Itinerary Overview DAY DATE OVERNIGHT HOTELS MEALS HIGHLIGHTS

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1 GALAPAGOS ADVENTURE BY LAND 2014 www. wildland.com

2 Itinerary Overview From your comfortable base at the deluxe Finch Bay EcoHotel on Santa Cruz Island, embark on discoveries of plants and animals unique to particular environments as you visit neighboring islands of North Seymour, South Plaza, Santa Fe, and Bartolome. Your expert naturalist guides explain how species have evolved and adapted over time to their specific locations and effects. Meet exotic and bizarre wildlife as you venture among cinder cones, lava flows, sparkling black and white sand beaches. Hiking, snorkeling, and kayaking are among the activities you may expect, as well as relaxing poolside at this delightful award-winning destination. DAY DATE OVERNIGHT HOTELS MEALS HIGHLIGHTS 1 Fri / Mon QUITO Casa Aliso 2 Sat / Tue QUITO Casa Aliso BL 3 Sun / Wed SANTA CRUZ ISLAND Finch Bay BLD Arrive to Quito, transfer to your hotel Quito City Tour and Mitad del Mundo Equatorial Monument Fly to the Galapagos, visit Santa Cruz Highlands, tortoise reserve 4 Mon / Thu SANTA CRUZ ISLAND Finch Bay BLD North Seymour Island 5 Tue / Fri SANTA CRUZ ISLAND Finch Bay BLD South Plaza Island 6 Wed / Sat SANTA CRUZ ISLAND Finch Bay BLD Optional activities at Finch Bay 7 Thu / Sun SANTA CRUZ ISLAND Finch Bay BLD Santa Fe Island 8 Fri / Mon SANTA CRUZ ISLAND Finch Bay BLD Hike to Tortuga Bay, afternoon free 9 Sat / Tue SANTA CRUZ ISLAND Finch Bay BLD Bartolome Island 10 Sun / Wed QUITO Casa Aliso B Charles Darwin Research Station, fly to Quito 11 Mon / Thu DEPARTURE B International departure -2-

3 Itinerary in Detail DAY 1: ARRIVE QUITO Arrive in Quito and transfer to Casa Aliso, a charming boutique style hotel conveniently located in the stylish La Floresta neighborhood. Overnight Casa Aliso. DAY 2: QUITO We begin our Ecuador vacation with a tour of colonial Quito, including the bustling Independence Plaza, the dazzling gold-leafed altars of La Compania Church, and the impressive San Francisco Church. Visit the Mitad del Mundo Equatorial marker and ethnographic village and museum for a fun and informative examination of the curiosities of life on the Equator. We will enjoy lunch al fresco at a lively café in the colonial square. Overnight Casa Aliso. [BL] DAY 3: GALAPAGOS ISLANDS Private transfer in the morning to the domestic airport for the flight to the Galapagos [LA1553 UIO/GPS 09H10-11H45]. You are met at the Baltra airport by your Finch Bay naturalist guide and transferred to the interior highlands of the island. Here you will find the Giant Tortoise Reserve, a lush expanse of wild land where these giants roam freely amongst grasses and ponds. A stop is made at Los Gamelos, twin pit craters or depressions where volcanic debris are slowly sinking deeper into the island s interior. This is a good opportunity to see the native Scalesia trees, ferns, mosses and a variety of wild orchids. Enjoy a delicious box lunch before continuing onto Finch Bay Hotel, your home for the next seven nights. You will still have time to relax by the pool of the hotel s sandy beach, or try out your room s hammock. Tonight, enjoy dinner at the hotel s well-regarded restaurant. Overnight Finch Bay EcoHotel. [BLD] DAY 4: NORTH SEYMOUR ISLAND Breakfast is ready at 6:30A, offering plenty of time to rouse yourselves for a delicious meal prior to departure via Finch Bay s private yachts to North Seymour Island, off the northern tip of Santa Cruz. This island was lifted from the ocean floor by a seismic event, and its origins as a seabed give the island a low, flat profile. Cliffs only a few meters high form the shoreline, where swallow-tailed gulls sit perched in ledges. A tiny forest of silver-grey Palo Santo trees stand just above the landing, usually without leaves, waiting for the rain to bring them into bloom. This island is teeming with life! You might have to give way to a passing sea lion or marine iguana; blue-footed booby nests sit beside the trail where mating pairs perform their courtship dance. Further along, the rocky shore displays white sand, and large flocks of pelicans mass for a dive-bombing feeding frenzy. The well-marked trail turns inland to reveal the largest nesting site in the Galápagos of the magnificent frigate bird. These huge, dark acrobats have two-meter wingspans, and males, with puffed up scarlet throat sacks, sit precariously perched in low bushes to watch over their equally large chicks. Motoring back across the narrow channel, your afternoon visit is to Las Baches ( The Barges ) where the US Navy once beached and abandoned WWII-era barges. Today, Las Baches glorious white sand beach is an important breeding site for the east Pacific green sea turtle. Several nearby brackish lagoons are the feeding grounds of various wading birds, from stilts to flamingos. Enjoy fantastic snorkeling, swimming, or simply enjoying the white, soft beach. Return to Finch Bay in the mid-late afternoon. Overnight Finch Bay EcoHotel. [BLD] DAY 5: SOUTH PLAZA ISLAND This is the southern partner of two small crescent-shaped islands that lie just a few hundred meters off the east coast of Santa Cruz. The northern island is used for scientific purposes only, so off limits for visitors. However, South Plaza is one of the smallest yet richest islands in the archipelago. Only 130 meters wide (426 feet), it was formed from uplifted seabed, giving it a tilted tabletop quality. Our landing is in the channel between North and South Plaza, where the island slopes down toward the water. The approach makes for a lavishly colorful sight, as turquoise waters of the channel contrast brilliantly with the white sand and black lava of the shoreline. The rocks have grown thick with green seaweed in places, speckled with bright orange Sally light foot crabs. Further up the shore a carpet of scarlet sesuvium succulents serves as groundcover for a grove of luminescent green prickly-pear cactus. Yellow-gray land -3-

