4 days aboard Archipel I

Your first excursion will take place at Bachas beach. The name Bachas derives from a mispronunciation of the the English word Barges, referring to the abandoned barges that can be found on this beach. They date back to World War II, when the United States rented this island as a strategic military point to protect the southern Pacific. The sand is made of decomposed coral, so it’s white and soft, an ideal nesting site for sea turtles (watch your step). You will have time for leisure, and afterwards you will venture to a hidden lagoon at the back of the bay, where it's possible to observe flamingos, black-necked stilts and whimbrels. Return to the yacht. Relax and enjoy the comfort, amenities and dinner on board.

As you approach this morning’s landing, you will see soaring 25 m/80 ft high walls that make the entrance to a large volcanic submerged caldera. On the shaded ledges of these walls, Galapagos fur seals rest alongside seabirds. Upon disembarking, you will hike uphill to a bush of aromatic palo santo trees where the beautiful and rare Red-footed boobies nest. At the seaside of the rim, the bushes open up to panoramic views, where the strong sea breeze flows free and enables seabirds to perform amazing aerial feats at your eye height. Return to the yacht for lunch.

Now you will enter Darwin Bay, located inside the submerged caldera of Genovesa. This area has a diameter of more than 1.5 km/1 mi and it is almost 200 m/650 ft deep. You will walk along a coral sand beach, cross barren lava formations, pass tidal pools, and reach the top of some cliffs, where every single species has occupied its own ecological niche. Here it is possible to listen to songbirds such as the yellow warbler, Darwin’s finches and the Galapagos mockingbird. Uniquely, two subpopulations of the same species of finch differ in their singing.

Bartolome offers some of the wildest landscapes and best panoramas of the entire archipelago. You will be first welcomed by the Pinnacle rock, that rises majestically from the seabed. Enjoy it from different angles, and next, disembark and climb 350 steps to the summit of the Bartlolomé islet, crossing paths with lava lizards, Galapagos hawks and Galapagos racer snakes. Enter a dramatic world of threatening (though extinguished) nearby spatter cones, craters, and lightweight lava droplets that have been spewed out by fiery fountains. Next, at the appropriately named Golden Beach, you can dip into crystal-clear, turquoise waters to witness precious coral formations, sea turtles, colourful reef fish and (harmless) whitetip reef sharks

The arrival in Sullivan Bay is like a moon landing. The desolate, sprawling fields seem to be out of this planet, therefore this island is very popular among photographers and geologists. The last eruption here occurred in 1897, and covered the bay with Pahoehoe lava flows, which are characterized by smooth, gently undulating, or broadly hummocky surfaces. The beach nearby has clear, shallow waters that invite to snorkel, and if you venture to deeper waters, generous marine life can be found, like Galapagos penguins, Pacific green turtles, whitetip reef sharks (careless about humans), Galapagos sea lions, and rays.

Santa Cruz is a huge island with different climates and ecosystems. You will disembark at its sunny coast and be driven to the rainy highlands. Your first stop there will be at Twin Craters, impressive lava formations that appeared during a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago, and are now covered by scalesia forest. The endemic woodpecker finch, considered a holy grail of evolution, can seldom be seen in these areas using tools to feed. Later you will visit a ranch visited by wild giant Galapagos tortoises. Since these magnificent reptiles do not stop their migrations at the official boundaries of the National Park, dozens of them enter the private properties on the island, taking mud baths, devouring fallen fruit and carrying birds on their shells. .