Your friendly guides will meet you at customs when you arrive from the Mainland to start your amazing Galapagos adventure.
This inlet can be found in Santa Cruz's northern region. It is accessible only by dinghy. This cove provides a safe refuge for young marine life, including Rays, sea turtles, and Black-tip & white-tip reef sharks.
El Barranco, also known as Prince Phillip's Steps, is a steep and rocky path that leads to a high cliff-face. From here, you can enjoy a stunning view. You will also find palo santo plants, Doves and Storm Petrels on this site, as well as Galapagos swallows, Doves and Galapagos swallows.
The white sand coral beach is the beginning of a half-mile trail that winds through Mangroves full of land birds such as Nazca and Red-footed Bobies, swallow-tailed Gulls and many more. Further along the path, you will find tidal swimming pools where sea-lions play. The end of the path offers a stunning view from a cliff.
Coral beach landings lead you to a lava field that stretches as far as the eye can view. For signs of plant life, hunt and peck the two types of lava pahoehoe or "a'a", which have emerged over the past 100 year since the last volcanic eruption. It's a truly incredible volcanic experience, up close and personal.
Rabida Island (Jervis), one of the archipelago's most beautiful and volcanically diverse islands, is a wonderful snorkeling spot. The island's famed maroon sandy beaches and spectacular lookouts offer stunning landscapes. It is a paradise for birdwatchers. There are nine species of finches, large-billed flycatchers and Galapagos Hawks that are rare, as well as brown pelicans and Galapagos hawks.
Turtles are found at the Charles Darwin Research Station. They range in length from 3 inches (new hatchlings), to 4 feet (older adults). Many turtle subspecies interact and are used to people stretching their heads for photos. They are kept until the babies reach about four years of age and are strong enough to live on their own.
Our first stop is at "El Chato", a reserve divided into two areas, Chato and Caseta. The Caseta route is the most difficult and starts at Santa Rosa, Puerto Ayora. Visitors can see giant tortoises in semiwild during dry season. It is also home to Darwin's finches and yellow warblers.
Santa Cruz Island is the location of one of the most recent tourist sites in the Galapagos Archipelago. A longer Galapagos walk trail will take you along a beach to the lagoon lookout, where you can spot bright Flamingos and Land Iguanas.
Las Bachas, a beautiful swimming beach on Santa Cruz's north shore, is located. You can see a floating pier here, one of the few vestiges of U.S. World War II in the Galapagos. There are whimbrels, Sally Lightfoot crabs and hermit crabs to be seen. You may also see sea turtles nesting on the beach.
The wooden barrel was placed on Floreana Island by whalers who were passing through the islands in the 18th century to serve as an unofficial mailbox. Visitors leave their addressed postcards inside the barrel, and then sort through the mail to deliver it at home.
The site also hosts a beautiful flamingo lagoon, where you can see common stilts and white-cheeked pintails. This island has two beaches that are unique: The "Green Beach", named after its greenish color due to a high amount of olivine crystals, and the "Four Sand Beach", which is mostly made of white coral.
This area is ideal for finding Blue-footed and Nazca boobies as well as Hood Mockingbirds, Tropic-birds, and Waved-Albatrosses. The magnificent albatrosses use this cliff as their launching pad. It is a beautiful spot on the oceanfront. The blowhole is the most famous attraction. It spouts water high up into the air. There are many great photo opportunities at this location.
Gardner Bay is located on the eastern side. It is home to nearly all the 12,000 pair of world-wide waved albatrosses. The beach is a long, white sandy one that's perfect for relaxation. This site is great for snorkeling and diving.
As part of the 1998 project "Interpretation and Environment Education Project", the Interpretation Center was inaugurated. It offers expositions about natural history, conservation, and human history. Conservation efforts are the movement to conserve wildlife and the natural environment by means of population control and tourist control. The Interpretation Center features an outdoor stadium, audio-visual equipment and meeting rooms.
After your morning excursion, you will be transferred to the airport to catch your flight to the mainland.