4 iguanas sit beneath, waiting patiently for cactus pears to drop. The trail gradually follows the tilt of the island to the cliffs that overlook the ocean to the south, where swallow-tailed gulls nest. Red-billed tropic birds, as well as masked and blue-footed boobies ride the windy currents. The overlook is a great place for spotting large marine life, including manta rays. Surf pounds an inlet at the western corner of the island, where a colony of sea lion bachelors make their home, accounting for the smooth surface of the rocks, polished by the oils of their fur. Your guide will find the right spot to snorkel, whether on Plazas Island or Punta Carrion. The shoreline of Las Plazas makes for excellent snorkeling in a sea lion colony of nearly a thousand. Alternatively, Punta Carrion is a small bay where you can snorkel from the boat to see a variety of fish, rays and possibly white tip reef sharks. Return by mid-late afternoon to the hotel. Overnight Finch Bay EcoHotel. [BLD] DAY 6: DAY AT LEISURE Today is at leisure to enjoy the pool at the Eco-Hotel or take kayaks out for paddling. The Finch Bay offers many optional excursions, so you may choose your own adventure for this day. Overnight Finch Bay ECOHOTEL [BLD] *Please inquire for costs of optional activities ranging from mountain biking to kayaking* DAY 7: SANTA FE ISLAND Santa Fé offers one of the most beautiful and sheltered coves in the islands. Its turquoise lagoon is protected by a peninsula of tiny islets forming an ideal anchorage. The island lies to the southeast of Santa Cruz within sight of Puerto Ayora. Like North Seymour, Santa Fe has been uplifted seismically, and you can see underwater lava formations. A wet landing in a sandy white beach brings us into contact with one of the many sea lion harems. Bulls vie for the right to be Beach Master, while smaller males masquerade as females, intent on making stealthy mating moves. A short trek leads through woods of Opuntia cacti and Palo Santo trees. Lava lizards are commonly observed. Galápagos hawks are often easily approached, perched atop salt bushes. The giant prickly pear cactus found here live up to their name, with tree-sized trunks! Our goal is to spot one of the large species of land iguana native to Santa Fe. Beige to chocolate brown in color with dragon-like spines, these huge iguanas truly resemble dinosaurs. An indigenous species of rice rat also inhabits the thickets, and lucky hikers can spot harmless Galápagos snakes. After the hike, there is nothing more inviting than a swim in the calm waters of the bay. Return by mid-late afternoon to the hotel. Overnight Finch Bay EcoHotel. [BLD] DAY 8: TORTUGA BAY Depart this morning for an excursion to Tortuga Bay, approximately one hour from the main town of Puerto Ayora. The path to the beach is excellent for spotting some of the iconic birds of the Galapagos Islands, including many of Darwin s finches. The sparkling white sand beach here is considered one of the most beautiful in all of the Galapagos, and derives its name from the sea turtles who flock here to nest and lay their eggs. You may also observe pelicans, brilliant flamingos and marine iguanas, as well as the ubiquitous and playful Galapagos sea lions. Swimming and snorkeling are excellent here. Bring sunscreen! Overnight Finch Bay EcoHotel. [BLD] DAY 9: BARTOLOME ISLAND Bartolome is perhaps one of the most photographed islands in the Galapagos, famous for Pinnacle Rock, a towering obelisk that rises from the ocean s edge and is the best known landmark in the islands. Galápagos penguins the only species of penguin found north of the equator walk precariously along narrow volcanic ledges at its base. Sea lions snooze on rocky platforms, ready to slide into the water to play with passing snorkelers. Just below the surface, shoals of tropical fish dodge in and out of the rocks past urchins, sea stars and anemones. A perfectly crescent, pink-and-white sandy beach lies just to the east of the pinnacle. Sea turtles use the beach as a nesting site and can sometimes be found wading in the shallow water near the shore, or resting in the sand to recover from the arduous task of digging nests, laying eggs and covering them over. Penguins dot the nearby rocks of the next landing site, less than a kilometer along the eastern shore. Here the submerged walls of a tiny volcanic crater give the impression of a fountain pool. The first dry landing is the entrance to a 600-meter (2000-foot) pathway complete -4-

