Download Latitude Galapagos Itinerary

M/Y Latitude
Galapagos Islands 2006
Set along the equator, some 600 miles off the South American coast of Ecuador, is a crown jewel of the natural
world. The Galapagos Islands live up to our dreams of a sheltered place far removed from the usual concerns. The
skies are almost always sunny, and the sea breezes create that perfect air temperature that instantly relaxes the
body and soul. The ocean is an ever inviting turquoise blue, matched by long sandy beaches of crystal white, pink,
volcanic black and looking-glass green. There are crystal coves and mangrove lagoons.
The young Charles Darwin, fresh from university, visited here in 1835 during the voyage of the HMS Beagle. Darwin
maintained that the Galapagos was the source of his ideas and research for The Origin of Species. Many of the discoveries he came upon are still in evidence, including the volcanic, island-constructing wonderland of sculpted lava
flows, giant lava tubes and crystal inlets shaped by eruption and erosion.
On board your luxury expedition vessel you will explore these islands and enjoy up-close encounters with the incredible wildlife that lives here. These islands and surrounding waters are quite literally teaming with exotic and
colorful creatures that have never learned to fear humans. This translates into a series of daily amazing experiences including snorkeling with playful sea lions, trekking in ancient forests along side giant tortoise and trading
stares with unconcerned iguanas. Birdlife is abundant, varied and fearless.
Life in the waters surrounding the islands is as fascinating as life ashore. It has been said that if Darwin had explored life under the sea he may never have left. The Galapagos is considered one of the top dive sites in the
world, renowned for schools of hammerhead sharks, giant manta rays and whale sharks.
Embark on this expedition that continues the tradition of world class adventure travel for the very privileged.
Discover the world of the Galapagos Islands onboard the first truly luxurious yacht cruising the islands…join us
aboard the Latitude.
The Galapagos Islands
Pinta
Marchena
Genovesa
3
4
2
4
Santiago
6
2
Seymour
1
Rabida
Fernandina
8
Baltra
Santa Cruz 6
6
Pinzon
6
Isabela
Santa Fe
San Cristobal
5
7
Day By Day Itinerary
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.-
Arrival, Baltra Island - Mosquera, Seymour
Puerto Egas and Bartolome Island
Genovesa (Tower)
Punta Vicente Roca and Fernandina
Floreana
Plazas, Gordon Rocks and Santa Cruz island
Española
Caleta Tortuga Negra - Departure at Baltra
Floreana
Española
Seymour
Mosquera
Baltra
Baltra
Monday - Mosquera and Seymour
As you approach the islands you can see the crystal clear turquoise waters cradling boats
in the bay beneath you. Arriving at the Baltra airport you be escorted to the VIP room
where you will meet your guide and be able to have a cold drink before heading to the
dock and taking tendering over to your yacht. Once on board you will meet the captain and
crew and receive a safety briefing and orientation.
Arrival Note: Private Jets are permitted to land in Galapagos between 8am – 9am and between 2pm and 4pm. The activities of your first and last day will be adjusted depending
upon the time of your arrival and departure.
Baltra Island:
The origin of its name is unknown. It has
an area of 27 km² and a maximum altitude
of 100 metres. The main airport of the
archipelago is located here and was built
during WWII by the United States Navy to
patrol the Panama Canal.
North Seymour:
Its name was given after an English
nobleman called Lord Hugh Seymour. It
has an area of 1.9 km² and a maximum
altitude of 28 metres. This islands is
home to a large population of bluefooted boobies and swallow-tailed gulls.
It hosts one of the largest populations
of frigate birds, with their magnificent
red pouches.
We will cruise just north of the Baltra airport where to the tiny islet of Mosquera for a
dive test here so that the instructors may access everyone’s skill level and better customize your trip for you.
Navigation to Bartolome Island about 20 nm.
