B2B Access > 6 day cruise "B" 2011-2012
Thursday to Tuesday – Central and Southern Islands
Day 1 (Thursday)
FROM QUITO OR GUAYAQUIL TO BALTRA (GALAPAGOS) SANTA FE ISLAND
Assistance will be provided for you when you arrive to the airport by one of our representatives after you have landed.
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 islands 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 | |
| Possible Activities: | Hiking |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
| Type of Landing: | Dry Landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Land iguanas and giant tunas. |
Day 2 (Friday)
ESPAÑOLA ISLAND: GARDNER BAY/ OSBORN ISLET
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, 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 (From April to December) 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 also have the chance to see the famous blowhole that spurts water into the air. The landscape is great for photography.
| SUAREZ POINT | |
| Possible 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, and the famous blow hole. |
In the afternoon, we will visit the spectacular Gardner Bay & Osborn Islet. 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 & OSBORN ISLET | |
| Possible Activities: | Snorkeling, dinghy ride, kayaking, and short hike of (0.6 mi / 1km) |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | Wet Landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | White sandy beach, sea lions, and mockingbirds. |
Day 3 (Saturday)
SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND: INTERPRETATION CENTER/
GALAPAGUERA & LOBOS ISLAND/KICKER ROCK
In the morning we will visit the Interpretation Center or Galapaguera on San Cristobal Island.
The Interpretation Center is located on 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 "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, 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.
| INTERPRETATION CENTER/GALAPAGUERA | |
| Possible Activities: | Short hike (less than 0.6 mi / 1 km) |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | Dry Landing |
| Highlights Interpretation Center: | Interpretation Center: Human History and Interpretation of the Galapagos Ecosystem, giant tortoises in captivity and the highlands of San Cristobal. |
| Highlights Galapaguera: | Giant tortoises in captivity, highlands of San Cristóbal |
In the afternoon we will visit 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 fins! This island also offers great snorkeling opportunities as well as the chance to see Blue-Footed and Nazca Boobies.
| LOBOS ISLAND | |
| Possible Activities: | Short hike (less than 0.6 mi / 1km), dinghy ride and/or snorkeling. |
| Difficulty: | Easy/Moderate |
| Type of Landing: | Dry Landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Snorkeling with sea lions, frigate birds, and Blue-footed Boobies. |
A dinghy ride and snorkeling around Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido) can be also be done in the afternoon. Known as the Sleeping Lion because of its resemblance, this site is located off the coast of San Cristobal. There are remains of a lava cone eroded by the sea, two vertical rocks rising 500 feet above the ocean. This Galapagos Islands natural monument has become a favorite sight for cruises due to the many tropicbirds, frigate birds 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 | |
| Possible Activities: | Snorkeling & dinghy ride |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | No Landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Deep water snorkeling: Sharks, tropical fish, turtles, manta rays (occ.), hammerhead sharks, and spectacular rock formations. Sea Birds: Blue-footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies & frigate birds. Second best place to snorkel in the Galapagos. |
Day 4 (Sunday)
SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND – PITT POINT & WITCH HILL
We will visit Pitt Point in the morning. Pitt Point holds its own as the northeastern most site on San Cristobal. After an easy hike, you will be rewarded with a unique treat. Herein lays the only nesting site which hosts all species of Galápagos 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 | |
| Possible Activities: | Dinghy 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, and three possible species of Boobies. |
In the afternoon we'll visit Witch Hill (Cerro Brujo) where you will explore one of the nicest beaches in the Galápagos. 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 | |
| Possible Activities: | Hike, dinghy ride, snorkeling & kayaking |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | Wet Landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Beautiful rock formations, sea lions, shore birds, and land birds such as finches and mockingbirds. Snorkeling: Spot tropical fish, anemones, and sponge coral. |
Day 5 (Monday)
FLOREANA: POST OFFICE BAY & CORMORANT POINT/DEVIL'S CROWN
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 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 and beautiful sandy beach. |
In the afternoon, we will head to Cormorant Point. Here you can enjoy a hike to a salt-water lagoon which is home to flamingoes. You'll also be amazed by the green colored beach, caused by a high percentage of olivine crystals in the sand. You will also get to swim in the crystal clear waters of 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/DEVIL'S CROWN | |
| Possible Activities: | Snorkeling & dinghy ride & hike (1.2 mi / 2km) |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | Wet Landing |
| Highlights: | Flamingoes, green olivine crystal beach, and Devil's Crown: The best snorkeling site in Galapagos Islands with sharks, rays, rock formations, and lots of tropical fish. |
Day 6 (Tuesday)
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND: BLACK TURTLE COVE & DEPARTURE
Black Turtle Cove is located on the north side of Santa Cruz 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 black-tip and white-tip reef sharks, sea turtles, golden cow-nose 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 dinghy ride |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Type of Landing: | No Landing |
| Highlights & Animals: | Hammerhead sharks, rays, sea turtles, and 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 are subject to change without prior notice. Depending on weather conditions and water currents, some wildlife described above may not be visible. |