Silver Origin, Galapagos Western ex San Cristobal to Baltra
Cruise Line Silversea Cruises
Ship Silver Origin
Destination South America
Nights 7
Departure Date 04 Sep 2021
Description 7 Night Cruise sailing from San Cristobal to Baltra aboard Silver Origin.

This 7-day journey in the Galápagos Islands will immerse you in nature’s most spectacular wonders. The western itinerary allows you to get up close to giant tortoises, flightless cormorants, sea lions, manta rays and more. Walk across otherworldly lava fields and learn about the islands’ history before and after Darwin made them famous.

Highlights of this cruise:

San Cristobal, Ecuador
Like so many of the islands in the Galapagos, San Cristobal is formed by dormant volcanoes. It lies to the east of the archipelago and is one of the oldest islands in the group. Approximately 6,000 people live on the island, making their living from tourism, fishing, in government offices, or off the rich volcanic soils with some limited farming existing in the highlands. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on the southwestern tip of the island is the capital city of the Galapagos Islands. A statue of Charles Darwin graces the harbor, marking one of the first places he likely stepped ashore in the 1830s.

Playa Espumilla, Santiago
Playa Espumilla is located on the northwestern side of Santiago Island and is home to a variety of wildlife including nesting green sea turtles, and plentiful birds such as flamingos, White-cheeked Pintails, Yellow Warblers, Galapagos Hawks, Whimbrels, and American Oystercatchers. Zodiacs will land you at the center of the white-sand beach to join a trail that passes by a seasonal lagoon hosting a variety of bird life. The trail then leads inland to a fragrant Palo Santo (incense tree) forest before looping back to the beach in a lazy circuit past the mangrove-fringed lagoon, where you can watch shorebirds work the mudflats for their dinner.

Punta Vicente Roca, Isabela
The agile Silver Galapagos can anchor in deep water right up against the cliffs of Punta Vicente Roca on the northwest side of Isabela Island. From our anchorage Zodiacs set out to cruise beneath the imposing volcanic coastline. The cliffs support endemic Flightless Cormorants, Galapagos fur seals, Blue-footed Boobies, and marine iguanas. The waters below hold scores of Eastern Pacific green sea turtles swimming all around the Zodiacs. If conditions allow, fortunate snorkelers will have an opportunity to swim with eagle rays, Galapagos sea lions, Galapagos Penguins, and schools of small tuna in the blue.

Post Office, Floreana
Post Office Bay is steeped in history and received its name thanks to a post box that was placed ashore before 1813. Ships that were visiting the Galapagos on multi-year voyages would leave letters here to be collected and delivered by vessels on their way home. Visitors today can keep the tradition alive by leaving their own postcards in the post box (now a barrel) and looking for any they can deliver by hand back at home. Activities at Post Office Bay can include exploring a cave created by lava that runs underground towards the ocean. The bay itself offers kayaking along the shore and into Mystery Bay, snorkeling, swimming and relaxing on the beach.

Las Bachas, Santa Cruz
On the northern shore of Santa Cruz stretch the Las Bachas beaches. The two beaches together span a full kilometer. A short track leads visitors inland towards a shallow pond with the opportunity to spot flamingos, migratory birds in season, and scavenging shorebirds. The name “Las Bachas” derives from the mispronounced term “barges” –which the American forces had left behind after World War II. On our visit to Las Bachas there will be the chance to swim from one of the two sandy beaches and to look for sea turtles that use Las Bachas as one of their major nesting sites in the islands.

Baltra
Baltra Island, or Isla Baltra, is a small island of the Galápagos Islands. Also known as South Seymour, Baltra is a small flat island located near the center of the Galápagos.The island is very arid and vegetation consists of salt bushes, prickly pear cactus and palo santo trees. It is the only island of the Galápagos which is not part of the national park, but navy territory. This is also the reason why there are no visitor sites on the islands.

The main airport of the Galapagos Islands is located on Baltra island. There are a few souvenir shops near the airport, however most people just stay long enough to take the bus to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz (Galapagos) or to the docks to go to their cruiseboat.
Sailing Dates
  • 06 Mar 2021
  • 20 Mar 2021
  • 03 Apr 2021
  • 17 Apr 2021
  • 01 May 2021
  • 15 May 2021
  • 29 May 2021
  • 12 Jun 2021
  • 26 Jun 2021
  • 10 Jul 2021
  • 24 Jul 2021
  • 07 Aug 2021
  • 21 Aug 2021
  • 04 Sep 2021
  • 18 Sep 2021
Itinerary

Cruise Itinerary

DayDateActivityArriveDepart
1 04/09 San Cristobal Is, Galapagos Is 04:15 PM
1 04/09 Leon Dormido, San Cristobal island, Galapagos 05:15 PM 06:30 PM
2 05/09 Bartolome Island, Santiago 01:15 PM 12:00 PM
2 05/09 Playa Espumilla, Santiago, Galapagos Is 02:30 PM 10:30 PM
3 06/09 Isabela Island (Punta Vicente Roca), Galapagos Islands 06:30 AM 12:30 PM
3 06/09 Punta Espinoza, Fernandina 02:30 PM 06:00 PM
4 07/09 Isabela Island (Caleta Tagus), Ecuador 06:30 AM 11:00 AM
4 07/09 Isabela Island (Bahia Elizabeth), Ecuador 02:30 PM 07:00 PM
5 08/09 Post Office Bay, Floreana 06:30 AM 10:15 AM
5 08/09 Isla Champion, Floreana 11:30 AM 03:00 PM
5 08/09 Cormorant Point, Floreana 03:20 PM 06:00 PM
6 09/09 Dragon Hill, Santa Cruz 11:00 PM 02:00 PM
6 09/09 Las Bachas, Santa Cruz 03:30 PM 10:00 PM
7 10/09 Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Is 02:15 AM 11:00 PM
8 11/09 Baltra, Galapagos Is 02:30 AM
All itineraries and ports of call at the discretion of the cruise line subject to local weather conditions and may change without notice.

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