Puerto
Egas
Santiago
Santiago Island:
Its name is equivalent to Saint James in
English; it is also known as San Salvador,
after the first island discovered by
Columbus in the Caribbean Sea. This island
has an area of 585 km² and a maximum
altitude of 907 metres. Marine iguanas,
sea lions, fur seals, land and sea turtles,
flamingos, dolphins and sharks are found
here. There are a large number of goats
and pigs, animals which were introduced
by humans to the islands and have caused
great harm to the endemic species. Darwin
Finches and Galápagos Hawks are usually
seen as well as a colony of Fur Seals.
Tuesday AM – Puerto Egas
Santiago is the fourth largest island in the Galapagos and is one of the most scenic. On
the northwestern side of the island, South James Bay otherwise known as Puerto Egas
features a black sand beach, small cliffs and is dominated by Sugar Loaf a striking volcanic cone that stands some 1300 feet overhead. Visiting Puerto Egas begins with a landing
on the dark sand beach speckled these intriguing rock formations. As you cross the dry
interior following a path once used by wagon trails in one of the Galapagos’ first entrepreneur endeavors. The steep trail to the crater is easy, but can often seem one of the hottest hikes in the islands. Bird lovers will be delighted at some of the many birds they will
pass along the way. Reaching the crater rim presents an incredible vista of the interior
of the island and the inside of this extinct volcano where the floor has sunken below sea
level allowing salt water to seep in and form a small lake.
Returning to the coast watery crevasses provides some of the best tide pools in the
Galapagos. Here you will find a variety of small wildlife including sponges, snails, hermit
crabs, barnacles and fish including the endemic four-eyed blenny. As you continue along
the coast, the distance between the rocky path and the ocean increases. What were once a
shallow tide pools full of invertebrates becomes volcanic bridges and grottoes towering
above the sea. Tucked inside the shade of these caves the Galapagos Fur Seals make their
home. Fur seals were once hunted to a point near extinction for their prize coats, and
are the shyest of all the creatures in the Galapagos. Puerto Egas is normally your only
chance to encounter these mild creatures that spend their day hiding from the hot equatorial sun and dive at night feeding on squid and fish while evading sharks, their natural
predator.
Optional Diving – Albany
Northwest end of Santiago Island is the small crescent shaped island of Albany Rock. The
dive site is in a protected cove with a light current, the slopping walls covered with sea
fans, yellow black coral, large boulders and underwater pinnacles that stretch down
about 150 feet to a sandy bottom. Large groups of pacific barracuda school can be seen
swimming in the currents. Marine turtles, golden and spotted rays, Galapagos Sharks, groupers, and red lipped bat fish are among the many creatures commonly seen.
Bartolome
Santiago
Bartolome islet:
Named after Lt. David Bartholomew of the
British Navy. Has an area of 1.2 km² and a
maximum altitude of 114 metres. Famous
for its Pinnacle Rock, which is the most
representative landmark of Galápagos.
Here the rare Galápagos Penguins and Sea
Lions can be seen. There are amazing lava
formations and spatter cones left
untouched since the last eruptions.
Tuesday PM – Bartolome
Bartolome is famous for Pinnacle Rock, a towering spearheaded obelisk that rises from the
ocean’s edge and is the best-known landmark in the Galapagos and the back-drop for the
movie Master and Commander. Galapagos penguins—the only species of penguin found north
of the equator—walk precariously along narrow volcanic ledges at its base. Sea lions
snooze on rocky platforms, ready to slide into the water to play with passing snorkelers.
Penguins dot the nearby rocks of the next landing site, less than a kilometer along the
eastern shore. Here the submerged walls of a tiny volcanic crater give the impression of
a fountain pool. This dry landing—no wet feet!—is the entrance to a 600-meter summit. The
route is not difficult and presents a museum of vulcanology; a site left untouched after its
last eruption, where cones stand in various stages of erosion and lava tubes form bobsledlike runs from the summit. At the top you will be rewarded with spectacular views of Santiago Island and James Bay to the west, and far below, Pinnacle Rock and our beach, where
the crystal blue waters of the bay cradle your yacht.
Cruise to Genovesa, about 50 nm.
