M/C Galapagos Seaman Journey

Arrive at Baltra Airport to meet your guide and embark upon the M/C Seaman Journey. The first excursion will be in the afternoon as you land at Isla Seymour Norte, a flat island compared to the archipelago’s mainly volcanic lands. Witness the large populations of frigate birds, blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls, while sea lions line the shore.

On the southern point of the island at the north of the archipelago, Isla Genovesa, lies El Barranco. Take a 1.5km trail along volcanic rock, observing fragile lava flows. The fragility has created openings, ideal for nesting storm petrels. You may also see the masked booby and fur sea lions. Make a wet landing on a white coral beach at Darwin Bay. The bay is excellent for birdwatchers, with sightings of the red footed booby, masked booby, wandering tattlers, lava gulls, whimbrels, yellow and black-crowned herons and yellow warblers. Take a trail to the cliff edge, where you can see red-foots in the mangroves below. Upon reaching the peak, incredible views can be found, as well as being a great spot for further bird watching.

The morning excursion takes you to one of the most fascinating sites of Galapagos wildlife, Islas Plazas. Hybrids of land and marine iguana can be found here, as well as swallow-tailed gulls, audubon shearwaters, red-billed tropicbirds, frigate birds and brown pelicans. In the afternoon visit Isla Santa Fé, perhaps the oldest island in the archipelago and home to a number of endemic species including the Galapagos hawk, snake, mockingbird and rice rat. Make a wet landing here in the beautifully clear waters surrounded by many a sea lion. A trail from the beach is set amongst salt bushes and giant pear cacti and upon your return, there is the opportunity to snorkel with the sea lions.

Start the day at the Charles Darwin Interpretation Centre, with its lush gardens and ocean views. Learn about the geology, natural and human history, and conservation issues of the islands. Continue to the airport for your return flight to mainland Ecuador.

Arrive at San Cristóbal Airport to meet your guide and embark upon the M/C Seaman Journey. The first excursion will be to the Charles Darwin Interpretation Centre, with its lush gardens and ocean views. Gain an early insight on the geology, natural and human history, and conservation issues of the islands.

Visit Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado, an area reserved for the purpose of increasing the population of the giant tortoise in their natural habitat. Continue to Cerro Brujo, a beautiful white coral sand beach. Here you can swim and snorkel with rays and sea turtles, whilst looking out for seabirds.

Visit Punta Suarez, with its high cliffs and abundance of sea birds that can be seen soaring above. Continue to El Soplador which spouts water over 20m in the air. In the afternoon, you will visit Gardner Bay, a perfect place for snorkelling or kayaking, or perhaps a spot of sunbathing. Sea lions laze on the shore here, while harmless reef sharks can be seen in the clear ocean waters.

Thursday, Isla FloreanaLand at Punta Cormorant for an impressive flamingo lagoon situated between two tuff lava cones, that is also frequented by common stilts, checked pintail ducks and other shorebirds. Visit both the green beach made up of olivine crystals and the white flour sand beach. In the afternoon, visit Post Office Bay and Baroness Lookout. A wooden barrel was once placed here for use as a manual post office, a system that still works today, while the lookout offers exceptional panoramic views.

In the morning of your final day, visit the Charles Darwin Station to learn about the protection and conservation of the islands. You will see the giant tortoises as well as their young in the Rearing Centre. Continue to the airport for your return flight to mainland Ecuador.

Guides will meet the visitors, collect their luggage, and escort them on the short bus ride to the harbor. Motorized rafts, called ‘Pangas’ will transport the visitors to the Seaman Journey I and the crew will welcome the visitors onboard. After departure and lunch, the first island visit is made. The Journey commences with a visit to the twin craters. The Gemelos are a pair of craters approximately 30 meters deep located on either side of the road to Baltra (island where the airport lies). The holes could have been created because of a volcanic explosion or because of magma chambers inside earth. This is a good place to see the Galapagos hawk and barn owl on this island. The surrounding forest is full of birds such as the vermilion flycatcher or the yellow warbler. The highlands and settlement area of Santa Cruz are worth seeing for the contrast of the vegetation and the arid coastal zones. Journeying across Santa Cruz into the highlands visitors are delighted by the island’s variety of life and geology. Beginning at the coast and traveling across Santa Cruz, the road departs from Puerto Ayora climbing through the agricultural lands and into the mist covered forests. Santa Cruz possesses all of the various life zones present in the archipelago. As visitors travel through these zones, bird lovers are enchanted. Whether it’s the bright red feathers of a vermillion flycatcher or one of Darwin’s Finch, almost every bird present in the islands can be found here. Santa Cruz also offers excellent opportunities for viewing wild Galapagos Tortoises. Tracking tortoises is not the only exciting activity to be found in the highlands. There are also plenty of lava tubes, sinkholes and craters to explore. These eerie formations offer a fascinating hike into the belly of the island in order to view its volcanic make-up.

Off the eastern coast of Fernandina is Mangle Point a superior snorkeling site and a beautiful location for riding in a panga or zodiac through a grove of mangrove trees.

