|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
The
Galapagos Islands
AN IN-DEPTH TWO WEEK EXPERIENCE OF NATURE'S MAGIC Sunday, June 12 - Wednesday, June 29, 2005  Imagine exploring a tropical island rich in charismatic wildlife that is totally unafraid of you and your camera. Imagine having ample time to explore on a special expedition that caters to the pace of nature lovers and photographers and does not rush you back to your boat every day. Imagine 15 days of the best itinerary possible in one of the world’s most intriguing natural history destinations outfitted with one of the best boats (the Sagitta with spacious private bath cabins), best crews, and best natural-history guides in the archipelago. Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris offers this opportunity to explore the Galapagos outside the norm of tourism among breeding boobies, albatross, penguins, frigatebirds, endemic landbirds, sea turtles, sharks and many hundreds of species of fish. Costs: $5800, including meals beginning on June 13, except dinner on June 28. Galapagos National Park fee: $100 paid in US$ (cash) on arrival in Baltra.
Airfare: $800 approx. to Quito, depending on origin, plus Quito-Baltra on TAME: $393. Group size: 12, plus our leader and our resident naturalist/guide. Conditions: Nonsmoking tour. Boat: 12 passenger sailing yacht S/Y Beagle with private baths, hot showers, and air-conditioned cabins, chartered from Andando Tours. See cabin plan on last page. Leaders: Ecologist Ted Cheeeseman plus a very experienced resident naturalist and the captain of the Sagitta. Note: The itinerary depends on the conditions at the time of travel. The Captain will recommend any possible improvements. The weather is usually calm within the archipelago. Trip extension: This voyage is perfectly combined with Itinerary Updated 12/2003  Itinerary In Brief:
Itinerary In Full: June 12, Sunday: Flights to Quito, Ecuador The American Airlines flight leaves Miami at 4:50 pm and arrives in Quito at about 9 pm. The AA flight from SFO departs at 7:15 am to Miami at 3:30 pm in time to connect with the Miami flight at 4:50 pm. There are also connections on Continental via Houston. Look for our agent from Andando Tours for your transfer from the Quito Airport to the hotel. Overnight two nights at the lovely Patio Andaluz in restored historic downtown Quito. June 13, Monday: Quito, Ecuador Enjoy a morning tour of colonial Quito departing at 9 am. Drive up Panecillo Hill for a spectacular view of Quito, an excellent overlook for photography. We will explore the most spectacular of the Spanish-style churches in downtown Quito. Afternoon free to rest or explore the city further. Welcome dinner together this evening. June 14, Tuesday: Baltra and North Seymour After an early breakfast fly from the Quito Airport at 9:30am to Baltra via Guayaquil on TAME. It is necessary to arrive at the airport two hours before the flight. The flight stops in Guayaquil and arrives in the Galapagos at 12 noon. After customs we meet our resident naturalist and board the beautiful 12 passenger Beagle, our home for this glorious two weeks. After lunch, we make our first landfall on nearby North Seymour Island. Here visit the Blue-footed Booby colony and a large Magnificent Frigatebird colony. Male frigatebirds will be in full display. Also California Sea Lions, Marine Iguanas, endemic Palo Santo, low bushy-type Opuntia, Lava Herons, Brown Noddies, Swallow-tailed Gulls, and Lava Gulls will entice you to use lots of film. By the light of sunset we will be the last to depart North Seymour, a lovely first taste of the magnificence of Galapagos wildlife. Back on the Beagle, our first dinner will prove that as much as we may desire to spend 24 hours of each day with the wildlife, the ship will always reward our return.
