THURSDAY
Playa Ochoa

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In the morning we fly to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos. After boarding your yacht and a good lunch onboard, we have a briefing onboard about Diving in the Galapagos Islands.  We set out along the coast of San Cristobal heading northeast toward Playa Ochoa. This inviting powdery beach beside a turquoise bay is home to a small colony of sea lions. It is a great place for your check-out dive and a great introduction to the underwater world of the Galapagos offering your an opportunity to dive with sea turtles and the archipelago’s playful ‘wolves of the sea’.

 

 

FRIDAY
Mosquera & North Seymour Islands

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2 DIVES: This small sandy beach Island  runs north-south in the canal between Baltra and North Seymour. Islands This intermediate wall dive offers the opportunity to see Galapagos garden eels, snake eels, sea turtles, mantas, whitetips, amberjacks, rays, hammerheads, barracudas as well as play with the many sea lions which reside on the beach.

In the afternoon we will disembark  at North Seymour, just north of Mosquera Island.  On this island for a land visit where we will have the chance to see sea lions, blue-footed and masked boobies, frigate birds, swallow-tailed bulls and red-billed tropicbirds.

 

 

SATURDAY
Wolf Island

 

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4 DIVES: Wolf Island is the close cousin of nearby Darwin Island, which lies just to the northwest. Like Darwin, Wolf is also formed from an eroded caldera that rises from the ocean bottom giving way to a formidable wall of high cliffs above the waterline. Wolf offers a number of world class dive sites. Its wall dives boast the greatest numbers of tropical fish in the islands. Like Darwin you can expect to see larger animals including the occasional whale shark and dolphin pod. This is the place to see large schools of scalloped hammerheads. This underwater shark city also offers large numbers of Galapagos sharks. Other residents and visitors include hawksbill turtles, schools of barracuda, sting rays and moray eels.

 

SUNDAY & MONDAY

Darwin & Wolf Islands

 

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8 DIVES: The natural rock formation known as Darwin’s Arch rises from the ocean at the eastern approach to Darwin Island marking the place many experienced divers will tell you is the single best dive site on the planet. Both Darwin and nearby Wolf Islands are formed by the summits of weatherworn volcanic calderas that rise 1,800 meters from the sea floor. These two islands stand segregated to the far northwest of the main group. The water and currents are warmer here than at the center of the islands, increasing the numbers and types of pacific tropical species. But the big draw is big underwater animals. Throughout the summer and into the fall divers come here to swim with whale sharks when encounters with these gentle giants are all but assured. Sightings of the graceful monsters occur throughout the year leading many to proclaim this site the whale shark capital of the seven seas. Words cannot fully describe the feeling of being so close to these spotted giants of the deep. Schools of fifty to one hundred hammerheads can be seen escorting the way of the whale sharks, while large pods of dolphin are another key attraction. Pelagic fish including yellow fin tunas, skip jacks and big-eye jacks frequent the area as do marlins and occasionally killer whales.

 

TUESDAY

Cousins Rock & Bartolome

 

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 2 DIVES: Not far from the north shore of Bartolome Island, is the islet known as Cousins Rock. Cousins features sloping plates called planchonal and a wall that descends sharply into the ocean depths. These geological features provide an excellent foundation for healthy black corals, making for a rich habitat that is home to blue crabs, arrow crabs, lobster and hawk fish. The sea horses found here are among the largest in the Pacific Ocean, growing to nearly a foot in length. A spth.al treat found here is a large school of eagle rays. Cousins is also a great place to swim with young sea lionsea li psea liong the wall. You’ll also have a chance to see sleeping sea turtles and white-tipped reef sharks resting on the bottom. Hammerheads are among the passers by.

In the afternoon we visit Bartolome Island which is famous for its Pinnacle Rock, a towering spearheaded obelisk that rises from the ocean’s edge and is the best known landmark in the Galapagos. Galapagos penguins—the only species of penguin found north of the equator—walk precariously along narrow volcanic ledges at its base. Sea lions snooze on rocky platforms, ready to slide into the water to play with passing snorkelers. Just below the surface, shoals of tropical fish dodge in and out of the rocks past urchins, sea stars and anemones. A perfectly crescent, pink-and-white sandy beach lies just to the east of the pinnacle. Sea turtles use the beach as a nesting site and can sometimes be found wading in the shallow water near the shore, or resting in the sand to recover from the arduous task of digging nests, laying eggs and covering them over.

 

 

WEDNESDAY

Gordon's Rock, South Plaza and Puerto Ayora

 

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 1 DIVE:  While there is lots to see here, there is one reason people head to Gordon Rocks and one reason it is a world-renowned site: the Hammerheads. Lots of hammerheads up close and really personal.  There are also Eagle Rays, Stingrays, Marbled Rays, Mantas, White-Tipped Reef Sharks, Galapagos Sharks, Jacks, Turtles, Heiroglyphic Hawkfish, Flag Cabrillas, Blennies, Wrasse in various growth stages, Cardinalfish, King Angelfish, Sea Lions, Yellowtail Surgeonfish, King Angelfish, Barracudas, Jack and more…
Later in the morning we visit South Plaza Island which was formed by lava up streaming from the bottom of the ocean. Despite its small size it is home to a large number of animals and birds and it is famous for its extraordinary flora.
In the afternoon we visit the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora.  It is primarily a scientific operation, which conducts research and assists other researches within the Galapagos National Park and Galapagos Marine Reserve. The information from this research is given to the Galapagos National Park Service and the Ecuadorian Government to better protect and maintain the Islands.

THURSDAY

Check out and Return home

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Today we bid farewell to our yacht and disembark after breakfast in San Cristobal Islands.  You will have some time to do some last minute shopping of souvenirs before we head to the airport for our return flight back to the mainland.