Tower
Genovesa (Tower) Island:
The name is derived from Genoa, Italy
where it is said Columbus was born. It has
an area of 14 km² and a maximum altitude
of 76 metres. This island is formed by the
remaining edge of a large crater that is
submerged. Its nickname of “the bird
island” is clearly justified. At Darwin Bay,
frigatebirds, swallow-tailed gulls, which
are the only nocturnal of its species in
the world can be seen. Red-footed
boobies, noddy terns, lava gulls, tropic
birds, doves, storm petrels and Darwin
finches are also in sight. Prince Philip´s
Steps is a magnificent bird-watching
plateau with Nazca and red-footed
boobies. There is a large Palo Santo
forest.
Wednesday - Tower
Tower Island could serve as a film set for a secret submarine base! The southwestern part
of the island is an ocean-filled caldera ringed by the outer edges of a sizeable and mostly
submerged volcano. The island sits to the northwest, slightly removed from the Galapagos
archipelago. It is also known as “Bird Island,” a name it lives up to in a spectacular way.
El Barranco begins with a narrow 81 foot (25-meter) stairway leads to a narrow stretch
of land that opens out onto the plateau surrounding Darwin Bay, and extends to form the
north side of the island. Red-footed boobies wrap their webbed feet around branches to
perch in the bushes, and, in contrast, their “masked-booby” cousins dot the surface of the
scrublands beyond. Crossing through the sparse vegetation, you will come to a broad lava
field that extends towards the sea—this forms the north shore. “Storm petrels” flutter
out over the ocean in swarms, and then return to nest in the cracks and tunnels of the lava
field, where their predator, the short-eared owl, is a frequent visitor.
Optional Diving
A brief panga ride brings us to the base of those same cliffs to reveal the full variety of
species sheltering in the ledges and crevices created by the weathered basalt. Among them,
red–billed tropic birds enter and leave their nests trailing exotic kite-like tails. This is also
an intriguing place to go deep-water snorkeling or diving, where the fortunate can spot
one of the giant manta rays, hammerheads or Galapagos Sharks that frequent the inner bay
along the cliff walls.
Landing on the white coral sands of Darwin Bay and walking up the beach, you will be surrounded by the bustling activity of “great frigate birds.” Puffball-chicks with their proud
papas—who sport their bulging scarlet throat-sacks—crowd the surrounding branches,
while both yellow-crowned and lava herons feed by the shore. Farther along you will discover a stunning series of sheltered pools set into a rocky outcrop, forming another natural film set. A trail beside the pools leads up to a cliff overlooking the caldera, where
pairs of swallow-tailed gulls, the only nocturnal gulls in the world, can be seen nesting at
the cliff’s edge. Lava gulls and pintail ducks ride the sea breezes nearby.
Punta
Vicente Roca
Isabela
Punta
Espinoza
Fernandina
Fernandina Island:
The name was given in honor of King
Fernando of Spain, who sponsored the
voyage of Columbus. Fernandina has an
area of 642 km² and a maximum altitude of
1,494 metres. This is the youngest and
westernmost island of the Archipelago.
Isabela Island
This island was named in honor of Queen
Isabel who sponsored the voyage of
Columbus. With an area of 4,640 km², it
is the largest island of the Galápagos. Its
highest point is Wolf Volcano with an
altitude of 1,707 metres. The island's
shape is the product of the merge of six
large volcanoes into a single landmass. In
this island penguins, cormorants, marine
iguanas, boobies, pelicans and Sally
Lightfoot crabs abound.
Thursday AM – Pta. Vicente Roca
PM - Pta. Espinoza
Resting on the southwestern edge of Volcano Ecuador, at the mouth of the “sea horse’s
head” that forms northern Isabela, the small promontory known as Punta Vicente Roca
presides over a pair of jewel-like coves. The coves lie on either side of the eroded remains
of a tuft, or volcanic ash cone, which make up the point. Facing the ocean is a bay, shielded
from the open swells.
The bay is a popular anchorage for boats, from which visitors may transfer to dinghies and
ride around the surrounding cliffs (actually the interior walls of a fallen volcano) and
perhaps into the partly flooded cave.