We go ashore on South Plaza early and have the entire morning here on this incredible island. The Land Iguanas pose obligingly for photos. The Cactus Finch alongside Small and Medium Ground Finches are very fascinating to compare on Plazas. Along the cliff is a sea lion colony, plus Red-billed Tropicbirds nesting. We will take our first snorkel just before lunch, as the swimming is wonderful off North Plaza with sea lions, rays, and fish. After lunch we head to Santa Fé. From the beach walk a trail where a beautiful species of Scalesia thrives near a large forest of Tree Opuntia. Here search for Land Iguanas, a different species (Conolophus pallidus) from those on South Plaza (Conolophus subcristatus). After our landing we can cool off with another snorkel, either from the beach or around a small island off Santa Fé where we will find fish in great abundance. June 16, Thursday: Punta Suarez on Española (Hood Island) Early in the morning we will land at Punta Suarez on Hood for one of the great highlights of the Galapagos: courting displays of the Waved Albatross. Spend all morning and return in the afternoon to observe and photograph the incredible display behavior. In June these remarkable albatross are well into their breeding season, feeding chicks. Any birds that have recently paired, or have lost their chick during the early season will be displaying, a most enticing expression of the lifelong pair pond that their breeding and survival depends upon. We will also find the Hood Mockingbird, Blue-footed and Masked boobies, Swallow-tailed Gull, Galapagos Hawk, Marine Iguana (a race unique to this island that is red and black), Lava Lizard, sea lions, beautiful seascapes, a blowhole and much more. We may have a chance for a snorkel and an afternoon return to Punta Suarez for more time in this fantastic place. The albatross tend to be more active in the morning, though the cliffs on the island’s south side provide a magnificent platform for photographing birds in flight, and Blue-footed Boobies nest in the open nearby. June 17, Friday: Floreana (Charles) and Champion Floreana is known for excellent snorkeling, especially at the dramatic Devil's Crown, an eroded submerged volcanic cone, and at the nearby islet of Champion. The very rare Charles Mockingbird, which is no longer seen on Floreana, can be seen on the shores of Champion from the pangas (skiffs). Landings are not allowed on Champion, but panga cruising is allowed and the snorkeling is wonderful. After two highlights underwater, we will land to walk along the flamingo lagoon behind Cormorant Beach, an excellent site for teal and shorebirds alongside flamingoes. Plant life here is unique with another species of Scalesia. The sand on Floreana contains a large proportion of fine olivine crystals, a glassy volcanic mineral, giving it an olive-green tone. Later this afternoon sail for Academy Bay and the town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. June 18, Saturday: The Charles Darwin Research Station and Puerto Ayora This morning we will visit the Charles Darwin Research Station beside the town of Puerto Ayora. The research station is the center of evolutionary science and conservation in the Galapagos, a real treat to see intimately with the guidance of a member of the staff or resident researcher. We will get to see the many resident tortoises along with up-close looks at the captive breeding programs that are working to return the Galapagos to a pre-colonization pristine state. In the research station we will have our best opportunity to photograph tortoises up close. We will return to the Beagle for lunch, then have the afternoon free in quiet, picturesque Puerto Ayora. We will anchor in Academy Bay again tonight. June 19, Sunday: Santa Cruz Highlands and El Garrapatero Beach We will awake to find ourselves anchored in Academy Bay. Today we search for some of the elusive island endemics in beautifully unique habitats. A pre-dawn departure to Media Luna and bus ride take us to ideal habitat for the Galapagos Rail. By 8 am we will be back onboard for breakfast. Next, we depart for Los Gemelos in the highlands, two incredible volcanic sinkholes surrounded by tall Scalesia forest. This is excellent habitat for some of the highland Darwin finches. The genus Scalesia is a classic example of adaptive radiation in the plant world, a parallel to the Darwin finches. The elegant tall Scalesia tree evolved from beach composites. Here it is possible to see the shy Galapagos Rail, Short-eared Owl, Large and Small Tree finches, Vegetarian Finch, and Woodpecker Finch, the famous tool user. A sharp eye might also spot a Land Tortoise hiding in the undergrowth. Lunch will be at a restaurant up in the Highlands. We recommend hiking boots or some sturdy, water resistant footwear. After lunch we will continue on to beautiful El Garrapatero Beach where we will walk about 20 minutes through manzanillo forest and by a flamingo lagoon to the beach. Our afternoon will be light, returning to the Beagle early enough to have a rest before dinner. June 20, Monday: Isabela at Punta Moreno and Elizabeth Bay Depart from Puerto Ayora for the crossing to the west, timed to have the morning hours in the richest areas for marine mammals. These are great waters for dolphins coming in to steal a free ride on the bow wave of the boat, a delightful and photogenic way to get close to marine mammals. These waters are also rich with seabirds, such as Waved Albatross, three species of storm-petrels, Audubon's Shearwaters and boobies. Our first stop today is Punta Moreno, a fascinating lava flow with many photographic possibilities, hopefully including nesting Flightless Cormorants and wading flamingoes on a beautifully improbable lagoon nestled in bare black lava rock. In the afternoon we will watch for whales as we head for Elizabeth Bay. Stop for a unique snorkel in a lagoon along the way. This side of Isabella is a paradise for sea