Rundreise San Cristobal (Westen)

An impressive tuff cone has been carved by erosion into an outstanding natural sculpture, being a resting place for marine birds such as blue-footed bobbies and brown pelicans. One of the most beautiful white sand beaches of the Galapagos (swim or snorkel). View sea lions, sally lightfooted crabs, blue-footed bobbies. Behind the dunes, you find a coastal lagoon, which was visited in the past by the locals to extract salt, today it is home to some shorebirds such as stilts and plovers. The vegetation (as it is one of the oldest islands) shows some endemic species such as Scalesia incisa (flowering plant) only found on this island.

Bartolomé Island is a volcanic islet in the Galápagos Islands group, just off the east coast of Santiago Island. It is one of the „younger“ islands in the Galápagos archipelago

Punta Vicente Roca is one of the marine sites Isabela Island has to offer. On the southern side of Ecuador Volcano, the tip of land on the western end of Isabela is named after Vicente Ramon Roca, President of Ecuador from 1845-49, who as Prefect of Guayas had proposed the Ecuadorian annexation of the Galapagos Islands in 1831. The geological formations, the underwater caves and lava tubes offer fascinating views of the coastline. View less The South Equatorial Countercurrent hits this part of the archipelago from the west and the water offers abundant food sources for different marine life and seabirds. It is normal to see Pacific green turtles, but sharks, rays, whales and dolphins can also be expected, apart from a small colony of fur seals. Blue-footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Brown Noddies and other seabirds nest in the cliffs and both the endemic Galapagos Penguins and Flightless Cormorants have established small colonies nearby. Marine iguanas also like this area because of the rich variety of seaweeds growing underwater along the western coast of Isabela. As a marine site, deepwater snorkeling is also possible at Punta Vicente Roca.

With the gentle slopes of La Cumbre volcano in the distance, the low, lava-forged coast of Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island is a spectacular sight. Hundreds of marine iguanas rest on the black rock of recent lava flows absorbing heat from the stone and defending their territories against one another. Galapagos sea lions and their pups also take shelter here, resting on the beach and playing in the shallow tide pools sprinkled along the coast. View less Walk past high sandy areas where marine iguanas lay their eggs and along low, shallow mangrove ponds ringed with bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs and Flightless Cormorants drying their stubby wings in the sunshine.

Die Tagus-Bucht wird von einer steilen Felsenküste begrenzt und bietet seit Jahrhunderten Schiffen und Yachten Schutz. Die Bucht ist nach der britischen Fregatte HMS Tagus benannt, die 1814 die Galapagos-Inseln besuchte. Bereits in den 1830er Jahren hielten andere Schiffe ihre Besuche fest, indem sie ihren Namen auf die Felsen malten oder ritzten. Beim Anflug werden oft Galapagos-Pinguine und flugunfähige Kormorane gesichtet, beides Vögel, die hauptsächlich an der Westküste von Isabela und der benachbarten Insel Fernandina vorkommen. Vom Landeplatz aus führt ein Pfad durch einen Weihrauchbaumwald am Darwin Lake vorbei zu einem Aussichtspunkt auf einem Spritzkegel. Während der Wanderung sind verschiedene Landvögel wie Mittlere Bodenfinken, Galapagosbussarde, Gelbspötter sowie Großschnabel- und Zinnoberschnäpper häufig zu sehen. Braune Noddies und Blaufußtölpel bevorzugen die Felsen entlang des Ufers.

Die Elizabeth-Bucht ist einer der Meeresorte an der Westküste von Isabela. Südlich des Vulkans Alcedo und nördlich der Sierra Negra befindet sich die Elizabeth Bay an der schmalsten Ost-West-Ausdehnung Isabelas, wo sich die Lavaströme dieser beiden Vulkane miteinander verbunden haben. Die Ufer der Elizabeth Bay sind mit Mangroven bewachsen, und besonders der östlichste Teil, eine Bucht, die nur über einen schmalen Kanal betreten werden kann, weist rote, weiße und schwarze Mangroven auf. Verschiedene Tiere bevorzugen unterschiedliche Teile der Elizabeth Bay. Las Marielas, drei Felsen am Eingang der Bucht, werden von Blaufußtölpeln, flugunfähigen Kormoranen und Galapagos-Pinguinen als Rastplatz bevorzugt, während das Mangrovengebiet von Blaureihern zur Jagd oder von Fregattvögeln als Sitzgelegenheit bevorzugt wird. Die Bucht wird von Schildkröten, Rochen und sogar Haien zum Fressen oder Ausruhen genutzt. Das flache Wasser und das Wurzelwerk der Mangroven in der kleinen Bucht ermöglichen es kleineren Fischen, sich vor größeren Räubern zu verstecken.

