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Featured Destination

Conservation Photography with Karim & Jack

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What’s In Our Newsroom

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The FREE Weekly Conservation Post and Jobs List

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Since 2004, SEVENSEAS Media has fostered an informal and non-partisan platform to promote understanding of key issues and challenges while building partnerships across an increasingly diverse group of marine conservation professionals and students.

Our mission is to promote communication and build partnerships across the global marine community and to identify and address gaps in the community’s work. SEVENSEAS Media achieves this through multimedia promotion and partnerships. The community consists of a diverse and growing group of participants, including non-governmental organizations, government agencies, foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, fellowship programs, independent consultants, and academia/students.

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The Galapagos archipelago, on everyone’s bucket list, is one of the planet’s last wild and incredible places. We have chartered the S/S Mary Anne, one of the best boats operating in the national park. On this itinerary, we will visit Fernandina Island which is considered to be one of the most pristine islands anywhere in the world. We will walk on bare lava, come face to face with blue-footed boobies and display frigate birds. We will wander the highlands for giant tortoises, be amazed by hundreds of unique marine iguanas basking at our feet and get up close and personal with the endemic flightless cormorants. We will swim with penguins and sharks, interact with curious sea lions, snorkel alongside green sea turtles and be surrounded by yellow-tailed surgeonfish. To the islands that inspired Charles Darwin, we have customized this family charter to offer the fun and the educational trip of a lifetime.

TRIP DETAILS: General Information

USD $7,950.00/person sharing a cabin
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: none but limited to 4 spaces
ARRIVAL: José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport, Guayaquil, Ecuador
DEPARTURE: José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport, Guayaquil, Ecuador
ARRIVAL TIME: 9 December 2022

INCLUDED

•  Hotel in Guayaquil the night prior to departure to Galapagos.
•  Airport transfers.
•  7 nights accommodation aboard the S/S Mary Anne.
•  All meals, drinking water, tea and coffee aboard the vessel.
•  Naturalist guide plus one Pete Oxford Expeditions trip leader.
•  All activities, including INGALA fee and loan of snorkel gear.

NOT INCLUDED

•  International airfare to and from Guayaquil.
•  Domestic airfare between Guayaquil and Galapagos return. **Please note: For the domestic airfare Guayaquil-Galapagos-Guayaquil we will have a group block booking. DO NOT BOOK YOUR OWN FLIGHTS.
•  Galapagos National Park entrance fee, international or domestic departure taxes and passport expenses.
•  Tips to guide and crew.
•  Items of a personal nature include laundry, postage, shipboard bar, personal shopping and internet.
•  Hire wetsuits while on board.
•  Additional hotel nights are not mentioned in the itinerary.
•  Any COVID 19 tests or related costs.

INTINERY

Day 1, December 9th, 2022: Guayaquil

After arriving at the José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil, we will transfer to the hotel for the night. Dinner is on your own.

Day 2, December 10th, 2022: Baltra Island, Santa Cruz Island Highlands, Santa Cruz Island, Charles Darwin Station

After breakfast in our hotel, we fly to Baltra Island, the gateway to the Galapagos. On arrival, we immediately transfer to the dock to board the S/S Mary Anne to settle in and for our introductory briefing. Our first activity begins after lunch as we travel across the island of Santa Cruz towards Puerto Ayora to visit the Charles Darwin Station. We will be making a stop along the way to find wild tortoises where we will come face to face with these 600 lb (270 kg) prehistoric giants in the lush highlands, a remarkable first encounter! Beginning tonight and until the morning of day 8, we eat and overnight aboard our vessel the S/S Mary Anne.

From the archipelago’s largest town of Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, we visit the world-renowned Charles Darwin Research Station to learn more about the history and science of the islands. Finches are easily photographed in this area as we explore the station. Returning through town, we have a chance to shop for souvenirs or continue photographing the juxtaposition of the abundant wildlife in the urban environment.

Day 3, December 11th, 2022 : Floreana Island: Punta Cormorant, Off Floreana Island ⎯ Devil’s Crown, and Post Office Bay

At Punta Cormorant, on Floreana Island, we land on a beach where the sand has a greenish tinge caused by large amounts of a volcanic mineral called olivine. Here sea lions, wading birds and Darwin’s finches all greet us on arrival. We walk through mangroves and unique vegetation, some of which grows nowhere else in the world but this island, to arrive at a saltwater lagoon where startlingly pink flamingos nest and feed.