A rewarding snorkeling site the area is abundant in marine life the product of cool, nutrient-rich waters up welling off the volcano’s steep submarine slopes. On the other side of
the point is a secluded cove, accessible from the sea only through water-filled subterranean passages. Sea lions travel through these passageways and gather on the protected
beaches of the hidden waters. Large numbers of blue-footed and masked boobies inhabit the
point and the sheer cliffs, and flightless cormorants can be seen along the shoreline.
Fernandina is the youngest and westernmost island in the Galapagos. It sits across the Bolivar Channel opposite Isabela. Our destination is Punta Espinosa, a narrow spit of land in the
northeast corner of the island, where a number of unique Galapagos species can be seen
in close proximity. As our panga driver skillfully navigates the reef, penguins show off by
throwing themselves from the rocks into the water. Red and turquoise-blue zayapas crabs
disperse across the lava shoreline, while herons and egrets forage through the mangrove roots. The landing is a dry one, set in a quiet inlet beneath the branches of a small
mangrove forest. A short walk through the vegetation leads to a large colony of marine
iguanas—a schoolyard of Godzilla’s children—resting atop one another in friendly heaps
along the rocky shoreline, spitting water to clear their bodies of salt. Nearby, sea lions
frolic in a sheltered lagoon. This is one of the few places you can glimpse iguanas grazing
on seaweed underwater.
Dominating this landscape from high overhead looms the summit of La Cumbre, 1495 meters
(4,858 feet), one of the most active volcanoes in the world, reporting seven eruptions
from its 6-kilometer-wide caldera (mouth) since 1968. Farther down this stretch off shore,
the world’s only species of flightless cormorants have established their colony near an
inviting inlet frequented by sea turtles. Because these birds evolved without land predators—it was easier to feed on the squid, octopus, eel and fish found in the ocean—the
cormorants progressively took to the sea. They developed heavier, more powerful legs and
feet for kicking, serpent-like necks, and wet, fur-like plumage. Their wings are now mere
vestiges. Back toward the landing and farther inland, the island’s black lava flows become
more evident, forming a quiet, inner lagoon. Galapagos hawks survey the entire scene from
overhead.
Post Office
Bay
Friday, Floreana
Punta
Cormorant
Champion
Floreana
Floreana Island:
It was named after Juan José Flores, the
first president of Ecuador, during whose
administration the government of Ecuador
took possession of the archipelago. It is
also called Santa Maria after one of the
caravels of Columbus. It has an area of
173 km² and a maximum altitude of 640
metres. It is one of the islands with the
most interesting human history and one of
the earliest to be inhabited.
AM – Champion
PM - Post Office Bay, Punta Cormorant
Known by a number of names but most commonly Floreana, this island has a long colorful
history that has featured pirates, whalers, convicts and a small band of somewhat peculiar colonists-including a baroness who chose a Robinson Crusoe existence that ended in
mystery and death. Today, with less than 100 residents, it is the least populated of the 4
inhabited islands.
One of the oldest islands in the Galapagos, Floreana illustrates the aging process of a
volcanic island. Unlike the younger western islands, Floreana’s volcano has long been extinct and is in the advance stages of erosion. The erosion process gives the island’s soils
the nutrients needed to sustain plant life.
The first visit is to Post Office Bay where, in 1793, British whalers established a post barrel to send and receive letters via passing ships. The tradition continues today as visitors
stop to drop off letters and post cards to their friends and family back home. The catch is
that to leave your mail you must also take another traveler’s card or letter from the barrel and make sure that it gets delivered to the right place.
Continuing on Floreana the next stop is Punta Cormorant and its two contrasting beaches.
The boat anchors off the green sand beach that is composed of volcanic olivine crystals.
As you follow the trail, you will cross the neck of the isthmus and arrive at the stunning white sand beach, formed by the erosion of coral skeletons. This beach’s extremely
soft, fine sand gives you the sensation you are walking on flour. It is a nesting site for sea
turtles. Just off shore, rays and white-tipped reef sharks can be seen. Between the two
beaches is a salt-water lagoon. This is an excellent site to view a variety of birds including
pink flamingos, large-billed flycatchers and Darwin Finches.
Just off Punta Cormorant is Devil’s Crown, the best snorkeling site in the Galapagos. A
submerged volcano, consisting of a series of jagged peaks raising from the water it is a
haven for sea birds including boobies, pelicans, frigates and tropicbirds. The best part of
visiting Devil’s Crown is underwater. Snorkeling into the center of the crater you will find
yourself surrounded by colorful fish, eels, sharks, rays, sea stars and turtles, giving you
the impression you are swimming in a giant aquarium.
Optional Diving
Floreana is one of the premier dive spots in Galapagos, Champion Islet is an excellent wall
dive which leads to an underwater labyrinth of rock shelves makes the perfect playground
for fun loving sea lions. These brightly colored Pacific Sea Horses range in color from
reddish to gray, yellow, gold and shades of brown can be seen with their tail entwined in
the black coral that covers the walls. These, the only sea horses in the eastern pacific
are giants of the sea horse world growing up to a foot in length.
Saturday AM – Plazas,
Office
Bay
Gordon
Rocks
Santa
Cruz
South
Plaza
South Plaza Island:
It is named in honor of a former president
of Ecuador, General Leonidas Plaza. It
has an area of 0.13 km² and a maximum
altitude of 23 metres. The flora of South
Plaza includes Opuntia cactua and Sesuvium plants, which forms a reddish carpet
on top of the lava formations. Iguanas
(land and marine and some hybrids of both
species) are abundant and there are a
large number of birds that can be
observed from the cliffs at the southern
part of the island, including tropic birds
and swallow-tailed gulls.
Gordon Rocks
The Plaza Islands are twin islands located off the east coast of Santa Cruz formed by geological uplift. Your visit takes you to the South Plaza. As you make your dry landing you
will find yourself suddenly surrounded by friendly sea lions that make Plaza their home and
spend their day playing in the surf.
The rocky trail that circumnavigates the island displays the combination of dry and coastal
vegetation zones. The island is home to large prickly pear cacti and the endemic succulent
sesuvian. These succulents, with their almond-shaped leaves, are green during the rainy
season (December-May), then become red during the dry season, giving the island its distinctive appearance.
South Plaza has one of the largest populations of land iguanas in the Galapagos. These
larger than average, greenish-yellow iguanas reside within the optunia forest. As you pass
through the forest iguanas are everywhere. It is as if they have each claimed their own
cacti. The iguanas patiently lie at the base of the plant waiting to feast on the fruit and pads
that fall to the ground. The island’s iguana population also consists of marine iguanas living along the coast and a unique hybrid iguana whose fathers are marine iguanas and mothers are land iguanas.
The walk continues along the cliffs where sea birds can be seen fishing in the waters
below. The cliffs are an excellent site for viewing endemic swallow-tailed gulls, frigate
birds, Audubon Shearwaters, red-billed tropicbirds, lava gulls, pelicans, blue-footed and
masked boobies.
Optional Diving
Our final dive in the Galapagos is an advanced dive; the optional dives during our expedition have built up our skills for this fabulous spot. Just off the coast of South Plaza,
Gordon Rocks is famous for its selection of large marine life including white-tipped sharks,
hammerhead sharks, Galapagos Sharks, large moray eels, spotted eels, golden rays, sting
rays, fur seals, sea turtles, amberjacks, wahoo, tuna sailfish as well as a selection of
reef fish, sponges and black coral. The current is strong and the maximum depth is 100
feet.
Santa
Cruz
Saturday PM – Santa Cruz Higlands,
Chato and Gemelos /Dinner in town
Los
Gemelos
Tortoise
Reserve
Puerto Ayora
Santa Cruz Island:
Named after the Holy Cross, its English
name was given after the British vessel
bearing this name (HMS Indefatigable ). It
has an area of 986 km² and a maximum
altitude of 864 metres. Santa Cruz is the
island that hosts the largest human
population in the archipelago at the town
of Puerto Ayora.
The Highlands of Santa Cruz offer an
exuberant vegetation and are famous for
the lava tunnels. Large tortoise populations are found here.
