Departure from Hotel: 08h00 approximately.
Arrival to the Hotel: 16h30 approximately.

Includes: Lunch onboard, naturalist Guide, towels and excursions.
Not Included: Snorkel equipment, beverages and tips.

The Yacht reserves the right to arrive in advance or later without prior notice, if considered appropriate due to National Park rules, major force or any consideration at captain’s discretion, without being liable for refunds of any kind. 

Recommendations:  walking shoes, sandals, swimsuit, sun block, repellent and bottles of water.

The landing is dry, the dock is often taken over by large male sea-lions and their young, so before it is safe to land the guides have to shoo them away by clapping.  Step carefully over the white guano and crab-covered rocks.  As your eyes get used to the glare, you’ll spot the land iguanas under the shadows of the Opuntia.  These are one of the smallest subspecies of land iguanas. 

The trail heads up a gentle incline to a steep cliff. The vegetation belongs to the arid and littoral zones; half the island covered with saltbush, leatherleaf (Maytenus), and thorn scrub (Scutia pauciflora).  The side with the trail is treeless, but covered with a rock-garden-like mat of the endemic sea purslane whose succulent leaves turn red from May to December.

The similar-looking Portulaca howelli (yellow flowers) is relished by the vegetarian land iguanas.  This is a good place to get started on recognition of Darwin’s finches; only the medium, small and cactus ground finches live here.

The cliff is surprisingly windy, and a great place for red-billed tropicbirds, swallow-tailed gulls, brown pelicans, and the odd frigatebird.  The trail snakes along the cliff edge for a few hundred meters.  Offshore can be spotted Audubon’s shearwaters, brown noddy terns and schools of mullet and surgeonfish.  Farther out, dolphins, mantas and even killer whales have been seen.

The trail turns at a well-worn platform of polished lava, known as the “bachelor sea-lion colony”: a motley collection of mainly elderly male sea-lions who have lost their territories.  Amazingly, they climb up the cliff via some rocky steps.  Many wear battle scars and shark bites.

Heading back down to the channel, the trail runs behind one of the most concentrated sea lion colonies in the islands.  About 1000 shift around as males continually vie for “harems” of about 20 females.  The pups are endearing and will often approach you, but you must not go up to them.  Keep your eye out for migratory waders like sanderlings, knots, plovers and kelp gull.

Snorkelling off South Plaza is not allowed because of the number of sea-lions. 
Currents can be strong.

WATCH OUT FOR: