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GALAPAGOS LEGEND
Detailed Cruise Itinerary

3 Nights - 4 Days | Galapagos Legend CRUISE Itinerary

Day 1 | Monday

Galapagos (Baltra Airport)
Departure from Quito or Guayaquil to Baltra (2 and half hour flight). Passengers are picked up at the airport by our guides and taken to the pier to board the M/VGalapagos Legend.

North Seymour
Dry landing. Guests will encounter swallow-tailed gulls, blue footed boobies, and sea lions. This site is a major nesting colony of blue footed boobies, and has the largest colony of the magnificent frigate bird. Travelers will also spot both the marine iguanas and the land iguanas. Visitors can also observe the endemic specie of holy stick (palo santo). Depending on the season guests can see the very peculiar courtship dance of the male frigate birds with their inflatable red pouches.

Day 2 | Tuesday

Santa Cruz (Dragon Hill or Venice)
Wet landing. Passengers can walk towards a salt-water lagoon behind the beach, where occasionally pink flamingos can be observed. This trail leads up to Dragon Hill, which offers a lovely view of the bay. This is a nesting site for reintroduced land iguanas, and there is also a scalesia tree forest. Passengers may opt to take a dinghy to Venice islet and observe the vegetation and marine animals like spotted eagle rays, golden rays, mullets, sharks and sea turtles. Land iguanas have often been observed as well.

Floreana (Cormorant Point)
Wet landing on a greenish colored sand beach. Visitors will hike from the black mangrove beds to a large, brackish lagoon, which holds one of the biggest flamingo populations in the Galapagos. The island is best known for its endemic plants like the Galapagos millwork, passion flower and button mangrove. Novice snorkelers can practice on the main beach with playful sea lions.

Day 3 | Wednesday

Espanola (Suárez Point)
Dry landing. Visitors will learn more about the lava terrain and hike cross the inactive lava fields. Besides the sea lion colonies, this is a very important site for bird watching. Many species, such as the hooded mocking bird and red billed tropic bird can be spotted and observed closely. You will also see a large colony of marine iguanas, lava lizards, and rally light foot crabs. After a short trek visitors encounter colonies of masked and blue-footed boobies. The nesting grounds sometimes overlap the trail. Visitors will also find Galapagos doves, hawks and swallow-tailed gulls and then reach the world’s largest colony of waved albatross. A major highlight is their mating season, from May through December. You’ll visit the famous blowhole, where water shoots into the air 23 m (75 ft) up.

San Cristobal (Interpretation Center or La Galapaguera)
Dry landing at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Passengers will visit San Cristóbal breeding center and learn about the National Park’s breeding program with the giant tortoises. Passengers will observe some animals in their natural environment.

Day 4 | Thursday

Santa Cruz (Carrión Point)
During this visit you can snorkel and see a variety of fish, rays and perhaps the harmless white tipped reef sharks. From Punta Carrion the short navigation is through the beautiful Itabaca Channel with its turquoise waters. Return to the M/VGalapagos Legend, check-out and transfer to the airport.

Return flight to Quito or Guayaquil.

For 7 nights passengers remain on board.

4 nights - 5 days | galapagos legend cruise itinerary

Day 1 | Thursday

Galapagos (Baltra Airport)
Departure from Quito or Guayaquil to Baltra (aprox. 2 and half hour flight). Passengers will be picked up at the airport by our guides and taken to the pier to the M/VGalapagos Legend.

Bartolome
Dry landing. Passengers will see volcanic formations like lava bombs, spatter, and cinder cones. After hiking to the summit you can enjoy a great view of the surrounding islands, including Pinnacle Rock’s eroded tuff cone. During the hike to the summit, travelers will often see colonies of marine iguanas, lava lizards, tiquilla, and various cacti. Visitors will be able to snorkel and see the Galapagos penguin, sea turtles, and white-tipped reef sharks from a safe distance.

Day 2 | Friday

Urbina Bay (Isabela)
Wet landing. Passengers will visit the fossil beach and coral area. Depending on the season you may be able to observe giant tortoises, land iguanas and flightless cormorants. After the walk we will have time for snorkeling.

Fernandina (Espinosa Point)
Dry landing. Visitors will see the biggest marine iguanas mingling with sally light-foot crabs, as well as flightless cormorants at their nesting sites, Galapagos penguins, Galapagos hawks, and sea lions. Among the flora and volcanic formations observers will spot brachycereus cactus, and "pa-hoe-hoe" lava and "AA" lava formations. Numerous mangrove beds extend into the sea.

Day 3 | Saturday

Santiago (Egas Port)
Wet landing on a dark sand beach. Most of the landscape is tuff-stone layers and lava flows. You can observe hunting herons, great blue herons, lava herons, yellow crowned night herons and oyster catchers. Passengers will see marine iguanas grazing on algae beds alongside red sally light-foot crabs. There is a colony of fur seals swimming in deep cool-water pools. Here you can swim and snorkel and find octopuses, sea horses, star fish.

Rábida (Jervis)
Wet landing. The volcano-formed beach is dark red and is often occupied by sea lions. It’s considered the geographic center of Galapagos because it has the most diverse volcanic rocks on the Islands. You’ll hike to a salt water lagoon, where flamingos can sometimes be found. July through September is a good time to observe brown pelicans nesting in the salty bushes. Boobies and 9 species of Darwin’s finches can also be observed. You can take a ride along the reefs in a dinghy, as well as snorkel.

Day 4 | Sunday

Santa Cruz (Charles Darwin Research Station)
Travelers will visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, staffed with international scientists conducting biological research and conservation projects. Here guests can admire the giant tortoises that are part of the breeding program. Visitors can also admire the prickly-pear cactus forest and many land birds. Later on, you’ll have some free time to walk around town and shop for souvenirs.

Santa Cruz (Highlands)
Travelers can trek through the highlands of Santa Cruz and visit Cerro Chato, where they will be able to observe the famous giant tortoises. Additionally, travelers can walk inside the dormant lava tubes.

Day 5 | Monday

Santa Cruz (Bachas Beach)
Wet landing. This beach is located on the north side of Santa Cruz Island. Visitors will encounter many sea birds, marine iguanas, sea turtles, and have the opportunity to swim on the white-sand beach.

Return to the Galapagos Legend, check out and transfer to Baltra’s airport. Return flight to Quito via Guayaquil.

7 nights ITINERARY can start in the west or in the east and can begin Monday or Thursday.

Note: this itinerary was written by the ship owner. It is subject to change without notice. Updated 18 October 2008

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