Located in the center of the Galapagos, Santa Cruz is a large, round volcanic island and
is home to one of the largest varieties of flora and fauna of all of the islands. Traveling
from the dock, we head up to the highlands of the islands. Arriving at your first destination, you will be surrounded by a forest of vivid-green scalesias covered with ferns,
lichens and mosses. The endemic scalesia, a relative of the sunflower, is considered the
Darwin Finch of the plant world. Like the finch, to survive this hostile environment these
plants have adapted into a variety of species. Today scientists are working to preserve
these unique trees whose continued existence has been threatened by introduced plants and
animals.
This area, known as Los Gemelos, is named for the dramatic twin volcanic sinkholes on
either side of the road. The “Twins” were formed when the surface magma chambers collapsed causing the upper crust to sink. The sheer sides of the craters exhibit the volcanic
equivalent to rings on a tree recording the history of volcanic events on the island. Los
Gemelos is an excellent site for bird watching, as it teems with vermillion flycatchers, Galapagos Doves, Galapagos Hawks, short-eared owls and a number of Darwin Finches including
the tool bearing woodpecker finch.
We continue across the island of Santa Cruz to the most popular attraction of the highlands, an encounter with giant tortoises in the wild. El Chato was established by the
national park to protect the tortoises from the surrounding cattle farms. It offers one of
the best ways to see these gentle creatures in the wild. During the cool months tortoises
come in search of the area’s juicy plants and water. They remain for several months, mating and laying their eggs here. You are able to get close to and quietly observe these
ancient animals while they move at their leisurely pace. Tortoises are often seen half
submerged in ponds looking like an odd shaped boulder. The lush vegetation that attracts
the tortoises to the area is also home to several bird species, some of them unique to the
area.
Finally we descend into the main town in the Galapagos, Puerto Ayora, located in southwest
portion of the Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora is home to both the Galapagos National Park and
the Charles Darwin Research Station. Together these organizations are the heart of the
great conservation and restoration projects taking place in the Galapagos. Set along the
shore of the bay we will enjoy dinner at the luxury villa Infinite Blue where we will have
time to enjoy the swimming pool and Jacuzzi after dinner.
Gardner
Bay
Española
Española Island:
Its name was given in honor of Spain. It is
also known as Hood after an English
nobleman. It has an area of 60 km² and a
maximum altitude of 206 metres. Española
is the nesting place of the albatross and
also hosts Galápagos Hawks, marine
turtles, masqued boobies, marine iguanas,
sharks, sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls,
finches, Galápagos doves, giant turtles,
tropic birds and blue-footed boobies. A
lava fissure on the shore has created a
blowhole where water spurts high in the
air when the waves hit the wall. It is the
southernmost island of the archipelago
hosting a large proportion of endemic
fauna.
Friday, Espanola AM – Gardner Bay
Española is the oldest and the southernmost island in the chain. Its secluded location
helped make it a unique jewel with a large number of endemic wildlife that needed to adapt
to the island’s environment and natural resources. Geographically Española is a classic example of a shield volcano, created from a single caldera in the center of the island. Over
the years as the island has moved further away from the hot spot, the volcano became
extinct and erosion began to occur.
Visiting the island offers two very different experiences. Gardner Bay found on the northeastern part of Española is a magnificent long, white beach, is home to colonies of sea lions that spend their days lazing in the sun, sea turtles and the inquisitive Hood Mockingbird
boldly investigate each new visitors in search of food and water.
The Hood Mockingbird is endemic to the island. These brazen birds have no fear of man and
frequently land on visitor’s heads, shoulders, feet or anywhere else they can searching for food and water. The Hood Mockingbird is slightly larger than other Mockingbirds
found in the Galapagos; its beak is longer and has a more curved shape. It is the only
carnivorous mockingbird and feeds on a variety of insects, turtle hatchlings and sea lion
placentas.
The beach considered an open area where you are free to explore or perhaps take a nap in
the sun. The snorkeling at Gardner Bay is fantastic. Close to the beach you can swim with
sea lions this is an opportunity not to be missed. Further out towards Tortuga Rock and
Gardner Island schools of large colorful tropical fish including yellow tailed surgeon
fish, angelfish and bump-head parrot fish swim along with an occasional Manta Ray gliding by
and white-tipped sharks napping on the bottom.