A short repositioning of the S/S Mary Anne and some exhilarating snorkelling off the Devil’s Crown, a sunken cinder cone, is our next highlight. The coral reef in the center is perfect for attracting large schools of fish. Turtles, rays and, with luck, even some hammerhead sharks could be swimming below us on the outside of the crater. In the afternoon, at the historic Post Office Barrel, we can send a few postcards home and, in so doing, maintain a centuries-old tradition. In 1793, British navigators placed a large wooden barrel here, to leave messages and mail to be carried by homebound colleagues. The tradition has continued until the present day, with the barrel being replaced when necessary. Visiting yachts have added their calling cards, too.

Day 4, December 12th, 2022: Floreana Island: Black Beach, Navigation, and Whale Watching

Landing at Black Beach on Floreana, we learn about the most renowned human history to come out of the islands: the story of Margaret Witmer, the Baroness, the Ritters, lover affairs and murder. Floreana was the first island in the archipelago to be inhabited, as it has one of the very few freshwater sources. We visit the highland areas of this inhabited island looking for the Floreana-endemic medium tree finch.

In the afternoon, we will navigate into the rich waters of the western islands. On the way, we have a very high chance of spotting whales and dolphins. With plenty of deck space on the back of our yacht, we can spend the entire time outside birding and looking for marine mammals in comfort.

Day 5, December 13th, 2022: Isabela Island: Punta Moreno & Elizabeth Bay

We now venture into the ‘wilder’ side of the Galapagos for three days, where penguins, cormorants and marine iguanas flourish! Against an austere backdrop, we will explore the region in all its majesty. After anchoring at Punta Morena off Isabela Island, we will hike on superb pahoehoe lava flows in search of endemic plants and a brackish lagoon which is home to flamingos and pintail ducks, all the while against the backdrop of basaltic volcanoes.

Following the coast of western Isabela Island, we will depart the S/S Mary Anne in our pangas (inflatable motor boats) to explore the more hidden regions of a mangrove labyrinth. We will see Galapagos shearwaters, brown noddy terns, blue-footed boobies, Galapagos penguins and the more uncommon flightless cormorants. The quiet waters in the bay are a refuge for young sea lions, turtles and baby sharks. This is also one of the best places to see and photograph golden rays.

Day 6, December 14th, 2022: Isabela Island (Urbina Bay) and Fernandina Island (Punta Espinosa)

We will begin today with a wet landing on a black volcanic sand beach in this geologically uplifted area. On a relatively short hike, we can usually observe another species of the giant tortoise. We will also search for large, yellow, land iguanas and more of the finch species that inspired Charles Darwin. After our walk, we will go for a snorkel in the hopes of being accompanied by a few Galapagos penguins.

On Fernandina, the world’s largest, most pristine island, we land directly into the heart of Darwin’s ‘Imps of Darkness’, the marine iguana ‘capital’ of the world. As we sit or walk the shoreline, the world’s only truly marine lizard will be strewn at our feet in dense congregations. We will watch the endemic flightless cormorants in hopes of observing their courtship ritual, all the while being entertained by jovial sea lions. Turning inland, we face a dramatic and inhospitable vista of lava and pioneer vegetation of the archipelago’s youngest island. This is our favourite snorkelling area, as we will swim with turtles and myriad fish species and look for Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants and marine iguanas feeding underwater.

Day 7, December 15th, 2022: Isabela Island(Tagus Cove) and Isabela Islan (Punta Vicente Roca)

At Tagus Cove, a hike leads us to an overview of a flooded crater, Darwin’s Lake, and onward through a stunning volcanic landscape for a true understanding of how the hot lava of the Earth’s core has moulded the Galapagos Islands – geologist heaven! Tagus Cove is also a historic hideaway from which pirates would ransack the whaling fleets hunting in the area. Even today, graffiti dating back as far as 1836, one year after Darwin’s visit, can be found carved in the rock face.

One of our top snorkelling sites, we take to the deep water in search of penguins, rays, turtles, flightless cormorants and a host of fish species, some only found in the western isles. A panga ride along the dramatic cliffs of Ecuador Volcano, straddling the equator, gives us the opportunity to photograph blue-footed boobies, brown noddies and amazing geological features.

Day 8, December 16th, 2022: Santiago Island (Espumilla Beach), Santiago Islan (Buccaneer Cove), and Santiago Island (Puerto Egas)

To the land of pirates and buccaneers! We head first to the golden sands of a turtle nesting beach and, on a forested trail, into the hinterland where pirates once hunted goats for food. The long, golden, sandy beach has a mangrove backdrop and there are several species of Darwin’s finches at this landing site.

