Meet the tour group at Puerto Ayora's Church entrance, located by the pier and next to the "El Descanso del Guía" restaurant. Then, depart by bus to the Itabaca Channel, where you will board the Galaxy Daily, thus beginning your adventure to North Seymour Island. This island is located north of Santa Cruz Island. It is known for its large colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigate birds, known as the Galapagos pirates. After arriving in North Seymour, have a dry landing and immediately start hiking on a 2.5 km (1.55 miles) trail. You can go clockwise along the coast or head inland first to visit the colony of boobies. During this tour, you will access the nesting sites of the largest breeding colonies on the islands. Then understand why Seymour is known for its rich wildlife. Get ready to spot land iguanas and marine iguanas; also, a colony of sea lions, lava lizards, and pelicans! While you advance along the path, observe several trees where the male and female frigates nest.
As you continue through the trail, the terrain will become rocky. Then, have the opportunity to appreciate the nesting place of the spectacular blue-footed boobies. This species is fascinating for its courtship dance in which they can dance for hours until finally captivating the female attention to nesting together. Boobies never build a nest, that is because a ring of white guano marks their nesting area. If you like plants, you will see some endemic flora species in North Seymour during the walk, such as Opuntia, Croton, Castela, and Sesuvium cacti.
After your visit to North Seymour and a delicious lunch aboard, go to the beach known as Bachas, located north of Santa Cruz Island. Here you can snorkel or take a relaxing walk on the beach. For this, make a wet landing, in which you will jump from the panga to the shore of the beach. It is recommended to disembark barefoot and wear light walking shoes for the rest of the journey. Bachas beach is lovely, ideal for swimming, with a lagoon behind and a longer coast for walking and wildlife watching. The saltwater lagoon behind the beach often has great blue herons and small birds. Both the large and small beaches are nesting areas for green sea turtles. As for snorkeling, during the activity, you may see many types of colorful reef fish, and various rays, among other marine species. At the end of your experience in Bachas, return to the Itabaca Channel. Then, you will be transferred to Puerto Ayora's pier to end your adventure for the day.
