B2B Access > 6 day cruise "B" 2011-2012
Thursday to Tuesday – Central and Southern Islands
Day 1 (Thursday)
MORNING FLIGHT FROM QUITO OR GUAYAQUIL TO BALTRA (GALAPAGOS) TWIN CRATERS – CH.DARWIN STATION
Assistance at the airport by our representative for your Galapagos flight.
You will arrive at Baltra Island in the morning. After passing through immigration and baggage claim you will be met by Ocean Spray staff and transferred to the yacht. You will be shown to your cabin where you will have some time to settle in before lunch and a welcome briefing.
Our afternoon visit is to Santa Fe Island. Santa Fe (Barrington) is home to the small picturesque bay and anchorage on the island northeast coast. The bay has two visitor trails, one leading to a scenic viewpoint atop a cliff and the other spanning from a small beach to a tall prickly pear cactus forest.
| SANTA FE ISLAND | |
| Activities: | HikING |
| Difficulty: | Easy /moderate |
| Type of Landing: | Dry landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Land Iguanas, giant tunas |
Day 2 (Friday)
Española Island
Española Island is the southernmost island of the Galapagos and is the breeding site of nearly all of the Waved Albatrosses in the entire world. Española is densely populated with mockingbirds, Blue-footed and Nazca Boobies, Darwin finches, Galapagos Doves, hawks, red and green marine iguanas, and loads of sea lions.
In the morning, we will start at Suarez Point on a trail where you will have the chance to see Blue-footed Boobie, albatrosses and Nazca Boobies. We will also visit a beautiful site on the ocean front where there is a cliff that the large albatrosses use as a launching pad! You’ll have the chance to see the famous blowhole that spurts water into the air. The landscape is great for photography.
| SUAREZ POINT | |
| Activities: | Hike (1.8 mi / 3 km) |
| Difficulty: | Difficult |
| Type of Landing: | Dry landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Hood Mockingbird, Nazca Boobies, Waved Albatross, Red-billed tropicbirds, lava lizards, Galapagos Hawk, Blue-footed Boobies, blow hole, amazing landscape |
In the afternoon, we will visit the spectacular Gardner Bay. After landing, you can walk across a lovely white sand beach amongst a busy sea lion colony or dive into the water to swim with sea lion pups. It is the breeding site of nearly all of the world's 12,000 pairs of Waved Albatrosses.
| GARDNER BAY | |
| Activities: | Snorkeling, panga ride, kayaking, short hike of (0.6 mi / 1km) |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | Wet landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | White sandy beach, sea lions, mockingbirds. Snorkeling: colorful fish, sea lion nursery |
Day 3 (Saturday)
SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND:
INTERPRETATION CENTER ? GALAPAGUERA ? LOBOS ISLAND ? KICKER ROCK
In the morning we will visit the Galapaguera OR the Interpretation center on San Cristobal Island.
The Interpretation Center, located in San Cristobal Island. The center was donated by the Spanish government and inaugurated by the Prince of Spain in 1998.
This center focuses on the interaction between humans and the process of the "of natural history laboratory", demonstrating that a harmonious relation between human beings and nature is possible.
Cerro Colorado (Galapaguera) is a new visitor site in the northeast part of San Cristobal Island and can now be reached in roughly one hour by road from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. On the trees and shrubs surrounding the site, you may see land birds like warbler, finches and mockingbirds can be observed and on the trails, giant tortoises. They live there wild but in a protected area to assure their survival by sealing them off from introduced predators, like pigs and goats. Once the tortoise perceives danger, it goes into its defensive stance, retreating into its hard shell.
| CERRO COLORADO | |
| Possible Activities: | Short hike (less than 0.6 mi / 1 km) |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | Dry landing |
| Highlights Interpretation Center: | Human History and Interpretation of the Galapagos Ecosystem |
| Highlights Galapaguera: | Giant tortoises in captivity, highlands of San Cristóbal |
In the afternoon we will visit Isla Lobos Island. The name of this island means "Sea Lion Island". This appropriately named island is ripe with noisy, frolicking, jolly sea lions who will welcome you to their home with open, well, fins. This island also offers great snorkeling opportunities as well as the chance to see Blue-Footed and Nazca Boobies.
| LOBOS ISLAND | |
| Activities: | Short hike (less than 0,6 mi. (1km), panga ride and/or snorkeling. |
| Difficulty: | Easy/moderate |
| Type of Landing: | Dry |
| Highlights & Animals: | Snorkeling with sea lions, frigatebirds, Blue-footed Boobies |
A panga ride and snorkeling around the Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido) can be also done in the afternoon. Known as the Sleeping Lion because of its resemblance, this site is located off the coast of San Cristobal. The remains of a lava cone eroded by the sea, two vertical rocks rising 500 feet above the ocean, form a small channel that is navigable by small boats. This Galapagos Islands natural monument has become a favorite sight for cruises due to the many tropicbirds, frigatebirds and boobies that fill the surrounding air. Beneath the sea the crystal waters offer a brilliant show of colorful tropical fish and invertebrates.