turtles, rays, and Flightless Cormorants and one of the best areas for the Galapagos Penguin. Anchor in Elizabeth Bay tonight. June 21, Tuesday: Isabela at Urbina Bay and Tagus Cove In the morning sail north to Urbina Bay, a fantastic place just south of Tagus Cove at the foot of Volcan Alcedo on the west side of Isabela. One can find rocks full of bleached shells, lifted out of the sea by a 1954 volcanic uplift. There are giant sized iguanas of both species, Land and Marine, also Flightless Cormorants and Brown Pelicans nesting, Galapagos Penguins, sea turtles, and Land Tortoises are here in the wild if there has been rain near the coast. We will land at Tagus Cove in the afternoon for a beautiful walk and many possible surprises both at the landing site and on the trail. Tagus Cove is also a good area for the Vegetarian Finch and Woodpecker Finch, so famous for fashioning a tool to probe for insects. Anchor overnight at Tagus Cove. June 22, Wednesday: Punta Tortuga, Isabela, and Punta Espinoza on Fernandina A before breakfast landing will take us on a hunt for the Mangrove Finch at Punta Tortuga, a very elusive Darwin finch. The beach at Playa Tortuga is now closed due to its many Green Turtle nests, so access to the mangroves will have to be along a narrow path without crossing the beach. During breakfast cross the small channel to Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island, one of the highlights of the trip. Here we observe and photograph Flightless Cormorants, the largest of the Marine Iguanas sunning in piles by the hundreds, Galapagos Hawks, Galapagos Penguins, and Brachycereus cactus growing directly out of seemingly fresh bare lava. Make a morning and afternoon landing with a snorkel in the middle, hopefully sharing the near-shore zone with swimming penguins and iguanas. June 23, Thursday: Roca Redonda and whale, dolphin and seabird watching This morning pass Punta Vicente Roca on the northwest tip of Isabela Island where we should see Flightless Cormorants and Galapagos Penguins. The area is outstanding geologically with lava fields and tuffs, but no landing is possible. We will be on the lookout because we are still in the western part of the archipelago where the deep waters off the shelf attract marine mammals. Possibilities are Orcas, Pilot Whales, and some of the large whales, especially Sperm Whales. In a study by Hal Whitehead with the help of World Wildlife Fund, Sperm Whales were particularly abundant in an area 250 km long and 150 km wide west of Isabela Island where the Cromwell Current, traveling eastward under the Equator, meets land. Here the Sperm Whales must find high densities of squid, their favorite food. Whitehead found that like elephants male sperm whales roam between female/calf groups, instead of one dominant male dominating a harem. Go north to Roca Redonda, a very interesting rock covered with nesting seabirds, especially Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels. This area has excellent, exciting snorkeling for large fish, rays and small sharks of several species. Arrive at James Island in the northern archipelago late this evening. June 24, Friday: James Bay: Fur Seal Grotto and Playa Espumilla, Isla Santiago A walk along the tidepools of James Bay at low tide reveals a fascinating and photogenic intertidal zone where oystercatchers hunt for exposed crustaceans and marine iguanas graze on intertidal algae. At our walk’s end we will look down on beautiful blue and green grottos formed by collapsed lava tubes, perfect hideouts for Galapagos Fur Seals. Here it is enchanting to watch and photograph not only fur seals, but bright red-orange Sally Lightfoot Crabs (so named because they contain so little meat). This site offers a great diversity of ecosystems and geological strata, as well as great snorkeling along underwater lava tubes that hide any number of large marine creatures. This evening we will cross to Genovesa (Tower) to the northeast. June 25, Saturday: Genovesa (Tower Island) The anchorage at Tower is in Darwin Bay, which is actually a huge flooded volcanic caldera. The walls of the caldera provide wonderful hauling out ledges for Galapagos Fur Seals and nesting sites for tropicbirds. After breakfast we will hike up "Prince Philip's Steps" through very photogenic Red-footed and Masked Booby colonies to the Wedge-rumped (Galapagos) Storm-Petrel colony. These three species like the open ocean for feeding, so they tend to nest on the outer archipelago. The largest Red-footed Booby nesting site in the Islands is here on Tower. They are adapted to hunting far out to sea and can only rear a single young, whereas the Blue-foots fish shallow water close by their nests and raise two or three young in a brood if conditions are good. In the storm-petrel colony Short-eared Owls hunt during the day for this small tubenose by hiding within the colony. This is the only diurnal storm-petrel at the breeding colony and the only large colony visitor site where you can walk within the colony and photograph. After lunch and a snorkel along the crater wall, we land at Darwin Bay. Here, boobies and Great Frigates nest with unparalleled density, and the island’s four species of Darwin finch show themselves for easy comparison. Between the Large Ground Finch, Large Cactus Finch, Small-beaked Ground Finch and Warbler Finch we see huge variation in bill size. Following a lava flow along the cliffs we will find ourselves in a fly-way for incoming boobies and frigates, an excellent opportunity for photographing these magnificent birds in flight. We will see aerial displays of kleptoparatisim among the frigates, who dog-fight along the cliffs for scarce nesting material. June 26, Sunday: Genovesa (Tower Island) Tower is such a highlight in the Galapagos that we will spend two days here, revisiting the Darwin Bay landing in the morning and Prince Phillip’s Steps in the afternoon. This extra time in what can only be described as