Expedition Summary
Global Adrenaline's "Galápagos Explorer" expedition offers an up-close view of the unique and varied bird life and marine life of the Galápagos Islands, an historic archipelago located far off the Ecuadorian coast in the South Pacific Ocean. On our tour, we will enjoy a glimpse of the amazing wealth and array of birds and wildlife on the Galápagos - some species found nowhere else on earth - through dives in some of the islands' featured dive sites, nature walks led by our bilingual naturalist guides and shoreline exploration in our dinghies and pangas. During our days exploring the islands, we will be based on a comfortable yacht, with lunch and dinner provided on board each day. The tour will begin and end in Quito, Ecuador's lively capital city, thus providing an opportunity to get acquainted with one of South America's lesser-known capitals.

After our flight from Quito to the Galápagos, we will be met by our naturalist guides who will assist

A Galapagos Fur Seal with a sea lion at James Island. (Galapagos, Ecuador - Photo by Andy Drumm)

us in processing through the control point of the Galápagos National Park, where a park entrance fee is payable in U.S. dollars. Once on board our comfortable vessel, our guides will provide an introductory briefing, where we will receive detailed explanations about life on board, safety procedures and the National Park Service's rules and regulations for the Galápagos National Park. Each evening while we are aboard ship, our naturalist guide will present a lecture about the following day's activities.

In order to protect the islands, the Ecuadorian National Park Service has decided to limit visitation to 63 terrestrial visitor sites, in addition to the islands' small towns and communities. The visitor

Eagle Rays. (Galapagos, Ecuador - Photo by Andy Drumm)

sites have been selected to provide access to the best wildlife-viewing opportunities. Visitor sites are reached by disembarking from our yacht onto smaller dinghies or pangas, which permits non-invasive shoreline explorations and landings. Most landing sites will be on sandy beaches or rocky promontories, as there are few docks on the islands. Landings may be "wet" or "dry," with the pangas, in appropriate circumstances, delivering us into shallow beach waters rather than directly to the beaches or rocky shores. In any event, there is a likelihood that we will be splashed at least once during the course of the trip, so we recommend that our guests bring dry-bags or waterproof day packs to protect any valuables, including camera equipment.

The Galápagos Islands feature approximately 30 dive sites. Two dives per day are the norm, with night-diving opportunities also offered. A normal diving itinerary offers dives together with land visits to the islands. This affords divers the unique opportunity to compare their experiences. They often find that life above water is as spectacular as that below. If you are interested in pursuing any of our diving options, which are offered at an additional charge, please discuss your interests with our representatives at the time of your booking.

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Experience Required
No experience is required to participate in this tour, unless you plan to dive in the Galápagos. If you elect that option, you must be an experienced diver. Most of the good diving sites have strong currents, surges and cold waters. Furthermore, most dives are drift dives along the cliff faces of offshore rocks and pinnacles.

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Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Quito
After our arrival in Quito, we'll transfer to our overnight accommodations at the Hotel Café Cultura. A beautiful old colonial house situated in the new part of Quito, the hotel is located only a block from the lively Avenida Amazonas, perfectly situated for exploration of the city's museums and other attractions. Guests can enjoy the hotel's carved-stone log fireplaces, its wood-paneled library, its private hammock-hung garden, and the chance to take breakfast or afternoon tea on its garden

Giant tortoise, Cerro Azul Isabela. (Galapagos, Ecuador - Photo by Andy Drumm)

terrace. Each of the hotel's 16 rooms is decorated in an individual style and has a private bathroom.

Day 2: Travel to the Galápagos
At 10:00 a.m., we'll depart from Quito's international airport on our 2-1/2 hour flight to the Galápagos. Arriving at the islands' Baltra Airport at about 12:30 p.m., we'll meet our Galápagos guide and transfer to our yacht. As we sail to North Seymour Island nearby, we'll take in a brief orientation session. In the afternoon, we'll enjoy a 1-1/2 to 2 hour shore visit to North Seymour, where we'll observe sea lions, blue footed-boobies, magnificent frigate birds and other examples of the islands' unique wildlife. If time and conditions permit, we will also have an opportunity for some snorkeling. As will be the case with all of our days aboard our vessel, we'll enjoy lunch and dinner on board.

Day 3: Galápagos
In the morning, we will make a 3-4 hour visit to Punta Suarez on Hood Island, also known as Española. Our walks at Punta Suarez will lead us past large colonies of blue-footed boobies, masked boobies, marine iguanas, albatrosses and swallow-tailed gulls. In the afternoon, we'll visit Gardner Bay, also on Hood Island. We'll have about 2-1/2 hours to enjoy snorkeling and panga-riding, before returning to our ship for dinner and the night.

Day 4: Galápagos
In the morning, we will go ashore at Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz Island. While on Santa Cruz, we'll

Boobies courting on Espanola. (Galapagos, Ecuador - Photo by Andy Drumm)

visit the Charles Darwin Research Station and visit the island's main town. We'll spend about three hours on the island, leaving plenty of time for souvenir shopping and other activities. In the afternoon, we will visit Plazas Sur, the site of several large sea lion colonies. In our 2-3 hours ashore, we'll also expect to see land iguanas, opuntia cacti, swallow-tailed gulls, and red-billed tropic birds. Once again, there may be time for some snorkeling before we return to our ship for dinner and the night.

Day 5: Galápagos
In the morning, we will visit Bartolomé Island, where we'll take a hike to get a panoramic view of Bartolomé and its famous Pinnacle Rock. After some swimming and snorkeling on Bartolomé, we'll move on to visit Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. On Santiago, we'll enjoy a coastal walk, which will afford the opportunity to discover a great variety of tidal marine life, lorded over by the

Flightless Cormorant, Fernandina Island. (Galapagos, Ecuador)

amazing Galápagos fur seals. There will also be time for swimming and snorkeling during the afternoon hours at Puerto Egas. We'll return to the ship, where we'll enjoy our last dinner at sea.

Day 6: Galápagos, Return to Quito
In the morning, we will return to Santa Cruz Island, making a stop at Caleta Tortuga Negra, where the Galápagos green sea turtles really are green, not black as the Spanish name of their home implies. We'll then head on to Baltra Island, in time to catch our 1:00 p.m. return flight to Ecuador's mainland. We'll arrive in Quito at approximately 4:45 p.m. After settling into our old home, the Hotel Café Cultura, we'll enjoy dinner at Quito's La Querencia Restaurant.

Day 7: Depart for Home
After breakfast at the hotel, we'll transfer to the Quito airport for our return flights home.

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