Galapagos Islands – North Central – Silver Origin

Take in some of the numerous museums, and explore the beautiful historic district, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This evening enjoy a night walking tour of old Quito, where the historic buildings are illuminated.

This morning you will be transferred to the Quito airport for your included flight to San Cristobal and the Silver Origin. After settling in, attending a mandatory safety drill and setting sail, you will be introduced to your Expedition Team. Silver Origin will then head for Kicker Rock. When approaching Kicker Rock, Blue-footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies and frigate birds can be observed in the air, while sea lions can be seen along the shore.

El Barranco, Prince Philip Steps, Genovesa Island
is dubbed “Bird Island”, a name it lives up to in a spectacular way. Huge colonies of seabirds create a birdwatcher’s paradise.

BAHÍA DARWIN

Take a walk on the sandy beach of Darwin Bay, home to one of the world’s largest Red-footed Booby nesting colonies. Yellow-crowned Night Herons feed near tidal lagoons, while hundreds of Swallow-tailed Gulls nest in the cliffs.

North Seymour is a small up-lifted island close to Baltra filled with a spectacular profusion of wildlife — above and below the sea. Two species of frigate birds nest here; one of which, the Magnificent Frigate bird, is an opportunistic breeder. At any month of the year we may see males displaying their bright-red gular pouch to attract females. Galápagos sea lions snooze in the sand. Blue-footed Boobies perform their courtship dance called “sky-pointing”. Marine iguanas and Galapagos land iguanas patrol the beach, while Brown Pelicans and Brown Noddies look for food in the shallow coastal waters. We will walk through this spectacular landscape, and afterwards have an opportunity to go snorkeling—perhaps even spotting the impressive whitetip reef shark.

SULLIVAN BAY – SANTIAGO

Coming ashore on the east coast of Santiago Island, we will witness the marks Nature has left on the islands through its geological forces. Our landing will be on a white sandy beach or directly onto lava — depending on the conditions. In either case we will see the lava flows that are not much older than a hundred years — dating back to 1897.

Among the impressive new lava fields of Fernandina Island hides a cove surrounded by mangroves. A rewarding place for bird-watching as the bay is the point where the land meets the sea, joining the two environments, with sea birds, shorebirds and land birds all in the same place.

PUNTA MORENO, ISABELA

Impressive Pahoehoe lava field that lies between two active volcanoes, Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul, on the south coast of Isabela Island. The rich waters of Cromwell Current wash the shores, and as a result, you can see the largest marine iguanas of the archipelago basking on the rocks, Flightless Cormorants and Galapagos Penguins diving for food. During the walk you will experience, as an oasis in a desert of lava, some coastal lagoons in the middle of the field, here you can find shorebirds such as White-cheeked Pintail Ducks, Black-necked Stilts and even sometimes Flamingos.

Silver Origin will anchor in front of Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, where the prestigious Charles Darwin Research Station is located. The station also houses the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center for giant tortoises and land iguanas where guides interpret the center’s captive breeding and reintroduction programs. To round out the stay in Puerto Ayora, enjoy free time in town where local artists have created charming art galleries and corner cafés.

ISLA SANTA FÉ

This island is home to a reptile that exists nowhere else in the world: The Santa Fe Land Iguana. A beach covered by sea lions is the beginning of our adventure where sea lions’ pups welcome the visitors with their naive curiosity. Then a rocky terrain will guide us to explore the island and the view from the cliff becomes a reward by itself. View some of the tallest and the widest prickly pear cactus of the islands. Snorkel and kayak.

Don’t miss a chance to swim with sea lions from the gorgeous beach at Gardner Bay. Relax on the white sands of this idyllic beach as the water laps gently in front of you.

PUNTA SUÁREZ

In the afternoon we will visit Punta Suárez at the western point of Española, the oldest island in the Galápagos. Sheer cliffs provide superb thermals for seabirds. Swallow-tailed Gulls, Nazca Boobies and Blue- footed Boobies can easily be seen. The largest seabird to nest in the islands, the Waved Albatross, may be seen seasonally from April through December, and has made Española its home.

Like so many of the islands in the Galapagos, San Cristobal is formed by dormant volcanoes. It lies to the east of the archipelago and is one of the oldest islands in the group. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on the southwestern tip of the island is the capital city of the Galapagos Islands. A statue of Charles Darwin graces the harbor, marking one of the first places he likely stepped ashore in the 1830s.

CERRO BRUJO, SAN CRISTÓBAL

An impressive tuff cone has been carved by erosion into an outstanding natural sculpture, being a resting place for marine birds such as blue-footed bobbies and brown pelicans. One of the most beautiful white sand beaches of the Galapagos (swim or snorkel). View sea lions, sally light footed crabs, blue-footed bobbies. Behind the dunes, you find a coastal lagoon, which was visited in the past by the locals to extract salt, today it is home to some shorebirds such as stilts and plovers.

Following breakfast, disembark Silver Origin for your return flight from San Cristobal Airport to Guayaquil and connect with your flight home, or to other adventures in Ecuador, Peru, or other South American attractions.