M/S Cachalote I

Overview

A charming yacht offering good value, with good service, great itinerary and very good naturalist guides

Category	Length	Guests	Cabins
First Class	96 ft / 30m	16	8

A charming yacht that was originally designed and built in California in 1971 and was completely refurbished in 2002, the Cachalote has an excellent itinerary and works with very good naturalist guides. The teek interiors give a warm comfortable feel, and the victorian-style dining galley is open and well lit with panoramic windows. Good outdoor space with three ample wooden decks and each of the eight teekwood cabins is illuminated by the light of its two porthole windows. Crew are very friendly and helpful.

Cabins:

7 air-conditioned twin cabins (lower and upper berths), 1 cabin with a double bed forward of the dining area. All with air conditioning, private bathrooms and hot showers

Rates:

High and low season rates apply to Cachelote Low season – May1-June 15, Sept 1 – Oct 31 & Dec 1-7

Cachalote 2010	4 Days	4 Days
Description
Double Cabin	USD $2,709 GB £1,935	USD $2,438 GB £1,741
Charter 13 Guests	USD $43,000 GB £30,714	USD $39,000 GB £7,657

• Prices are per person except charter price
• 50% Single Supplement
• 50% discount for children under 12 years.
• Including all accomodation, food, services of a top class naturalist, $10 Galapagos Migration Card.
• Excluding flight to Galapagos, $100 Galapagos National Park entrance fee, bottled and alcoholic drinks, tips and personal expenses

 

If you would like any more information or to chat over the details of the trip we would be delighted to help. Telephone 01482 872 716 for more information or email us today.

Itinerary

8-day itinerary only starting Wednesday

Download large jpg version of this map: Detailed Itinerary

Baltra Arrive at the airport on this islet where you will be met by the crew

WEDNESDAY
South Plaza South Plaza is the best island for observing land iguanas, along with cactus finches, tropic birds and sea lions. One of your first stops will be through a small “forest” of prickly pear (Opuntia) cactus. The walk along the sea cliffs is a wonderful experience, with Audubon’s shearwaters and red-billed tropicbirds gliding by. Towards the end of the walk is a bachelor sea lion colony, with a battle-scared collection of old bulls.

THURSDAY
Santa Cruz - Charles Darwin Research Station The Charles Darwin Research Station offers a great chance to learn about the work being done to conserve and protect the islands wildlife. For some visitors (depending on the time of year) this is the only time to see Giant Tortoises and certainly the closest range opportunity. You can also visit the pen of the famous Lonesome George.

Santa Cruz – Highlands The highlands of Santa Cruz are home to fascinating geological features, like lava tubes and the twin sinkhole craters of Los Gemelos, which are home to some 300 different fern species as well as a “forest” of Sunflowers as well as some elusive endemics like the Woodpecker Finch (one of only two bird species in the world to use twigs as tools), the Small Tree Finch, Vegetarian Finch and Galapagos Rail all found in the lush forest of Scalacia (Giant Daisies) that characterise the highlands of this island. The highlands of Santa Cruz are one of the best places to see Giant Tortoises in the wild, particularly October through December as these magnificent giants undertake their seasonal migration from the lowlands to the lush grazing of the highlands.

FRIDAY
Espanola (Hood) This island is one of the highlights of any visit to Galapagos (it is Santiago Bejarano’s favourite island). Espanola is the southernmost island in the Galapagos, and is considered the oldest. Numerous sea lions are seen here, plus hundreds of marine iguanas basking on the rocks. Espanola’s marine iguanas are unlike other Galapagos marine iguanas in their bright colouring, and the lava lizards are distinctive too. Espanola is home to thousands of nesting seabirds between April and November, with the Waved Albatross, perhaps the most spectacular of Galapagos birds, returning to Espanola by the thousands in late March to perform their amazing mating dance and produce the next generation. Almost the entire population breeds on this island April through November; they spend the rest of the year at sea. You’ll also witness courting blue-footed and masked boobies, and hopefully see their offspring of the year. At Gardner Bay there’s time to hang out with sea lions and snorkel, as well as walk the beautiful white sand beach.

SATURDAY
Floreana - Punta Cormorant At Punta Cormorant you’ll walk on an olivine beach (a mineral known for its olive-green quality, that is found in meteorites, the moon and mars as well as on earth), visit a large lagoon where great flamingos sometimes nest, and walk over to Flour Beach, a beautiful white sandy beach to look for green sea turtle nests.

Floreana – Devil’s Crown Devil’s Crown is one of the highlights of this area is snorkelling at Devil’s Crown, a partially submerged crater teeming with parrotfish, wrasse, surgeonfish, and damselfish among many other varieties of tropical fish.

Floreana - Post Office Bay The famous Post Office Bay is where people leave their mail to be picked up and delivered by others in the “post office” barrel—a time-honoured tradition begun by whalers hundreds of years ago.