5 with stairs and boardwalks leading to Bartolome s summit. The route is not difficult and presents a museum of vulcanology; a site left untouched after its last eruption, where cones stand in various stages of erosion and lava tubes form bobsled-like runs from the summit. At the top you will be rewarded with spectacular views of Santiago Island and James Bay to the west, and far below, Pinnacle Rock and our beach, where the crystal blue waters of the bay cradle your yacht. Return to Finch Bay by mid-late afternoon. Overnight Finch Bay EcoHotel. [BLD] DAY 10: RETURN TO QUITO Depart the hotel early in the morning for a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station, former home to famous Lonesome George and many other giant tortoises. The Charles Darwin Research Station is the headquarters for scientific research in the Galápagos Archipelago, and the site of critical conservation projects including the rearing program for endangered giant tortoises and land iguanas. The grounds of the Research Station are also a great site for birding since they are home to several species of land birds in the midst of a fantastic deciduous forest and giant prickly pear cactae. After visiting the Charles Darwin Research Station, proceed directly to the airport via overland transfer to the airport in Baltra island. Here you are assisted with check-in for the flight back to the continent [LA1552 GPS/UIO 12H35-17H10]. Overnight Casa Aliso [B] DAY 11: DEPARTURE Transfer to the airport for your return flight home or extend your trip to visit more of Ecuador's natural wonders. [B] END OF SERVICES Actual routes, scheduling and activities will vary, depending on when you begin your trip. Local trip coordinators reserve the right to change accommodations and activities to similar quality alternatives. PRICING 2014 ROOM CATEGORY PER ADULT PER CHILD Garden View $4800 $3825 Ocean View Suite $5355 $4240 *Child rates apply to one child 11 or under sharing with two paying adults. Children must be 6 years or older to participate on yacht excursions. Please call for single rates.* ADDITIONAL FEES (THESE CHARGES WILL APPEAR AS SEPARATE LINE ITEMS ON YOUR INVOICE) Roundtrip airfare Quito Galapagos (Currently $535 per person adult, $330 per child 11 and under, subject to change) Galapagos National Park fees (Currently $110 per person adult, $60 per child 11 and under) INCLUDED SERVICES All guided tours and excursions English-speaking certified naturalist guides Guided Tours and excursions -5-

6 Airport-hotel transfers, land and sea transportation 10 nights accommodation as indicated Meals as indicated [B-Breakfast, L-Lunch, D-Dinner] Wildland Adventures travel consultation and pre-departure services NOT INCLUDED SERVICES International airfare Tips and gratuities Airport departure taxes (This should be included in your international air tickets. Please consult with your carrier or agent) Drinks, alcoholic beverages, and meals other than listed above Personal expenses for extra services, optional activities, or changes in your itinerary for reasons beyond our control Travel insurance for trip cancellation, medical services, or evacuation Any other items not mentioned above You will need to carry about $300-$500 extra cash (must be in local currency or US dollars cash, not travelers checks nor credit cards) to cover the fees, taxes, tips and meals not included in your itinerary. NOTE: Please note that due to weather conditions, vessel operation, and Galapagos Park management, cruise itineraries are subject to change. All yacht operators reserve the right to change vessels prior to departure due to maintenance or replacement. On very rare occasions when this occurs passengers will be transferred to another vessel and cabin of comparable or better class (comfort, services, amenities, equipment, etc.) at no extra charge. -6-

7 Accommodations CASA ALISO Casa Aliso is a charming boutique hotel in the style and comfort of a small, luxurious home. This luxury Ecuador vacation accommodation is located in the fashionable residential neighborhood of "La Floresta", a quiet, forested area in the northern sector of the city a close to restaurants, shops and plazas of downtown Quito. Each room is individually designed featuring classic décor with modern style. They are well appointed with a sitting chair, desk, and comfortable beds, with telephones and cable TV. The bathrooms have a bathtub and shower, bathrobes, hairdryers and are equipped with 220v and 110v sockets. Your Ecuador adventure will be enhanced by the fine cuisine and the exceptionally professional and personal service of the staff at Casa Aliso FINCH BAY ECO-HOTEL Nestled on a point across Academy Bay from the bustling town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, Finch Bay offers the best of all worlds. Enjoy peace and tranquility in this secluded setting, or hop a convenient water taxi for the 7 minute ride across the Bay to do some shopping at Puerto Ayora s many galleries and stores. You are just steps away from the Hotel s sparkling pool, or a few meters from the beautiful white sand beach. Join Finch Bay s excellent naturalist guides for day excursions to neighboring islands. Optional activities include mountain biking, SCUBA, kayaking and snorkeling.