/ .FRAGATA -

[ reservations ]

>>CATEGORY:FIRST CLASS | >>DEPARTURE: FRIDAY & MONDAY

DAY 1	Morning: Departure from Quito to Galapagos (Baltra island). Arrival at Baltra where our guide will take you to the ship. The crew will welcome you with a special lunch. Baltra is the main entrance to the islands, with every day flights from Quito and Guayaquil.Baltra is connected to the Santa Cruz island through the Itabaca channel. This island was a strategic point during WWII Afternoon: Visit to the Bachas beach, located 45 minutes from Baltra Port. This is a very attractive place for swimming and wildlife watching as flamingos are commonly seen in the ponds. During marine turtle reproduction seasons, they can be seen near the white sand beach. Later return to the ship for dinner and welcoming cocktails.
DAY 2	Morning: After a nocturnal sea voyage of approximately 3 hours you will arrive at Rabida Island. Breakfast will be served before starting the day's tour. This island has a dark red beach, where you will find many sea lions. The vegetation is dense and the sea lions have constructed paths to reach their resting places or swim in a nearby lagoon, where sometimes one can find flamingos and small ducks. Following a footpath, you will reach a cavern with clear water and a variety of fish. On the higher parts of the trail you have a magnificent view of the lagoon and beach. Here you can enjoy other activities such as snorkeling with our on-board diving gear. Afterwards, continue to Bartolome Island, a trip of approximately 2 hours. Lunch will be served upon arrival. This site offers spectacular views and, for those who like adventure and excursions, there will be a climber through big lava rocks to a volcanic cone, from which the view is incredible. On this island you will fine tune your snorkeling skills while swimming with penguins. Afternoon: Trip to Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island, where you can walk on lava formations created over a hundred years ago and observe cactus growing on lava as well as pioneer plants such as "mollogu". Finally, we'll return to the ship for dinner and a night voyage of about 6 hours to Genovesa Island.
DAY 3	Breakfast will be served before the day's activities. On this island you will see lots of red-footed boobies, fur seals, marine iguanas, tropical birds, masked boobies, frigate birds, and two species of swallow-tailed gulls. After lunch, you will visit the "Escalera del Principe" (Prince's stairway) where you can observe a variety of birds and splendid rock precipices. Later, return to the ship for dinner and a night voyage of about 7 hours to the Plaza Islands.
DAY 4	Breakfast will be served before the day's activities, which will start at South Plaza Island, which was formed by a sub-oceanic uplifting. This island has a unique plant "sesuvium" and awe-inspiring, cactus-filled landscapes draped in red, yellow, orange, and green. On this island you will find a large colony of sea lions as well as spectacular variety of tropical bird species. After a voyage of 2 and a half hours you will arrive at Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz Island, where you will have lunch and visit the Charles Darwin Scientific Research Station, internationally recognized for its conservation efforts, and the Galapagos National Park facilities where you can observe the scientific advances and conservation projects taking place on the island aimed at protecting the various animal and plant species. Afterwards you can visit the city to buy souvenirs and, after dinner, you can enjoy the island's nightlife.
DAY 5	After breakfast, you will visit the highlands of Santa Cruz Island where you will be able to observe the "Gemelos" (two craters surrounded by scalesia trees), a reserve of Galapagos turtles in their natural habitat, Darwin finches and other types of birds. On your return to the yacht you will enjoy lunch journeying two hours to Santa Fe Island, situated in a calm bay that is home to sea lions, sparrow hawks, and land iguanas. Here, you can admire the giant cactus forest, enjoy the beach, and snorkel. Later, you will have dinner aboard the ship and voyage about 5 hours to Española island.
DAY 6	After breakfast you will visit Punta Suarez on Española, an extraordinary place where you will enjoy walking between among colonies of marine birds, blue-footed boobies, masked boobies, and, from April to December, waved albatrosses. As a special natural feature, near the sea there is the so-called "Hueco Soplador" (Blow Hole) where water spouts according out of a hole in the rock formations as the surf surges and subsides. Afterwards, youll return to the ship for lunch and a short voyage of about 30 minutes to Gardner Bay on the same island. Here you may relax on a white sand beach formed by coral erosion or go swimming or diving. Then dinner on the ship and a 5-hour journey to Floreana Island.
DAY 7	After breakfast, you will have a wet landing and walk through vegetation to arrive at a beautiful white sand beach. The Devil's Crown, consisting of a group of volcanic formations where you can practice snorkeling accompanied by sharks, is the most visited site on this island, . After lunch you will visit the post office, Cormorant Point, and Flamingo Lagoon. After dinner, there will be a seven-hour night voyage to Seymour Island.
DAY 8	After breakfast, there will be a visit to Seymour island, which was formed by suboceanic uplifting , where you can find white coral fossils and, at times, see swallow tailed gulls, frigate birds, and blue-footed boobies. Finally, you'll be driven to the Baltra Airport to catch a flight back to the mainland..

• Engines:	2 x 220 H.P. Detroit Diesel 6V-71
  Generators:	2 x 21 KVA KOHLER for 100 and 220 volt; 12 and 24 volt DC
  Speed:	9 knots cruising
  Interiors:	New teakwood Navigation
  Generators:	2 x 21 KVA KOHLER for 100 and 220 volt; 12 and 24 volt DC
  Equipment:	24 mile Furuno radar, GPS Satellite Navigator, Echo sounder Furuno 1000 ft., speed and distance log, compasses, barometer clock.
  Communication Equipment:	Kenwood SSB radio Kenwood VHF radio
  Safety Equipment:	EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) 2 16-person tenders with 15 HP outboard motors. Life jackets, flares, and signals. Fire and smoke detectors as well as a complete fire extinguishing system.