Itinerary B

Arrive to Galapagos and transfer to the yacht.

PM: We will start our cruise with a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station. The Charles Darwin Research Station is based at Santa Cruz. Visitors are encouraged to donate to this organization, which carries out investigations and advises the Ecuadorian government and travel agencies on minimizing the impact of tourism on the islands. It contains a national-park information center and a museum. The station is also a tortoise breeding and rearing center, where tortoises of different subspecies are prepared to be reintroduced back to their natural habitat.

AM: Chinese Hat is a small islet located near the south-east of Santiago. It's shaped like a Chinese hat when seen from afar. It is an island consisting of a cone type "Splash" (lava ejected as droplets and falling close to where it came out, which forms a cone angle) that forms the top, and lava tubes that run down to the coast. In the west you can see lava formations, which are an indicator that the flows were formed under the sea and have been raised towards the exterior, reason why coral heads on lava can be seen. This visit provides an excellent opportunity for the interpretation of geologic features such as lava tubes and lava flows.

PM: Rabida is also known by the name of Jervis in honor of a British Admiral John Jervis, Earl of St. Vincent. Rabida is located 5 km south of Santiago Island and is commonly regarded as the geographical center of the Galapagos Islands. It has an area of 4.9 km² and a maximum altitude of 367 meters. It has a high iron content, which causes that this place has a distinctive reddish color. Its main attraction is the salt lagoon with flamingoes, pelicans and a boobies place where they build their nests.