SUNDAY
Isabela Measuring over 1800 square miles, and accounting for over half the land surface area in Galapagos, at about 80 miles in length, the seahorse shaped Isabela Island is the largest in the Galapagos. Isabela is formed from six separate volcanoes (Alcedo, Cerro Azul, Darwin, Ecuador, Sierra Negra and Wolf).

Isabela – Elizabeth Bay Located on the west coast of the Isabela, no landings are permitted here, but it makes for a beautiful panga (small dingy) ride. This is one of the best areas to see Galapagos Penguins as they prefer the cooler waters found in this area of the archipelago. Flightless Cormorants and giant marine iguanas, which have grown so large thanks to the plentiful food are also see in this area. As you then enter a narrow cove lined with large Red Mangrove trees, you can see marine turtles, rays and shore birds.

Isabela - Punta Moreno With dramatic seascapes and one of the best sunrise areas in the Galapagos, the visit to this site begins with a panga ride along the beautiful rocky shores where shore birds, penguins and great blue herons can be spotted. The panga then enters an area of mangroves before you disembark. This enigmatic area is one of the driest lava fields you will ever see, but is punctuated by small lagoons and ponds containing and abundance of wildlife including flamingos and pintail ducks.

Isabela – Urbina Bay In 1954, almost 4 miles of coastal seabed, with marine-life and all, were dramatically and very suddenly uplifted about 15 ft. This area is now a nesting site for Brown Pelicans and Flightless Cormorant and giant Marine Iguanas can be seen. You will also see a few large land iguanas and if you are lucky a giant tortoise or two can be seen.

MONDAY
Fernandina The youngest of the Galapagos Islands at just over 100,000 years old, this is the most pristine and untouched of all the islands (not just in Galapagos, but in the world). Volcanically it is still active with eruptions occurring every few years. Punta Espinosa, is a truly spectacular visitor site and a real highlight. A narrow strop of land extending out from the base of the Fernandina Volcano it offers the best chance to see Marine Iguanas with the largest colony in the Galapagos. You will also have the chance to see Flightless Cormorants here, at the tip of the narrow point.

TUESDAY
James (Santiago) James Bay This was the island where Charles Darwin spent the majority of his land visits in Galapagos. At James Bay, the Fur Seal Grotto provides great chances to get close views of both fur seals and sea lions in a series of rocky pools. This visit also provides some of the best opportunities for tide-pooling in the Galapagos, with the chance to see plovers, herons and oyster catchers with some good swimming and snorkelling off the beach.

Bartolome Home to one of the most iconic scenery shots of Galapagos, this small island located off the eastern shore of James Island is home to beautiful panoramic views. The striking volcanic landscape, looks almost lunar and provides a great introduction to the volcanic origins of the islands, with spatter cones and cinder cones. You will also see Pinnacle Rock, a striking example of a tuff cone, and good examples of pioneering plants, including some beautiful stands of lava cactus. At sea level, this is a great place for swimming and snorkelling, if you are lucky with Galapagos Penguins.

WEDNEDSAY
Santa Cruz - Black Turtle Cove yacht anchors just outside the cove and you enter on a dingy, paddling through the calm water which is a nesting site for Green Sea Turtles (they are on the rare and endangered species list). A wonderfully quiet journey, through a beautiful and unique habitat and with good luck as well as the marine turtles you will see different types of sharks and schools of Golden Rays swimming just below the surface, whilst yellow warblers sing from above.

Baltra Return to the airport for flight home.

Please note: Itineraries are unlikely to change significantly but are subject to change. Weather, wildlife breeding, instructions from the Galapagos National Park, specific abilities and interests of passengers as well as operational matters may cause your guide or captain to change the times or nature of your visits. Your guide will always endeavour to have the best itinerary for you within these constraints.

Deck Plan / Spec

Facilities

A comfortable and open dining area with panoramic views, salon, bar, 3 ample wooden decks, small library, TV, DVD, kayaks. 110 v in cabins with 220 available in salon area.

Crew

Captain, engineer, cook, 3 sailors and bilingual naturalist.

Equipment

• 280 JP Caterpillar diesel engine,
• 2 Perkins generators for 110V and 22V,
• desalinator,
• VHF DSC & HF DSC radio’s.
• EPIRB’s SART,
• Radar frelector,
• 2 GP’s,
• 2 radars,
• depth sounder,
• flares,
• 2 dingeys with outboards,
• life rafts with surplus capacity for all passengers and crew, plus a range of other safety equiptment.
• Yacht has International Safety and Pollution Certification.

Dimensions

• Length: L.O.A.* 120 feet / 36.6 meters
• L.W.L. * 105 feet / 32 meters
• Beam: 22 feet / 6.9 meters
• Draft: 10.3 feet / 3.16 meters
• Speed: 8 knots
• Rig: Sailing Ship Sail Area: 9.902 square feet / 920 square meters
• Electricity: 120 V/240 V A/C 60 Hz