Itinerary

Day 1: Quito – Baltra – Floreana
After breakfast, we will flight from Quito to Baltra Island, then we will drive to Puerto
Ayora on the Santa Cruz Island where we will take our fast boat to Floreana for
about 2 hours. As one of the southernmost islands, Floreana boasts rich soil and
crystal clear water. As a result, Floreana was one of the first Islands to become
inhabited on a permanent basis, and was always seen as a feeding spot by whaling
ships and other boats due to its supposedly inexhaustible supply of tortoises.
We will stay in a basic lodge. Each cabin has its own bathroom, front porche, reading
and shade area to allow you privacy and enjoyement of the outdoors as you observe
the sea.

Day 2: Floreana
We will cruise a cove where it is allowed to visit only with fishermen. There is an
abundance of life in this cove. You will most likely see penguins and sea lions on the
steep, rocky shore. It is a great place for snorkeling were we can see sharks, rays and
tropic fish.
We will return to the lodge for our lunch and then in the afternoon we will visit
the highlands of the Floreana, You will walk up to see the Asilo de la Paz (Peace
Asylum) where the spring is located, an artisan spring that attracted pirates, whalers
and later settlers to Floreana as it was one of the very few year round sources of
fresh water in the Galapagos. The Cueva de los Piratas (Pirate’s Cave) is quite
literally where pirates carved temporary shelter out of soft stone and is also where
one of the original settlers, Margret Wittmer, gave birth to a son, Rolf, who is still
living. Some have almost jokingly referred to it as the ‘Stonehenge’ of Floreana due
to its interesting shapes. Cerro Pajas (Bird Hill) truly lives up to its name with a
multitude of Floreana Finches. It also offers spectacular views of the island and the
sea below.
Back to the hotel.

Day 3: Floreana – Enchanted Beach – Puerto Ayora –
Galapagos Camp
After breakfast we will take our fast boat and we will travel back to Santa Cruz to
visit with our artisan fisherman on of the coves where you can snorkel with white tip
sharks, sea tourtles and marine iguanas, after lunch we will return to Santa Cruz and
drive to our special tented camp on the highlands of Santa Cruz.
Galapagos Safari Camp is a 55-hectare farm in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island
bordering the national park, 30 minutes from the sea. The farm is rich in birdlife with
finches, warblers, mockingbirds, galapagos doves, egrets and owls—tortoises also make
frequent visits. The farm has many local species of trees, such as scalesia, guayabillo,
and palo santo which are rapidly regaining a foothold after years of cattle farming.
The camp has 8 luxury safari tents perched on a hill, providing comfort and privacy in
the wilderness. All tents have a balcony with views of the park and the ocean— they are
spacious, attractively decorated, and each has a private bathroom, with hot shower and
loo. Guests can gather by the fireplace in the main room to view the sunsets, taste our
chef’s creative dishes that cater for the international palate in the panoramic dining
room or enjoy the tranquility of the infinity pool with fabulous ocean scenery.

Day 4: Bahia Ballena – Tortuga Bay – Kayaking –
Galapagos Camp
After 40 minutes and 8 nautical miles of navigation northwest from Puerto Ayora
on Santa Cruz Island, we approach Bahia Ballena, an inlet from the ocean. We
will land at a sandy beach and with a short walk you can observe Galapagos Sea
Lions lounging and unique Marine Iguanas basking in the sun, sometimes resting
on the succulent Sesubium plant, which is commonly known as carpet weed, and
lava rocks. The endemic Darwin’s Finches and Yellow Warbler subspecies fly among
Candelabra and Prickly Pear Opuntia cacti to search for food and nesting sites.
Frigate Birds perch on Mangrove trees and circle the sky to try to steal fish the Blue
Footed Boobies hunt by plunging dives into the water. Here, different species of
mangroves such as Red Mangrove, Black Mangrove, and White Mangrove grow among
the lava fields providing nutrients into the water that attract colorful tropical fish that
can be observed as you snorkel. As you look out from the inlet, you will observe a
series of channels where clusters of lava rocks form small reefs. Among the rocks
you may observe fish such as the multicolored King Angel Fish, Barberfish, schools
of Striped Salemafish, Damselfish with a unique mixture of yellow lips and blue eyes,
Surgeonfish, and gnarled Sea Cucumbers. The depth of the ocean at Bahia Ballena is
approximately 30 feet and in many places there is a sandy bottom, where you will often
see Pacific Green Sea Turtles resting or gracefully swimming to find their food and Long
Tailed Stingrays of different sizes. Occasionally, you may see Leatherback Sea Turtles
during their migratory stage. As you leave Bahia Ballena, you will see the small island of
Santa Fe in the distance.Arrival to Tortuga Bay which is a favorite place for Sea Turtles (who gave the name to the
beach), Sea lions, Marine Iguanas, Pelicans, Flamingos and Lava Gulls which are endemic
to the Islands and are commonly found along the shore of most beaches. You’ll also be
able to see beautiful birds including the famous Galapagos finches as you walk.
Kayak in the west side of the beach where the waters are calm or you can swim and
just relax. Return to Puerto Ayora walking to the trail which is paved and marked.

Day 5: Boat to San Cristobal – Kayaking –
Camping Puerto Grande
In the morning, we will take a speed boat from Puerto Ayora to San Cristobal
Island, the easternmost island in the archipelago. The island is one of the oldest
in the chain, and thus its volcanic peaks are greatly eroded and vegetation is more
abundant than on many islands. Upon arrival in the provincial capital and secondlargest
town in Galápagos, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, we will kayak from Puerto
Baquerizo to Tijeretas Bay and back to Puerto, this will take about 1 hour and a
half. Then we will go in our yacth to Puerto Grande to camp.

Day 6: Bahia Valdizan – Wizard Hill – Kickers
Rock – Camping Puerto Grande
Bahia Valdizan lies at the most northeastern point of San Cristobal. This part of the
island is very arid. This is the only place, you can see all three species of boobies at
the same time. There is a whole colony of red-footed boobies (the other one is on
Tower) and you also can see Nazca (masked) and blue-footed boobies. You dive on
the southeast side of an exposed rock. Here the surge hits quite hard but it is also
good for large schools of fish like grunts, snappers and jacks.
After our snorkeling in Bahia Valdizan we will visit Wizard Hill and then Kickers
Rock, a small islet that rises steeply to 148m (some say 152m), with a massive
split through the middle. From far it looks like a sleeping lion, thus the Spanish
name Leon Dormido. This is the remnant of a tuff cone, so it is actually a pillar of
compacted ash. No seals can live here, but underwater are huge schools of salemas
and Jacks, barracuda, rainbow runners and Galapagos sharks. On the rocks live nudibranchs,
crustaceans and other invertebrates. The dive is interesting because you
can snorkel in the narrow channel with the vertical cliffs on both sides - very impressive.
Underwater the better part is actually outside, usually on the west where you
can also find large fish like sharks and rays. Return to camp

Day 7: Transfer out
We will take the fast boat to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and then we will go to the
airport to fly back to Quito.

More information from South Expeditions:

• View trip on provider's website
  southexpeditions.com…
• Company profile, experience, and history
• View all of their trips