In this section you will find a short description of the possible activities. The guide will have a general plan for the day but will offer you choices of activities for almost every day from which you may choose. If you want to go out by yourself, please feel free to do so, or you may join the guide.
This is an "typical" itinerary, with 5 days in the Galapagos. Program may vary depending on the boat that is used. We also can arrange trips with 8-day Galapagos programs, upon request.
Day 1 Depart USA – Arrival Quito
Day 2 Quito
Our trip starts in Quito City, the capital of Ecuador. The city consists of the old colonial sector and the newer business section. Old Quito counts eighty-six churches and numerous little squares. The streets are steep and narrow and are flanked by colonial buildings with stately patios. The best way to explore this part of the city is by foot. The heart of the old colonial center is based around the Plaza Independencia, which is dominated by the great Cathedral. To the west, you find the Plaza San Francisco with the large church and the cloister of the patron saint of Quito, San Francisco. On these squares and on the small surrounding streets you encounter a cozy, busy atmosphere. There is live music, and the local Indians display their goods in colorful stands or on vibrantly colored carpets. The cheerful, colored buses in Quito discharge acrid fumes. At these heights the diesel engines have great difficulty climbing the steep roads. New Quito stretches out in a northern direction of the center along wide boulevards. The most important is the Avenida Amazonas where you find many busy terraces next to the souvenir shops. Here you also find a variety of restaurants. In the city parks, El Ejido and El Alameda you will discover a cozy atmosphere. On weekends many of the local families spend their free days going for walks in the parks here, playing sports, listening to music or picnicking. A taxi ride brings you to Vergen de Las Americas that tower high above Quito. From here you have a beautiful view over the city and on a clear day you can see the snowcapped tops of the volcanoes that surround Quito.
Day 3 Quito – Otavalo – Cuicocha - Cotacachi (Indian Farm)
On our way to the indigenous market town of Otavalo, we’ll visit the Coshasqui Indian Ruins and the Cotacachi town, famous for is leather clothes, where there is plenty of opportunity to shop. We’ll also visit the beautiful Cuicocha Lake and San Antonia de Ibarra before arriving at our hotel in Otavalo.
Day 4 Otavalo – Markets – Quito City
Otavalo is a sleepy Indian village. In the morning we’ll begin with a visit to the animal market, one of the biggest and most colorful India markets in South America. Indians from the surrounding villages come here to sell their goods. The market is spread out over several squares. Even though many tourists have visited these markets over the last years, the Otavaleños, recognizable by their long black ponytails down their backs, have stayed true to their culture. This authenticity guarantees that this market remains very special. We will visit the beautiful Mojanda Lakes before we return to Quito in the late afternoon.
Day 5 Quito – Baltra (morning flight) Visit Black Turtle Cove
Day 6 Visit North Seymour Island AM, Plazas Island PM
Day 7 Visit Lobos Islands Am Interpretatoin Center PM Tijeretas.
Day 8 Visit Espanola ISland
Day 9 Arrival at Baltra ISaland AM. Vist Gemelos. Transfer. Flight Baltra-Quito
Below you will find some a description of areas that we could visit, depending on the boat that we use.
We have a morning transfer to the airport to take the flight to Baltra, on the Galapagos. After our arrival on the small island Baltra, we immediately board the boat to pay a short visit to the nearby Bachas Islands. The next day we visit one of the Plazas islands. After which, we sail to Isla Sante Fe, the larger of the two Plazas islands, about 7 miles in width. Here we can take our first peek at the land iguanas and go for a walk in the unusual forest of cacti. The Isla Santa Fe has a cactus forest and is the habitat for very rare types of iguanas that are only found on this island. Even though they are quite shy, with a little bit of luck you can view this famous breed of iguana.
The Isla Española is also known by the English name, “Hood”. To get to the shore you must wade through the clear seawater for a short distance. A so-called “wet landing” is often witnessed by sea lions, who hardly react to your arrival. It is claimed that the animals on the Galapagos Islands barely developed an instinctive fear of people since the islands are practically uninhabited. On Española, you can also admire the Galapagos Albatross. The breeding season begins in early spring and the rest of the year the spastic chicks stumble around the weather beaten lava surface of the island. An estimated 12,000 couples breed here every year. Outside the breeding season, you can see the albatross over the ocean along the shores of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. But the birds always return to these rocks in the Pacific Ocean where they were born. During a walk (watch where you step!) in the neighborhood of Punta Suarez, you will most likely come across the blue-foot Galapagos penguins. We have lunch at the beach where you have time to do a little snorkeling.
Floreana is especially infamous for its first inhabitants, most of whom died a mysterious death. Only the offspring of the Witmer family survived. The lagoons between the bays are the homes for huge flocks of flamingos accompanied by many other bird species. Post Office Bay is actually the historic post office of the Galapagos archipelago. There used to be a barrel filled with mail and every passing ship would pick up mail for their destination.
On the north side of the island, you find cultivated land. This is where most people live, raising cattle and growing coffee, even though living on the Galapagos Islands is not encouraged. On the south side of the island, spread throughout many low-rise buildings, are the research laboratory and the work place of the Darwin Research Station. The fact that the turtles from various islands vary in shape inspired Darwin, and helped him to develop his influential theory of evolution documented in his book, On the Origin of Species.
We spend the night in a hotel on the island, and the next morning we make the crossover to Baltra for the flight to Quito, where we depart the following day for home.
