Athala – 8 Days (Genovesa)

Day Visitor Site
Saturday AM - Flight to Baltra Airport
PM - Mosquera
Sunday AM - Sullivan Bay (Santiago)
PM - Bartolome
Monday AM - Urbina Bay (Isabela)
PM - Tagus Cove (Isabela)
Tuesday AM - Punta Espinoza (Fernandina)
PM - Punta Vicente Roca (Isabela)
Wednesday AM - Puerto Egas (Santiago)
PM - Espumilla Beach (Santiago)
Thursday AM - Puerto Ayora & Charles Darwin Station (Santa Cruz)
PM - Santa Cruz Highlands (Santa Cruz)
Friday AM - Prince Philip's Steps (Genovesa)
PM - Darwin Bay (Genovesa)
Saturday AM - North Seymour
Tour Ends - Transfer to Airport

Day 1 – Baltra Island & Mosquera Island
AM: Arrival in airport and transfer to the boat. Briefing on board about the boat and the island.
PM: Mosquera Island is located between Baltra and North Seymour. This is a small islet formed by a geological uplift, with a reef of rocks and coral and a great white sand beach, where a population of sea lions can be found. You can also observe several species of shorebirds. Along the rocks are commonly running Red Lava crabs or Sally light-foot crabs. If the tide is too low a dinghy ride will be made.

Day 2 – Santiago Island & Bartholomew Island 
AM: The Sullivan Bay lava field has a variety of interesting patterns made by the shapes and textures of trees that once existed there and hornitos caused when pockets of gas or water trapped under the lava exploded. The low-lying mollugo and the lava cactus are the only plants that have managed to take root in this harsh environment. On the shoreline black and white oystercatchers can be seen fishing for crabs and molluscs in the tide pools.
PM: Bartholomew is the most photographed island in the Archipelago, and its pictures are the most shown next to Galapagos’ name. In fact, a walk through an unusual lava landscape, and then up some wooden stairs, will take you to the top, from where the view is more spectacular than what the images suggest.

Day 3 – Isabela Island
AM: The waters of Urbina Bay are a good place to see turtles and rays and ashore is a short trail leading to a coral reef, which is evidence of an uplift from the sea which occurred in 1954. This provides the rare experience of walking in the middle of a bed of coral. Marine iguanas, flightless cormorants and pelicans can be seen at this site.
PM: Tagus Cove was named after a British warship which anchored here in 1814, this cove is located to the west of the island and you can take a panga (zodiac) trip below the high cliffs. Here there is an opportunity to see penguins as well as marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs and sea lions. Blue-footed boobies are also in abundance.

Day 4 – Fernandina Island & Isabela Island    
AM: Punta Espinosa is a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of marine iguanas gather largely on black lava rocks. The famous flightless cormorant inhabits this island and Galápagos penguins, pelicans and sea lions are also abundant. Different types of lava flows can be compared and the mangrove forests can be observed.
PM: At the Vicente Roca Point the remnants of an ancient volcano form two turquoise coves with a bay well protected from the ocean swells. The spot is a popular anchorage from which to explore the cliffs, where masked and blue-footed boobies perch while flightless cormorants inhabit the shoreline. The upwelling of coldwater currents in this part of the Galápagos give rise to an abundance of marine life, which make Punta Vicente Roca one of the archipelago’s sough after dive spots.

Day 5 – Santiago Island
AM: Puerto Egas, with its black sand beaches, was the site of small salt mining industry in the 1960s. A hike inland to the salt crater is an excellent opportunity to sight land birds such as finches, doves, and hawks. A walk down the rugged shoreline will turn up many marine species. Iguanas bask on the rocks and sea lions laze in the tide pools. At the end of the trail there is a series of grottoes or sea caves where fur seals and night herons are found.
PM: This large coffee-coloured sand beach is just north of the prized fresh water supply that once attracted pirates and whalers. A short walk inland will take you through a mangrove forest normally inhabited by the common stilt. Sea turtles also visit these mangroves to nest. Beyond the mangroves is a brackish lagoon where flocks of pink flamingos and white-cheeked pintails can be seen. Sea turtles often lay their eggs on Espumilla Beach.

Day 6 – Santa Cruz Island
AM: The Charles Darwin Research Station is an international not-for-profit organization that provides scientific research, technical information and assistance to ensure the proper preservation of the Galápagos Islands. Visitors can learn about natural history, issues concerning the islands, and see the tortoise breeding and rearing project at work.
PM: Puerto Ayora is the economic centre of the Galápagos Islands with many restaurants, souvenir shops, discotheques, bars, internet coffee shops and other stores. A good way to wind down after a Galápagos Islands cruise is to take a stroll through the town of Puerto Ayora. The bay is a good location to spot brown pelicans, golden rays, marine iguanas, herons, lava gulls, frigate birds, Galápagos sea lions, and large numbers of blue-footed boobies.

Day 7 – Genovesa Island
AM: Prince Phillip´s step is an extraordinary, steep path that leads through a seabird colony full of life, up to cliffs that are 25m high. At the top the trail continues inland, passing more seabird colonies in a thin palo santo forest. Leaving the forest you can overview a rocky plain. You could get a view of masked and red-footed boobies, great frigate birds, swallow-tailed gulls, red-billed tropicbirds and hundreds of storm petrels at the edge of the cliff.
PM: The beach of Darwin Bay is a coral beach where a 750m trail takes you through more seabird colonies. You get to see the cliffs from the seaward side, which are home to a large red-footed booby colony. Once ashore the number of birds seems overwhelming – Nazca boobies soar overhead, great frigate birds display their pouches while resting on the nearby rocks and plants, and mockingbirds scamper quickly across the sand.

Day 8 – North Seymour Island
AM: The 2km trail crosses the inland of the island North Seymour and explores the rocky coast, passing colonies of blue-footed boobies and magnificent frigatebirds. Daphne Major and Minor can be spotted in the distance and body surfing sea lions play close to the shore. Along the shoreline marine iguanas, white coral and black lava rocks complete the visit to North Seymour.

Transfer to the Airport.

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