The Route and Itinerary
Day 2 - Quito Old Town and 'Centre of the World'
- Booked private tour round Quito
- In the morning, covered the “Old Town”…
- visited the main cathedral, the Basilica, and went up the tower – bizarrely there are several shops and cafes on the way up, so we stopped for a hot chocolate and tea on way down. Injured thumb on dodgy spiral stairway
- Visited “La Compania” which is completely covered in elaborate gold leaf on the inside – took 150 years to build – no photography
- Had a wander round and stopped for another hot chocolate in a specialist chocolate shop
- In the afternoon, stopped at “the centre of the earth” – a fairly modern tourist site with several small, naff museums and a monument/look out tower at the formal site of the equator
Day 3 - Cotopaxi
- Booked private tour to Cotopaxi (about 1.5 hr drive to south of Quito)
- Drove up to 4500 Meters
- Attempted to climb further 300 meters to refuge point at the snow line, but found it too hard with the altitude
- Weather was pretty grim at the top!
- Did nice walk round a lake halfway back down again
- Also booked to go up the cable car in Quito, but did not bother due to time and poor weather/visibility
Day 4 - Bellavista Cloud Forest – CANCELLED due to food poisoning / altitude sickness
Day 5 - Flight to Galapagos and Darwin Centre
- Flew to Galapagos in the morning (via Guayaquil) – landed at Isla Baltra
- Travelled by bus and ferry to Santa Cruz – main town of Puerto Ayora
- Visited Tortoises (mostly lowland) at the Darwin Centre
Day6 - Eden Islet & Dragon HillIs
- Overnight sailing to Isla El Eden (Eden Islet)
- Early morning boat trip along coast of El Eden and into the shallow lagoons and mangroves
- Morning snorkel on the coast of Isla El Eden
- Lunchtime short sailing to Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill)
- Afternoon walk near Dragon Hill to find Land Iguana
Day 7 - Isabela– Tintoreras, Sierra Negra Volcano, Tortoise Breeding Centre
- Overnight sailing to South of Isla Isabela
- Early morning boat trip along Tintoreras Archipelago – First Penguins spotted and other birds
- Landed and walked along Tintoreras to lagoon and beach – lots of Marine Iguana, a Stingray, Turtles in the Lagoon and many Sealion on beach
- Late morning hike up Sierra Negra volcano (largest active crater in the world) – spoilt by rain and poor visibility
- Afternoon trip to Tortoise (mostly highland) breeding centre at Peurto Villamil
- Afterwards, spent an hour on the beach (playing in the waves)
Day 8 - Isabela (Punta Moreno) &Tagus Cove
- Overnight sailing to west side of Isabela – Punta Moreno
- Morning boat ride to see more Penguins, Sealions, birds and many Marine Iguanas. Also first Flightless Cormorants
- Morning landing and Moreno point and walk on the lava fields – walked inland to some ponds with Pelican and some Flamingos
- Afternoon snorkel near Tagus Cove – much clearer water and swam with Turtles, Penguins and a feeding Pelican
- Afternoon walk up Tagus Cove with nice views of Darwin Lake and Darwin Volcano