Day 1 – Arrive Quito, Ecuador Tour begins: Swissôtel Quito. A transfer is included from Quito Airport to the Swissôtel Quito; settle in and get a good night’s sleep tonight, so you’ll be all set for an early morning start tomorrow!
Day 2 – Welcome to the middle of the world in Quito Taking its name from the Equator which splits the city in two, Quito has a history as colorful as the sites you will see today. Your discoveries start at the Equator, the imaginary line that divides the Northern and Southern hemispheres; you’ll have the rare opportunity to stand with one foot on each side of the world during your visit this morning. Check out the region’s geography and natural sciences at the Inti-Ñan Solar Museum; have lunch near the crater of extinct Pululahua Volcano, home to a farming community; and tour Quito’s colonial center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Please join us for a welcome reception and dinner at the hotel this evening. Meals BLD
Day 3 – M Cruise to islands time forgot Hop on a plane for a flight to Baltra Island, the starting point for your Galápagos cruise* aboard our expeditionary ship, M / V Santa Cruz. Your first stop is Santa Cruz Island, home to daisy-tree forests, volcanic craters, endemic cactus, giant tortoises, and eight different species of Darwin’s Finches – the tiny birds that have become the symbol of evolution in the Galápagos. Put on your hiking shoes for a guided walk around a saltwater lagoon, and look for pintail ducks, flamingos, stilts, and sandpipers; most of the islands’ bird species can be found here. Back aboard the ship, a welcome briefing this evening introduces your Captain and crew, and our naturalists will offer details on the following day’s activities. Meals BLD
Day 4 – M Meet the locals on Santiago Island Go ashore on Santiago Island for a walk through a mangrove forest, where you’ll observe sea turtles and flocks of pink flamingos. Later, put on your bathing suit for a swim and a snorkel, and learn more about the sea lions and marine iguanas who live on Santiago’s black lava shores – and about the Galápagos Islands’ volcanic origins – from our expert naturalists. Meals BLD
Day 5 – M Finches and sea lions on Rabida & Bartolomé Get ready to get wet when you wade ashore on the red beach of Rabida (Jervis) Island, where you may be welcomed by a colony of noisy sea lions. This island is studded with volcanic craters that mockingbirds and Darwin’s Finches call home. Continue on to Bartolomé Island and take a hike up to the summit – about 365 steps up – for views of neighboring islands and lots of cool volcanic features like tuff cones and lava tubes of varying sizes. Climb aboard a panga for a ride around Pinnacle Rock to look for tropical Galápagos penguins, sea lions and sea turtles – and have a chance to meet them face-to-face on a glass-bottom boat ride or while snorkeling. Meals BLD
Day 6 – M Nazca (masked) boobies, frigate birds & more Sail along the cliffs of Genovesa (Tower) Island today, where you’ll make a dry landing; climb Prince Philip’s Steps up to flat land for a hike across the island and an opportunity to see large colonies of Nazca (masked) boobies, storm petrels and frigate birds. In the afternoon, cruise to Darwin Bay; a wet landing on lava terrain leads
Call your travel agent or Tauck Bridges at 866-636-6500
www.tauckbridges.com 71
“The Galápagos Islands are amazing. There were species on each island that you would never see anywhere else. We loved
the fact that birds do not fly away when humans approach and that even the sea lions came over to some of the people to brush against them!
” — from The Tauck Forum
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