Optional Diving
Also a dive could be done at Gardner reef, this is one of the easiest dive sites of the Galapagos, surrounded by sand and rocks, eagle rays can be seen, as well as Galapagos sharks
and hammerhead sharks.
Navigation 8 nm to Punta Suarez
Friday PM – Punta Suarez
Punta
Suarez
Española
Española Island:
Its name was given in honor of Spain. It is
also known as Hood after an English
nobleman. It has an area of 60 km² and a
maximum altitude of 206 metres. Española
is the nesting place of the albatross and
also hosts Galápagos Hawks, marine
turtles, masqued boobies, marine iguanas,
sharks, sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls,
finches, Galápagos doves, giant turtles,
tropic birds and blue-footed boobies. A
lava fissure on the shore has created a
blowhole where water spurts high in the
air when the waves hit the wall. It is the
southernmost island of the archipelago
hosting a large proportion of endemic
fauna.
On the western tip of Española, Punta Suarez is one of the best sites in the Galapagos. The
amount of wildlife is overwhelming. During mating season Punta Suraez comes to life as one
big party.
Arriving on shore you are met by carefree sea lion pups who are waiting to entice you back
into the water. Colorful marine iguanas are waiting along the walkways and scattered in the
rocks. Normally marine iguanas are black in color, a natural camouflage, making it difficult for predators to differentiate between the iguanas and the black lava rocks where the
iguana’s live. The subspecies found on Española appear to be almost festive; these iguanas
which are normally a reddish shade turn green during mating season.
Continuing inland Galapagos Doves peck around seemingly unaware of your presence, finches fly back and forth between bushes and Galapagos Hawks are seen perched waiting for
their next meal. Here masked and blue footed boobies dance with their partners. Masked
boobies flapping their wings as the blue-foots strut around their bright feet honking and
whistling as if they each have their own party noise maker. Young boobies appear to be in
costumes as their downy feathers look like wig on their otherwise naked body.
The trail leads to the cliff’s edge where a fissure in the lava below creates a dramatic
blow-hole forcing the sea water high in the air as if it were a sky rocket. These cliffs are
an excellent place to watch what seems to be a magic show, swallow-tailed gulls and redbilled tropicbirds levitated by thermals perform stunts overhead.
If wildlife is the highlight of Española than the Waved Albatross is the star of the show.
Known as endemic to the island Española is their only nesting place. The island’s steep
cliffs make perfect runways. These large birds seem somewhat awkward on land as they
spread out their expansive wings and run launching themselves off the cliff’s edge. Once
in the air these large birds with their 6-foot wingspan seem transformed as they gracefully
soar in the wind.
Navigation to Baltra Island 80 nm.
Caleta Tortuga
Negra
Santa Cruz
Caleta tortuga negra:
On the north shore of the island, accessible only by sea, is an extensive mangrove
lagoon called Caleta Tortuga Negra
(Black Turtle Beach). Here among the
mangroves turtle enjoy swimming in the
calm waters, peaking their heads above
the surface while fish, rays and small
sharks circle below.
Saturday, Santa Cruz
AM – Caleta Tortuga Negra
On the north shore of Santa Cruz you will disembark by panga and paddle along the north
shore to visit Caleta Tortuga Negra, a living illustration of how mangroves alter the marine
environment to create a rich and unique habitat.
Three mangrove species crowd the area from the shore to cut out a lagoon, which reaches
almost a mile inland. As you drift through the quite waters you are likely to see spotted
eagle rays and mustard rays swimming in a diamond-like formation. White-tipped reef sharks
slip beneath the panga and Pacific green sea turtles come to the surface for air and to
mate. Waterfowl including pelicans, herons and egrets feed in the cove. This peaceful
place will leave you with a sense of calm.
Departing Caleta Tortuga Negra, the boat makes its way back to Baltra where you will say
good-bye to the crew and head to the airport for your flight home.
Your Vessel: M/Y Latitude
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