Eastern & Northern Galapagos: 8 Days, Española & Genovesa

Land at SCY on the morning flight from Quito or Guayaquil. Short transfer to the Puerto Baquerizo Moreno dinghy dock, panga across to the anchored yacht, welcome lunch on the aft deck with the naturalist's daily-program briefing.

Afternoon transfer up to the David Rodriguez Breeding Center on the northern edge of town — the local captive-breeding facility for the San Cristóbal tortoise subspecies (Chelonoidis chathamensis), one of three centers in the islands running similar conservation work. Back to the yacht for an overnight at anchor and an early start.

Morning run north and east to Pitt Point — the only site in the archipelago where all three booby species (blue-footed, red-footed, Nazca) nest in the same area. The trail climbs to a cliff-top viewpoint over the colony; the naturalist works through the species identification (foot color is the obvious tell). Frigate birds patrol the colony for kleptoparasitism.

Afternoon repositioning to Cerro Brujo (Witch Hill) — a long white-sand beach in a sheltered bay, named for the rust-colored volcanic tuff cliff that rises behind it. The first snorkel of the week from the beach: green sea turtles, sea lions on the sand and in the surf, marine iguanas on the rocks. Overnight south for Kicker Rock and Española.

First light brings the yacht to Kicker Rock — the twin basalt pillars off San Cristóbal's northeast coast. The morning program is the channel snorkel: the panga drops you at the eastern entrance, the current drifts you between the cliffs, the naturalist runs the boat alongside. Scalloped hammerheads in schools below, Galapagos sharks patrolling, sea turtles, eagle rays. Most groups do two passes.

Mid-day transit south to Española — the southernmost and oldest of the major islands. The afternoon landing at Punta Suárez is the bird walk most guests remember from the trip. The trail follows the cliff top past the waved albatross colony (April through December — nowhere else on Earth), the Española mockingbird, Nazca and blue-footed booby nesting sites, and a basalt blowhole that spouts seawater fifty feet up the cliff face.

Late afternoon at Gardner Bay — a half-mile crescent of white sand backed by low scrub and a resident sea lion colony. Sea lion pups follow swimmers; adults sprawl across the sand. The two-meter park-rule distance is enforced from the guest side — the animals themselves don't acknowledge it.

Overnight northwest — a hundred and ten nautical miles, the longest single leg of the week. Pre-dawn arrival in Sullivan Bay. The naturalist runs the sunrise summit hike — a 372-step wooden staircase from the southern landing climbs the volcanic cone to the lookout at 114 meters. The view from the top is the photograph that anchors every Galapagos trip: Pinnacle Rock, Sullivan Bay's pahoehoe lava across Santiago, the yacht below, the Bolívar Channel opening west.

Late morning shifts to Bachas Beach on the north coast of Santa Cruz — a wide white-sand beach with a brackish lagoon behind it holding flamingos and white-cheeked pintail ducks. ('Bachas' is the local pronunciation of 'barges' — two American Navy barges ran aground here during World War II.) Afternoon snorkel from the beach over sea turtles. Overnight repositioning west for Santiago's landings.

Morning landing at Puerto Egas (James Bay) on Santiago's northwest coast — a long black-lava shore with a fur seal colony in the cliff-base grottos, the densest sally lightfoot crab population in the islands, and a marine iguana population distinct from the western colonies. The trail runs along the lava shore to the grottos where the Galapagos fur seal rests in shaded sea caves.

Mid-day repositioning south to Rabida — distinctive for the iron-oxide-rich volcanic rock that turns the beach a deep red-brown. The trail behind the beach runs to a brackish lagoon with white-cheeked pintail ducks and (in wet season) flamingos. Afternoon snorkel along the cliff base — schools of king angelfish, parrotfish, reef fish in the rocky shallows. Overnight north toward Genovesa.

Overnight transit north — 120 nautical miles across open water to Genovesa, a flooded volcanic caldera in the far north of the archipelago. Genovesa is uninhabited and gets no day-boat traffic; only the yachts running an A-route variant reach it. Morning landing at Darwin Bay — a half-moon beach inside the caldera rim, the calmest water of the week. Bird colonies the densest in the islands: the great frigate bird with the inflated red gular sac, the largest red-footed booby colony in the world, the Nazca booby, the swallow-tailed gull, the storm petrels in the lava cracks.

Afternoon landing at Prince Philip's Steps on the east side of the caldera — named for Prince Philip's 1965 visit. A steep climb on wooden and rock-cut steps brings you to a flat plateau on the rim — another concentration of Nazca and red-footed boobies, the storm petrel colony, short-eared owls hunting them at dusk. Overnight south back to the central islands.

Morning landing at Mosquera Islet — a low sand bar between North Seymour and Baltra. A resident sea lion colony lives on the islet; the snorkel from the beach drops you among playing juveniles. Mosquera is the most relaxed landing of the week — short, no climbing, mostly an opportunity to be in the water with the wildlife one more time.

Afternoon transit south to Academy Bay off Puerto Ayora. Private-vehicle transfer up to the highlands — twenty minutes from town, twelve hundred meters of elevation, scalesia forest into Miconia shrubland. El Chato Reserve or Rancho Manzanillo holds wild Galapagos giant tortoise populations grazing in pasture. No barriers; the animals approach as they please. Overnight transit to Baltra.

Pre-dawn run to North Seymour — a small flat island just north of Baltra, formed by tectonic uplift rather than volcanic activity. The sunrise landing brings you onto a low coastal trail past the blue-footed booby colony (the sky-pointing courtship dance performed at close range), the magnificent frigate bird colony (males with the inflated red gular sac), and the resident land iguana population.

Back on board for breakfast and the short transit to Baltra. The crew arranges the transfer to GPS for mid-morning flights direct to Quito and Guayaquil. Guests extending their Latin America trip from here typically connect to Cuzco, Lima, or back to Quito for a night in the old town before flying home.