Our day began with a very relaxing morning at Gardner Bay. We enjoyed a nice time on the beach and kayaking alongside a massive colony of sea lions. The weather was hot, but we had amazing views. Later, we took a great hike at Punta Suarez. We observed a bunch of marine birds, including a large colony of Nazca boobies. Española is a “mature” island with an amazing and uncommon landscape of pronounced cliffs and crashing waves.
Bernardo, known by his friends and family as Bernie, was born In the Andean city of Quito, located in the highlands of Ecuador. His grandfather, however, moved to the Galapagos Islands in the mid-70s, and worked as one of the first Naturalist Guides,...
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Our first whole day in the Galapagos was perfect, spending the day on the amazing Santa Cruz Island. We disembarked at the pier of Puerto Ayora and we boarded a bus. Suddenly we were surrounded by green, lush vegetation in the highlands of Santa Cruz until we reached El Trapiche, a famous traditional sugarcane and coffee farm. It was a wonderful experience to learn how, in a very primitive way, they produce sugar, coffee, and of course their specialty, moonshine. Our guests had fun tasting this product. We continued our activities by visiting a magnificent lava tunnel and even walked through it! At the end of the morning we reached Los Gemelos, two stunning volcanic sinkholes approximately 1 km in diameter formed by the collapse of volcanic gas chambers. The landscape was breathtaking thanks in part to the unique scalesia pedunculata forest, a kind of plant that only exists in this area. It was lunchtime, so we went to a wonderful farm where we enjoyed a delicious lunch and then explored, looking for the great Galapagos giant tortoises. We had the chance to observe this reptile basking in the grass while eating their favorite food. This experience was incredible and was an excellent opportunity for very special pictures.
Today we visited the island of San Cristobal. We started our day with a hike at Punta Pitt, where we walked uphill along a beautiful landscape made from tuff. Here we observed the last of the three species of boobies that can be found in the Galapagos, the red-footed booby. In the afternoon, after a delicious lunch, we visited Cerro Brujo, one of the most beautiful beaches in the archipelago. This beach was a great place to relax on the last full day of our trip. We were able to spend more time walking among sea lions and a few sea birds that were feeding along the shore. We ended our day navigating around Kicker Rock, a tuff cone in the middle of the ocean a few miles off the coast of San Cristobal. It was a great way to say farewell.
In the southeast corner of the Galapagos, we find a wonderful little island with an extraordinary, beautiful, white sandy beach where many species of animals hang out and live. A sea lion colony rests and reproduces on Gardner Bay Beach. Kayaking, snorkeling, and strolling along the shore were great fun. We visited Punta Suarez in the afternoon, another magical site which brought us closer and deeper into the essence of the Galapagos, with its unique and fearless wildlife. Many excursion offerings allowed our guests to experience and deeply understand these important and fragile ecosystems.
