest volcano in Galápagos. Your guide will decide whether to follow an easy, short walk or a strenuous, longer hike inland (moderately difficult, about 3 km).

Morning – Cormorant Point, Champion Islet. The peninsula of Cormorant Point forms the northern cape of Floreana, which was formed by a series of smaller volcanic cones covered with tropical dry forest (palo santo). The green sand on the beach at the site contains a high percentage of glassy olivine crystals that were blown out by the surrounding tuff cones. The ‘flour sand’ beach on the south side of the peninsula consists of even whiter coral sand that feels very smooth on the feet. Parrotfish have provided pulverization by grinding up calcium-bearing skeletons of still-living corals. You may spot schools of stingrays that like to bury themselves in the sandy bottom. During the first months of the year, green sea turtles come ashore to bury their eggs. By dinghy, explore Champion Islet, one of the best snorkeling sites on the islands. There are plenty of reef fish to see and maybe even a green turtle. Along the shoreline you can spot many native seabirds including Galápagos penguins, blue-footed boobies, magnificent frigate birds and red-billed tropic birds, fork-tailed gulls and lava herons. For many birdwatchers, there is also a wish to catch a glimpse of the Florean Mockingbird atop the opuntias. This mockingbird is a keystone species scientifically and historically because it gave Darwin the clue to the theory of Adaptive Radiation.
Afternoon – Post Office Bay, Baroness Lookout. First, visit Post Office Bay. The history of this place is closely linked to a wooden barrel built there by the crew of a whaling ship in the 18th century. At that time, the barrel was used by sailors as a post office. Even today, visitors use the barrel in the same way. The idea is to “send” letters and postcards to their destinations by placing them in the barrel. At the same time, other mail is taken out to be sent to one’s home address. This foreign mail is then delivered. Feel free to give it a try! It could well be that your mail will be at your destination faster this way than it would be with Ecuadorian mail. In the north of Floreana Island is the beautiful “Baroness Viewpoint”. The island was the destination of the first colonialists in Galapagos. Among them was the Baroness Eloisa von Wagner. The viewpoint is located very close to the ruins of the house inhabited by the Baroness. From this viewpoint you have a wonderful view of the coastal landscape of Enderby Island to the Post Office Bay, Cerro Pajas, the Flamingo Lagoon and the Palo Santo Forest.

Morning – El Chato Reserve, Twin Craters. The native Scalesia Forest of El Chato Turtle Reserve is the best place to observe Galápagos giant tortoises in their most authentic environment! Besides the interesting breeding centers – where you are guaranteed to find turtles in their enclosures – there is nothing better than observing them in their natural environment. It can get quite wet and muddy as you embark on an adventurous search for the turtles once they have silently left their favourite pond. The Cráteres Gemelos (twin craters) are located on both sides of the road leading to Puerto Ayora. These impressive formations are not really volcanic craters and were formed by magma domes that hardened on the outside while the lava continued to flow inside, leaving huge, empty magma chambers that eventually collapsed, leaving two large holes. The craters lie in the middle of a lush Scalesia cloud forest, a high-altitude plant species that is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. This area is also home to the carpenter finch, which uses tools to forage for food. There is also the possibility of seeing the Pajaro Brujo (Vermilion Flycatcher), a small red-breasted bird.
Afternoon – Fausto Llerena Breeding Centre (Santa Cruz). At the Fausto Llerena breeding center you will have the opportunity to take amazing photos of the turtles! The tour starts at the GNP information booth. The path continues to the Van Straelen Interpretation Centre, the Breeding Centre, and from there a trail leads you to see the Española Island turtles, ending at the turtle exhibition enclosure. The turtles in this enclosure are used to people; it is an excellent place to have your photo taken with them!

Morning – Dragon Hill. On Dragon Hill, there are two main species that are most likely to be seen on any visit to the Galápagos, although not spaced too widely across the islands: Galápagos land iguanas and American flamingos. They climb a hill with huge Opuntia cacti, where these “dragons” feed and breed. Although they are quite shy and difficult to capture, you have a fair chance to see the success of this project with your own eyes. The short trail crosses the coastal vegetation zone as well as the slightly higher dry zone with endangered tropical dry forest. In the warm and humid season in the first half of the year, everything turns green. Evergreen giant prickly pear cacti with internal reservoirs chose a different survival tactic in this dry climate than the leaf-dropping palo santo trees; in the end, both were successful. It’s also a very photogenic place, with stunning panoramas across the bay and onto a fascinating, steep volcanic spout of red lava that overlooks the area. Dragon Hill has become popular for its salty lagoons behind the beach; these contain seaweed and shrimp and attract seasonal foraging American flamingos. Dragon Hill is the best place on Santa Cruz to see them.
Afternoon – Sullivan Bay. Arriving at Sullivan Bay is like landing on the moon. The desolate, sprawling fields seem mostly lifeless, but this island, especially popular with photographers, still offers plenty to see. There is even life! Green sea turtles burrow into the small white sandy beach, where you can also find crabs, blue herons and oystercatchers.

Morning – Puerto Egas. Puerto Egas, west of Santiago Island, is famous for its fur seal grottoes, where you will take a special guided walk along the coast. The coastline, sculpted as if by an artist’s hand, with black basalt and multicolored layers of ash form a photogenic scenery with collapsed lava tunnel, 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.
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 Galápagos penguins has settled. Because its primordial fire went out quite recently, this place is perfect for learning about volcanism, lava bombs and lava tunnels. 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. Galápagos sea lions and marine lizards contribute to the fertility of the soil. All together, they create more beneficial options for pioneer plants such as salt bush and the staining Vesuvius carpet.

Morning – Rabida Island. After a “wet landing” on the remarkable red beach of Rabida, there are two short guided walks. Oxidized iron particles give the rocks and sand their rusty color. At the beach wall is a shallow, green-lined lagoon; this oasis is the most fertile spot on the usually arid island, covered with leafy palo santo trees. The salty pool attracts all kinds of species of waterfowl, such as pintails and sometimes American flamingos. Among the evergreen foliage of the surrounding mangrove bushes, many species of songbirds hide and breed. One of the most outstanding attractions is the large breeding colony of brown pelicans, the only ones in the world that dive.
Afternoon – Bartolomé. The beautiful volcanic island of Bartolomé is one of the youngest islands and, in geological terms, was only recently formed out of fire. Even though lifeless at first sight, Bartolomé offers some of the wildest landscapes and the best panoramic views of the entire archipelago. To enjoy the postcard view of idyllic ‘Pinnacle Bay’, you must climb the stairs to the island lookout (114m/375ft). Enter a dramatic world of intimidating (albeit extinct) nearby spatter cones, craters and light lava drops spewed by fiery fountains. The Summit Trail is also ideal for watching sparse pioneer vegetation, such as lava cactus, struggle to take root in the bare, untouched lava fields.

Morning – Mosquera. Mosquera is located in the middle of the Itabaca Channel, between Baltra and North Seymour. Mosquera offers beautiful white coral sand and simplifies the landing, unlike their neighbors Seymour and Baltra with their rocky coastline. The Galápagos sea lions are real beach lovers. These flink fishermen come through the Itabaca Channel, which is a natural trap for marine life due to the submerged elevation between Baltra and Santa Cruz. Here you will have time to snorkel or take a walk on the beach. Among the rocks, red cliff crabs are waiting to play hide and seek while you try to snap the perfect photo. If you’re lucky, you might even see crab egrets or even a red-footed booby.
After this excursion, you will be transferred to the airport and say goodbye to the guide and crew!