| KICKER ROCK | |
| Activities: | Snorkeling & panga Ride |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | No landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Deep water snorkeling: Sharks, tropical fish, turtles, manta rays (occ.), hammerhead sharks, spectacular rock formations, sea birds: Blue-footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies & frigatebirds. Second best place to snorkel. |
Day 4 (Sunday)
SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND – PITT POINT & WITCH HILL
We will visit Pitt Point. Pitt Point holds its own as the northeastern most site on Isabela. After an easy hike, you will be rewarded with a unique treat. Herein lays the only nesting site which hosts all species of Gal?pagos Boobies. Photographers will be thrilled with this intimate natural experience. The attractive volcanic tuff formations will have geologists and laymen alike imagining the forces of nature that possessed the earth to create this land.
| PITT POINT | |
| Activities: | Panga ride, snorkeling, kayaking & hike (1.5 mi / 2 ½ km) |
| Difficulty: | Moderate/difficult |
| Type of Landing: | Wet landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Wonderful landscape, sea lion colony, three possible species of Boobies. |
In the afteronn we wil visit Witch Hill (Cerro Brujo) in the morning where you will explore one of the nicest beaches in the Gal?pagos. You'll be tantalized by the texture and sight of the powdered, soft white sand. With a colony of sea lions and Blue-footed Boobies, this scenic place is bustling with life. Just beyond the beach is a lagoon, thriving with Egrets and Great Blue Herons. The turquoise water and abundant marine life will invite you to snorkel their midst.
| WITCH HILL | |
| Activities: | Hike, panga ride, snorkeling & kayaking |
| Difficulty: | Easy walk along the beach |
| Type of Landing: | Wet landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Beautiful rock formations, sea lions, shore birds, land birds: finches and mockingbirds, snorkeling: nice tropical fish, anemones, sponge coral |
Day 5 (Monday)
FLOREANA POST OFFICE BAY & CORMORANT POINT
We will visit two sites on Floreana Island. In the morning, we will visit the famous Post Office Bay. You will land on a beach and head to a spot where 18th century whalers placed a wooden barrel for use as an unofficial mail box. The custom continues to this day with Galapagos visitors. So, don't forget your postcards, and don't be surprised if the post card arrives to its destination before you even get home!
| POST OFFICE BAY | |
| Possible Activities: | Short hike (less than 0.6 mi / 1km) & snorkeling |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | Wet landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Barrel Post Office, nice sandy beach |
Floreana is known for its fabulous snorkeling sites, its vibrantly pink flamingos and its black sand beaches. Baroness Viewpoint is a fantastic place to take it all in. Your guide will tell you about the murder and mystery in this island's history. Suffice to say, it was once inhabited by an indulgent Baroness and her three lovers. There are easy trails in this area for exploring the flora and fauna of Floreana.
| BARONESS VIEW POINT | |
| Possible Activities: | Short hike (0.6 mi / 1 km) |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | Wet landing |
| Highlights: | Great iew, Sea turtles, mysterious story about the first inhabitants of the islands. |
In the afternoon, we will head to Cormorant Point. Here you will enjoy a hike to a salt-water lagoon which is home to flamingoes. You will also get to swim in the crystal clear waters of the Devil's Crown. This extinct volcano peaks out of the waters just off of Floreana's coast and offers a magnificent snorkeling experience.
| CORMORANT POINT | |
| Activities: | Snorkeling & panga ride & hike (1.2 mi / 2km) |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | Wet landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Flamingoes, Devil's Crown: The best snorkeling site in Galapagos Islands with sharks, rays, rock formations, lots of tropical fish. |
Day 6 (Tuesday)
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND – BLACK TURTLE COVE & BARTHOLOMEW
Black Turtle Cove is located on the north side of the island and is only accessible by boat and with a guide. This shallow inlet is surrounded by mangroves and provides natural protection for a variety of marine life, attracting the vulnerable juveniles of many species. Below the surface of the water, you can see both blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, sea turtles, golden cownose rays, spotted eagle rays, and an occasional hammerhead shark. Pelicans and Boobies hunt here, diving gracefully into the water.
| BLACK TURTLE COVE | |
| Possible Activities: | 2 hour panga ride |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | No landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Hammerhead sharks babies, rays, sea turtles, sea birds |
After this final visit, you will be transferred to Baltra Island's airport in time to catch your flight back to the mainland.
| Important: Itineraries and activities subject to change without prior notice. Depending on weather conditions and water currents, some wildlife described above may not be visible. |