Floreana’s Post Office Bay has received its name as the site was used to leave mail for retrieval by others who were thought to stop at the Galapagos Islands or might be heading for the addressee’s direction. First mentioned by Porter in 1813 as “Hathaway’s Postoffice”, HMS Beagle’s captain FitzRoy stated that it was not in use in 1835 as the island was already settled at that time. Floreana had been the first island to be settled by Ecuadorians in 1832. View less Today a barrel instead of the original box is used by visitors who leave their own postcards and retrieve mail for hand-delivery. Apart from the beach and mail barrel the bay offers good swimming and snorkeling. The area holds remains of a failed Norwegian fish canning plant and settlement dating back to the 1920s. A lava tube in the vicinity can also be explored. Although Floreana is inhabited, the number of residents is reduced because of the difficult access to water. A track from Post Office Bay connects with the only road from Puerto Velazco Ibarra on the west coast to a spring in the highlands.

Champion Islet is a small islet some 700 meters off the northeast coast of Floreana. It is one of four marine sites surrounding Floreana and offers excellent deepwater snorkeling opportunities. Curious sea lions approach the snorkelers while turtles slowly swim by and sharks, sting rays, and a high diversity of colorful fishes can usually be seen. During a Zodiac cruise around Champion Islet not only seabirds such as Nazca Boobies, Swallow-tailed Gulls, or Red-billed Tropicbirds will be seen, it is also possible to spot the rare Floreana Mockingbird.

Floreana Island’s northernmost point is called Punta Cormorant – named after the British naval vessel HMS Cormorant and dating back to the late 19th century. From the landing beach a short track leads to a shallow lagoon that is famous for its flamingos. The brilliantly pink birds skim the salty waters for shrimp and tend to chicks on the nest. The trail then scales a low hillside through scattered Palo Santo trees to reveal an idyllic white-sand beach on the other side of the point. View less Standing at the edge of the lapping waves, you might spot mammoth female sea turtles hauling themselves out of the sea to lay eggs in the sugar sand dunes that lay high above the tide line. Before returning to the landing site your guides may also point out White-cheeked Pintails, Blue-footed Boobies, Yellow Warblers, and Medium and Small Ground Finches.

Los Gemalos (Die Zwillinge) ist eine Touristenattraktion in den Hochländern von Santa Cruz. Sie liegt etwa 15 km nordwestlich von Puerto Ayora. Die Straße, die von Puerto Ayora südlich von Santa Cruz Richtung Itabaca im Norden verläuft, durchschneidet genau den Pitkrater der Zwillinge. Diese so genannten Pitkrater entstehen, wenn die Oberfläche eines im Untergrund liegenden Lochs kollabiert. Der kleinere Krater liegt auf der östlichen Seite der Straße, während der größere auf der westlichen Seite zu finden ist. Aus der Vogelperspektive ist zu erkennen, dass die beiden Öffnungen am Boden keineswegs identisch sind. Die Art, wie sie angeordnet sind, deutet auf eine verlängerte Kammer aus Magma oder einen Lavatunnel hin, der Richtung Westen führt. Außerdem lässt sich vermuten, dass der größere Zwilling tatsächlich einmal aus zwei kleinen Pitkratern bestand, deren verbindende Mauer ebenfalls kollabierte. Die Pfade durch den Wald von Scalesia halten nicht nur fantastische Ausblicke für Sie bereit. Sie erlauben es Ihnen außerdem, einige der kleineren Landvögel zu beobachten. Unzählige Finken mit den farbenfrohsten Namen fliegen den Zuschauen dort vor die Linse.

Cerro Dragón’s land iguanas once played an important part in a conservation program headed by the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park. When the reptiles’ numbers declined in the 1970s, some animals were taken to breed in captivity and were released back into undeveloped areas. Today, it is an honor to see the success of this program firsthand at Cerro Dragón. Walk inland on a trail past small saltwater lagoons that periodically feature flamingos, to see the reintroduced animals. In a periodic local phenomenon, during rainier times the salinity in the lagoons drops with the inflow of freshwater. As a consequence crustacean populations decline, which in turn means the shorebirds become scarce.

An impressive tuff cone has been carved by erosion into an outstanding natural sculpture, being a resting place for marine birds such as blue-footed bobbies and brown pelicans. One of the most beautiful white sand beaches of the Galapagos (swim or snorkel). View sea lions, sally lightfooted crabs, blue-footed bobbies. Behind the dunes, you find a coastal lagoon, which was visited in the past by the locals to extract salt, today it is home to some shorebirds such as stilts and plovers. The vegetation (as it is one of the oldest islands) shows some endemic species such as Scalesia incisa (flowering plant) only found on this island.