a photographer’s paradise gives us one last long chance to make perfect images of nesting, displaying, feeding, defending, chick-rearing and flying Galapagos seabirds. We will depart in the evening to arrive at Bartolomé by morning. June 27, Monday: Bartolomé and Sullivan Bay Another night's journey will find Beagle anchored at Bartolomé. If the light is good in the early morning we will visit the surreal landscape of the Sullivan Bay Pahoehoe lava flow. The lava here is nearly 100 years old, but is virtually uneroded. The flow retains a rainbowed patina that adds color to a study of natural flow, form and pattern. After breakfast climb the trail (360 ft) to the summit of Bartolomé for a gorgeous view. Then, a wet landing puts us on a beach for a short walk through mangroves and dune vegetation to another beach. Near Pinnacle Rock, penguins are often present in small numbers. Perhaps snorkel with Galapagos Penguins and maybe even the harmless, but exciting White-tipped Shark. June 28, Tuesday: Daphne Major, Baltra and Quito We end our stay in the Galapagos Islands at Daphne Major, providing that the weather is favorable, and we are able to get approval from the Park Service for the landing. The highlights here are the Darwin finches. If you read Beak of the Finch, the story of Rosemary and Peter Grant’s research on Darwin finches, you will be very interested in this landing, despite the challenge of a narrow and steep purchase. By mid-morning we reluctantly must head for the airport on Baltra for the flight to Quito at 1 pm, arriving at 5:15 pm. Overnight in Quito unless you are flying out this evening. Dinner on your own this evening. June 29, Wednesday: Flights homeward or onward to Peru American Airlines has a departure at 8:30 am. It arrives in Miami in time to connect with flights homeward. (Check in 2 hours before flight, so depart from the hotel at 6:00 am.) Continental has a night flight departing at 11:20 pm to Houston with the day free in Quito if you prefer. Other flight times are also available. Peru pre-trip: Manu Biosphere Reserve and Machu Picchu, May 29 to June 13. We will visit the Manu Biosphere Reserve, largest tropical rainforest biosphere reserve on earth, from the cloudforests of Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge to lowland Amazonia, only 100 miles from the spectacular Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, then return to the highlands to explore Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas in the Andes. Cost $3890, plus airfare. Please contact us for a full itinerary. A deposit of $300 is required to secure your reservation. Leaders: Ted Cheeseman and resident naturalist/guide. Limit: 12 people. Please read the full itinerary. Reservations: Please contact us before sending a deposit. To reserve a place, please mail a deposit of $500 ($350 refundable) and our reservation form (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free) to: Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris For questions, comments or reservations, e-mail us at: info@Cheesemans.com or use our information form. Upon receiving your deposit and signed reservation form we will send extensive trip materials, including a travel guide, reading list, species lists, animal behavior notes and maps. Payments: Deposits refundable, except $150 until February 1, 2005. A second deposit of $1000 will be due on November 1, 2004, final payment due February 1, 2005. Cancellations: Refunds given after the final payment are based on the separable costs only, insofar as the providers of these services return monies to Cheesemans' Cancellation insurance forms are available from us. Conservation: Please see our webpage on Galapagos conservation Boat Specifications: Fiddi Angermeyer, owner of Andando Tours, has used and refitted the very beautiful two-masted 105' steel hulled schooner Beagle. The Angermeyers’ quality of service in the Galapagos is well known. We will have 12 passengers in 6 cabins. Each cabin has two separate beds with private bath.and air conditioning. The Beagle is a beautiful twin masted motor sailor with a speed of 10 knots. It has a high capacity desalinator of 1500 gallons per day and carries 3500 gallons of water. The yacht has twin Gardner diesels of 150 HP each, two generators: Furuno radar, depth sounder, GPS, VHS & SSB radios, 2 tenders with outboards, color TV and VCR. The crew includes the captain, professional naturalist guide, first mate, engineer, cook, assistant, cabin attendant and two sailors who drive the two tenders for landings.. Expenses not covered:One dinner in Guayaquil (depending on your flights) and bottled beverages are not included in the costs. We suggest a gratuity of $12/day for the crew of the Sagitta. The Galapagos National Park fee of $100 is not covered, nor the airport departure tax of $25 from Ecuador. Separate airport/hotel transfers in Guayaquil are not covered. Entry requirements: Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the entry date into Ecuador. A visa is not required from citizens of the USA and of most countries. Responsibility: Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris, Saratoga, CA, act only as agents and shall not be responsible or become liable for any delay incurred by any person in connection with any means of transportation, nor for the loss, damage or injury to person or property by reason of any event beyond the control of the agency or default of such agency suppliers. The right is reserved to cancel the tour prior to departure, in which case full refund will constitute full settlement to the passenger. No refund will be made for any unused portion of the tour unless arrangements are made at the time of booking. All rates are based on current tariffs and exchange rates in effect September l989, and are subject to adjustment in the event of any change therein. Baggage is at the owner's risk.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
