8 days cruise yacht Calipso

Morning – Arrival at San Cristobal 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 the San Cristobal 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$100), if not already paid. Your guide will meet you at the airport, help you with your luggage and take you to the ship.
After greeting the crew and captain, you will be assigned your cabins and then have your first lunch together.

Afternoon – Witch Hill: The main attraction in this place is the coral sand beach. It is perfect for swimming and snorkeling. Witch Hill is a remnant of a tuff cone. It is one of the first places Charles Darwin visited. Captain Fitzroy climbed the hill to spy out reefs. It’s an impressive landscape that often makes it possible to see shorebirds and migratory birds, including pelicans, blue-footed boobies, and fork-tailed gulls, as well as sea lions and marine lizards.
Sometimes the lagoon is completely dry and salt deposits are on the bottom. The people of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno used the lagoon as a salt mine.

Meals: Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Bartolomé: The beautiful volcanic island of Bartolomé is one of the youngest of the islands, and in geological terms was only recently born from fire. Although lifeless at first glance, Bartolomé offers some of the wildest landscapes and best panoramic views in the entire archipelago. To enjoy the postcard-like view of idyllic ‘Pinnacle Bay’, you’ll need to climb the stairs to the island’s lookout point (114m). Enter a dramatic world of menacing (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, pristine lava fields.

Afternoon – Egas Port: After a “wet landing” take an easy walk along the trails and beautiful coastline of the black sand beach where you can see birds, sea lions, red cliff crabs, marine iguanas and the Galapagos fur seal. During the hike you may see some of the Darwin’s finches, yellow warblers and many other beautiful and unique animals!

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Espinoza Point (Fernandina): Espinoza Point is the only visitor site on land on Fernandina Island and one of the few places where you can find some bizarre outgrowths of natural selection. The showpiece is the flight-less 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 outer-space views 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 – Tagus Cove (Isabela): Explosive eruptions have broken off parts of the volcanoes that now form the horseshoe-shaped Tagus Cove. Driving along the cliffs, you have a good chance of seeing Galapagos pen-guins.
The inner rim of the crater encompasses Lake Darwin. Look out for graffiti – it used to be a tradition for sailors to write the names of their ships on the eastern cliffs of Tagus Bay. As you walk along the crater rim of Lake Darwin, you’ll have great views of the outer collapse crater and the extensive lava slope on Darwin Volcano. The arid interior of the island is over-grown with tropical dry forest vegetation with a special variety of palo santo, Galapagos cotton and yellow cordia (muyuyu). During the hike you may also see Darwinfinks, flycatchers and Galapagos buzzards.

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 close to the base of the Alcedo volcano. The coastline went through a major uplift in 1954, ex-tending the shore for a kilometre. Here you will find corals, shells and many other calcareous organisms above water. Urbina Bay is home to the large and colourful land iguanas and giant tortoises of the Vulcan Alcedo population. There are also many Darwin’s finches to be seen.

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 is various species of birds that can be found at the lakes and in the mangrove forests.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – North Seymour: The shallow little island of North Seymour is an elevated part of the seabed. Among the scraggy bushes you can spot Galapagos Iguanas. You will also see many seabirds such as the brown pelican, red-billed tropicbirds, fork-tailed gulls and, depending on the season, Nazca boobies. The main attraction, however, is Galapagos’ largest breeding colony of blue-footed boobies – be careful not to step on their nests! – and frigatebirds. At the beginning of the breeding season, adult male frigatebirds inflate their bright red throat pouches to nearly the size of a soccer.

Afternoon – South Plaza: After breakfast, you will take an unforgettable guided walk on South Plaza, the best place to encounter the native Galapagos 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 noddi terns delight you with their spectacular flights.
Take your binoculars and watch the red-billed tropicbirds with their graceful tails and spectacular mating fights. These cliffs are also the nesting grounds of the native fork-tailed gulls.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Post Office Bay, Baroness Lookout: First you will visit Post Office Bay. The history of this place is closely connected with 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 deliv-ered. Feel free to give it a try! It is possible that your mail will reach its destination faster this way than it would with the Ecuadorian postal service.
In the north of Floreana Island is the beautiful “Baroness Viewpoint”. The island was the desti-nation 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.

Afternoon – Cormorant Point: The peninsula of Cormorant Point forms the northern cape of Floreana, 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 pulveri-zation by grinding up calcium-bearing skeletons of still-living corals. You may spot swarms 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.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Santa Fe: You will be welcomed directly by a Galapagos sea lion colony on the beach, where you will have time for either a refreshing swim or exceptional snorkelling surrounded by tropical reeffishes 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, you will take a guided nature walk.
This extraordinary island is a remnant of what is probably the oldest volcano in Galapagos.
Your guide will decide whether to do an easy, short walk or a strenuous, longer hike inland (medium difficulty, about 3 km).

Afternoon – Charles Darwin Station: Inflatable 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 essential conservation of the unique archipelago is carried out. The complex houses the Interpretation and Information Centre of the National Park and the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The most memorable part of your visit will most likely be the successful hatchery and encounter with the Galapagos giant tortoises. Before lunch you will have some time to explore the area.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Gianni Arismendy Interpretation Center (San Cristobal): The Interpretation Centre is located near the capital Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. It was opened in 1998 as part of the Interpretation and Environmental Education Project. Visitors can view exhibits on natural history, human history and conservation in the Galapagos Islands. Conservation efforts represent the movement to protect wildlife and the natural environment through population and tourist control. The Gianni Arismendy Interpretation Center has an outdoor area, audiovisual equipment and meeting rooms.

After this excursion, you will be transferred to San Cristobal airport for your return or onward flight.

Meals: Breakfast