Darwin’s Triangle Short + Quito (7 Day Itinerary)

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DAY 1: ARRIVE QUITO
Quito Accommodations
Airport pickup and transfer to hotel. We highly recommend adding an extra day in Quito (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), before your cruise to accommodate potential flight delays – or to enjoy an optional City Tour. Overnight Quito.

DAY 2: QUITO – BALTRA – SANTA CRUZ (El Garrapatero Beach)
Red Mangrove Aventura Lodge
AM – Hotel pickup and transfer to airport for flight to Galapagos. After arrival at Baltra airport, you will have a ferry crossing to Santa Cruz Island (10 min-ride). Arrival at Santa Cruz around 11:30 AM (Depending on your flight schedule). Check-in at Red Mangrove Aventura Lodge.

PM – After lunch, we depart to El Garrapatero Beach, about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) northeast of Puerto Ayora. A 25 minutes bus ride brings us to the start of an easy 15 minute walk that leads to the beach. This beautiful white sandy beach is known as place where you can relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. This is one of Santa Cruz’s most peaceful and tranquil settings, the 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of sand that compose El Garrapatero Beach is a tropical paradise. Surrounded by beautiful mangrove trees, the beach is home to an incredible array of birds, most notably, flamingos, finches and mockingbirds. You can also find marine iguanas, shrimp, Galapagos penguins, oystercatchers, and patillos amongst the white sands and clear blue water. There’s also a freshwater lake nearby that is home to even more tropical animals, such as herons, grebes, and many of shore birds. Enjoy an afternoon of wonderful swimming and snorkeling opportunities. Briefing and dinner at the lodge. (B,L,D)

DAY 3: SANTA CRUZ (Los Gemelos) – FLOREANA
Red Mangrove Floreana Lodge
AM – Breakfast at the Lodge. This morning the adventure starts with a trip to “Los Gemelos” (The Twins), two enormous collapsed lava chambers, a wonderful introduction to the majestic power of the forces of nature and the great biodiversity of the Santa Cruz Highlands. This short, easy hike to each of the twins is swarming with endemic flora and fauna, including a remnant of Scalesia Forest, draped in liverwort, lichens and mosses, where is easy to spot some Darwin finches and perhaps the short eared owls. After “Los Gemelos”, a short bus ride will take us to a 600-acre private reserve where the giant Galapagos tortoises freely roam, graze, and sleep. Sometimes it’s a bit muddy here, so before setting out, we will provide a selection of field boots (Wellington boots) to choose from, including large sizes for men. Walking among the tortoises in wild, will be one of the most treasured moments of your trip. After visiting these prehistoric creatures on their natural habitat, we’ll take a 5-minute ride to the entrance of a 450-meter (1350 feet) illuminated lava tunnel. With a ceiling nearly 20 feet high in most places, this is an incredible opportunity see lava stalagmites, stalactites, sulfur, mineral-colored walls, and the rippled floor formed from lava along this unique lava formations. Return to the Lodge. Lunch will be served at the Aventura Lodge.

PM – After lunch, departure to Floreana. Our navigation will take about 2 hours depending on sea conditions. Arrival at Floreana Island. Upon arrival, and before check in, visit La Loberia, a very beautiful location to swim, snorkel, or simply relax watching a colony of sea lions and great scenery. Walk back to the lodge. Check in at Floreana Lodge. Dinner at Local Family House, briefing and overnight at the Lodge. (B,L,D)

DAY 4: FLOREANA (Highlands) – ISABELA (Las Tintoreras)
Red Mangrove Isabela Lodge
AM – Breakfast at a local family’s house. This is a great way to share the insights of Galapagos with a local family. After breakfast, departure in an open-air bus (chiva) to the highlands of Floreana. During the bus ride, of about 40 minutes, your Naturalist Guide will be pointing out the wildlife and filling you in with the colorful history of Floreana’s first inhabitants, like Patrick Watkins, the Wittmers, the Baroness, and the Ritters, re-telling the legend of the “Floreana Mystery”, which involves the mysterious deaths of several inhabitants, mystery that has never been solved. At 450m high, we reach “Asilo de la Paz” (Peace Asylum), just behind Cerro las Pajas (Straw Hill) in the agricultural area of the island. The main attractions are of an historic type: one is the cave of pirates and the other is the freshwater spring. The two sites are located at the base of the hill, where is still possible to find the endemic Scalesia (Scalesia pedunculata), as well as a good number of Galapagos Petrel nests (Pterodroma phaeopygia), once at a border of extinction due to the predation of cats and rats, introduced to the island when Ecuador took possession of the archipelago in 1832. At present, and thanks to the GNP efforts and a special conservation project, the success of Galapagos petrel (local name: pata pegada) hatchlings reaches 98%. The cave of the pirates has its history since it was the home of the first settlers of the island, while the spring found in Asilo de la Paz provides water to the entire population of Floreana (130 people approx). Also, near Asilo de la Paz, the National Park Service built a special enclosure where you can see some Galapagos tortoises (from various islands) held in captivity for educational and scientific purposes. Back to town in time for our trip to Isabela, at around 11.00 am. Our navigation will take about 2 hours depending on sea conditions. Arrival at Isabela Island between 12:30 to 1:00 pm. We will check into the Red Mangrove Isabela Lodge and have a hot, wholesome lunch.