A hike of about 1/2 miles is possible. Whether you hike, snorkel, or stay in your panga for a ride through the red mangrove trees, this second site of Fernandina Island is equally memorable.

While you are on your ride, you are likely to see sea lions, tortoises, pelicans, rays and birds too numerous to name them all.

Punta Moreno is located on the north coast of Isabela Island between the volcano Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul volcano. The trail runs along a lava flow Pahohoe (solidified lava in the form of corrugated or an accordion) into a complex of coastal lagoons, its main attraction are several species of birds which can be found around this lakes and mangroves.

Urbina Bay is located at the base of Alcedo Volcano on the west coast, between Tagus Cove and Elizabeth Bay. This area xperienced a major uplift in 1954, causing the land to rise over 16 feet. The coast expanded half a mile out, leaving marine life stranded on the new shore. This area is also a great place for snorkeling. Urbina Bay is a path that starts at the beach where a landing is made wet, the course is approximately 3200m, and substrates through the sand, pumice, lava, coral and vegetation in a coastal area suffered an uprising and the listener can appreciate iguana burrows. It is an ide al place to see red and blue lobster.

In Bahia Urbina you can see a lot of Darwin’s finches. Its main attraction is the land iguanas, larger than in places like South Plaza Island, Galapagos tortoises also in the wild, sometimes even out of season they are on the bottom of the islands.

Also in this area stands a large amount of vegetation, chamomile and Rosewood, but among all these plants stand out the beautiful flowers of cotton Darwin, endemic to the Galapagos Islands.

Tagus Cove is located west of Darwin Volcano on Isabela Island. This was a favorite spot for pirates and whalers, a tradition is still observed that has continued since that time: the inscription of the names of boats. At the start of the walk, going up and passing the staircase, is a small cave where you will find inscriptions dating to the 1800s. Its name originated from a British warship that went through the islands in 1814 looking for Galapagos Tortoise for food.

Due to explosive eruptions must have occurred at the site, the substrate has a large amount of volcanic rocks of different sizes, among the most common are little balls of nearly spherical shape known as the “lapilli” or petrified rain.

Espinoza Point is a place famous for its large colonies of marine iguanas, and as the habitat of unique species like the flightless cormorant, Galapagos penguin, Galapagos hawk, and Galapagos snake. Following Espinoza Point is Urvina Bay. It is very interesting as it is a perfect example of the geological activity of the islands. The waters of the 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. From here it is easy to reach the Alcedo and Darwin volcanoes.

Espumilla beach is located on the northern coast of Santiago Island in James Bay. During the last presence of the El Niño phenomenon, one of the two lagoons in this site, underwent a process of sedimentation, thus causing the disappearance of a representative colony of flamingos. One of the main attractions here is the palo santo forest. The beach is an important site for nesting marine turtles. The second part of the day visits Puerto Egas. This is a black sand beach that is located at the west side of the island and is the main attraction of the island. The volcanic tuff deposits have favored the formation of this special black sand beach which will surely impress visitors.

Rábida Island is unique because the red color of the rocks and sand. The volcanic material in this island is very porous and external factors such as rain, salt water, and sea breeze have acted as an oxidizing agent. A short walk along a trail lead visitors to a coastal lagoon behind the beach which permits them to observe the land birds such as finches, doves, yellow warblers, and mocking birds. At the lagoon there is a colony of flamingos. The Chinese hat is a small islet (1 sq km) located just off the southeastern tip of Santiago Island. It is a recent volcanic cone, shaped like a Chinese hat when seen from the north side. On the west one can see lava formations, formed under the sea and raised upward. This is why coral heads are found on the lava. This is an excellent visit for the interpretation of geological features such as lava tubes and lava flows. The landscape is covered by sea lion colonies, marine iguanas, and Galapagos penguins.

Santiago, also called James, or San Salvador Island, is located in the west central part of the Galapagos archipelago. It is the fourth largest island in the archipelago (following Isabela, Fernandina and Santa Cruz). It is a volcanically active island, consisting of two coalesced volcanoes; a typical shield volcano on the northwest end and a low, linear fissure volcano on the southeast end. Bartolome Island is situated across Sullivan Bay. It has an altitude of 114 meters, from where one of the most beautiful sceneries of the Galapagos Islands can be observed. This includes: Volcanic cones, lunar-like craters, lava fields, and the famous Toba formed pinnacle eroded by the sea. There is very little vegetation on this island. It also has two breathtaking beaches where marine turtles exist at the base of the pinnacle, as well as a very small colony of Galapagos penguins.

Bachas Beaches are two small beaches that are found to the West of Turtle Cove. Their sand is made of decomposed coral, which makes it white and soft, making it a favorite nesting site for sea turtles. Behind one of the beaches there is a small brackish water lagoon, where occasionally it is possible to observe flamingos and other coastal birds, such as black-necked stilts and whimbrels. The second beach is longer, and it has two old barges that were abandoned during the Second World War. This is when the United States used Baltra Island as a strategical point in order to protect the Panama Canal. Following the morning excursion, visitors will be taken to the airport for their flights to the mainland.