PM – After lunch, departure to “Las Tintoreras” and Bay Tour. At the main dock, we will board a smaller craft to head out across the port, slowing down to view blue-footed boobies and Galapagos penguins sharing the same rocky sunbathing space, before turning a bend and docking. From there, we take an intriguing walk through a jagged lava field, passing abundant colonies of marine iguanas and sea lions, to see a small canal of shallow waters, full of resting white-tipped reef sharks. The views from here are something you will take with you for the rest of your life! The black, treacherous lava field, the emerald green sea, the green mangroves, and the cloud-capped volcanoes of Isla Isabela create an afternoon backdrop you are not likely to ever forget. Once you finish the walk, you can snorkel in this warm, shallow bay surrounded by mangroves, for an opportunity to see white-tipped reef sharks, sea lions, sea turtles, and, of course, the mystery of the mangrove below the surface. Don’t worry, white-tipped reef sharks are not aggressive, but merely fascinating.
Once we return to the lodge, we’ll have a bit of time to relax and shower before briefing and dinner. Overnight at Isabela Lodge. (B,L,D)

DAY 5: ISABELA (Cerro Orchilla, Las Lagrimas) – SANTA CRUZ (Darwin Center)
Red Mangrove Aventura Lodge
AM – Breakfast at the lodge. Departure to the “Humedales” (Wetlands) Tour. We begin with a drive out of town along the beautiful white sand palm lined beach of Villami, one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire Galapagos. This beach, straight from the cover of a travel magazine, stretches on for 3 kilometers before the National Park boundaries, where we will walk up the trail to the summit of Cerro Orchilla, for an astounding view from the top. Then, we will visit the “Muro de las Lagrimas” (Wall of Tears), a unique construction built by the backbreaking labor of prisoners of a penal colony centuries earlier. On the path to the Wall of Tears you will see many lava lizards, endemic an native flora, Darwin finches and perhaps, if you are lucky, some young Galapagos tortoises, released after been born at the breeding center Arnaldo Tupiza in Isabela, as part of the rearing program of giant tortoises held by the National Park. Lunch at Isabela Lodge.

PM – 1 PM we depart to Santa Cruz. Our navigation will take about 1.5 to 2 hours depending on sea conditions. Arrival and check in at Santa Cruz Aventura Lodge. Then, enjoy a guided tour to the fascinating Charles Darwin Research Station where you can learn about one of the most successful reptile breeding programs in the world and perhaps, meet the most famous giant tortoise: Lonesome George, also known as the world’s rarest creature. Discovered in 1971 on Pinta Island, he is the very last of his kind. Founded in 1964 the Charles Darwin Research Station is supported by over 100 scientists and researchers from around the world, with the unique purpose to study, support and instrument the conservation efforts of the islands. Dinner and overnight at Aventura Lodge. (B,L,D)

DAY 6: SANTA CRUZ – BALTRA – QUITO
Quito Accommodations
AM – Breakfast at the Lodge. Depart for your transfer to the Baltra airport, on time for your flight back to the mainland. Transport and guide included from the hotel to the airport. Departure from lodge will be 3 hrs before your flight.
Before entering the ‘gate’ to depart, you will pass through a line where you need to present the part of your Migratory Control card you have retained and now have handy for the Immigration officer. Board plane for flight to Quito via Guayaquil. Arrive Quito, airport pickup and transfer to hotel. Overnight Quito.

DAY 7: QUITO – HOME (or begin Extension Program)
Hotel pickup and transfer to airport for flight home. (B)

Key: (B)reakfast (L)unch (D)inner

*Tour Program – 2 person minimum / 14 person maximum (private tour quoted upon request)*