Cruising Buccaneer Cove, we see where ships were careened (hauled out and cleaned) back in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some of the largest specimens of palo santo trees we will see are home to friendly Galapagos flycatchers, yellow warblers and Darwin’s finches.

In Puerto Egas, also on Santiago Island, after a wet landing onto another dark sand volcanic beach, we will hike to submerged lava grottos where we will commune with endemic fur seals that consider the grottos home. Along the shoreline, we can watch Sally-lightfoot crabs, herons, oystercatchers and waders. At low tide, this is an excellent site for tide pooling. After a good long walk, we’ll cool off with another great snorkel.

Day 9, December 17th, 2022: North Seymour Island and Baltra Airport

Following another fantastic snorkel, we land on North Seymour Island. Here we will enter the habitat of another kind of pirate: the frigatebird. These birds are known for stealing the meals of smaller birds and frequently even shaking boobies in mid-air to force them to regurgitate their prize. We will watch their display as the males show off their bright red pouches to attract the females. On this island, we will walk through nesting blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies and frigatebirds, all the while encountering more land iguanas and sealions.

After our visit on North Seymour, we head back to the island of Baltra and the airport to fly back to mainland Ecuador for our onward flights home.

NB This itinerary is subject to change at the discretion of the Galapagos National Park Service. For more Info, please visit https://www.peteoxfordexpeditions.com.

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All World Heritage-listed reefs are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century. On the occasion of the Our Ocean Conference in Palau, Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, announces an emergency plan to give them the best chance of survival, with the support of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs. She also calls for an international mobilization to prevent coral reef extinction.

UNESCO World Heritage coral reefs cover over half a million km2 worldwide – the equivalent of the size of France – exhibiting exceptional biodiversity. They play a critical role in absorbing carbon emissions and protect coastlines from storms and erosion. Over a hundred indigenous communities are directly dependent on them for their subsistence. Moreover, they serve as reference points on the impacts of climate change affecting reefs everywhere.

But the scientific data concerning these coral reefs is now very alarming. Reefs are bleaching far more rapidly than the initial science suggested. These ‘bleached’ corals are highly vulnerable to starvation and disease and have an increasingly high mortality rate. This year, for the first time, mass coral bleaching also occurred in a traditionally cooler, La Niña period. Under the current emissions scenario, all World Heritage-listed reefs are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century.

Reducing local pressures to give reefs the best chance of survival

Warming ocean temperatures, due to global CO2 emissions, are the biggest threat to coral reefs globally. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) data confirms that States must drastically reduce carbon emissions to meet the targets under the Paris Agreement concluded in 2015. But most coral reefs also face a mix of local pressures, such as pollution, overfishing, or habitat destruction. UNESCO is mobilizing its resources and its partners to reduce local pressures and give coral reefs their best chance of survival in this rapidly changing environment. 

 “On the occasion of the Our Ocean Conference in Palau, I call for an international mobilization to prevent coral reef extinction and announce a strong contribution from UNESCO: an emergency plan to boost the resilience of World Heritage-listed reefs, in particular those in developing countries. UNESCO is partnering with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs to help finance this commitment,” announced today Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General.

The partnership between UNESCO and the UN-led private/public Global Fund for Coral Reefs will step up investment for climate resilience strategies across World Heritage-listed reefs in developing countries. The actions will focus on reducing local drivers of degradation, strengthening the sustainable management of marine protected areas and supporting local communities. The partnership will explore joint opportunities for prioritization of support to the 19* out of 29 World Heritage-listed reefs are located in developing countries.

“Global warming means that local reef conservation practices are no longer enough to protect the world’s most important reef ecosystems. But a healthy, resilient reef can regenerate after a bleaching incident and survive,” explained Fanny Douvere, Head of Marine Program at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

The success of UNESCO’s Resilient Reefs Initiative

This new large-scale plan will build on the successful Resilient Reefs Initiative launched by UNESCO and partners at the previous Our Ocean Summit in 2018. For the past four years, they have worked on 4 World Heritage reef pilot sites in Australia, Belize, France (New Caledonia) and Palau. The Resilient Reefs Initiative demonstrates that local pressures can be reduced through active intervention and that empowering local communities helps them to adapt their income and livelihoods to the changing realities.

For example, in the Southern Lagoon of the Rock Islands (Palau), the Resilient Reefs Initiative trains local rangers and communities in the latest science and skills in fisheries management, adaptation and resilience. The design of a fishing permit system to control access, the implementation of fish size limits to increase spawning biomass, and the protection of habitats ensuring the life history of species will all help to create the conditions in which fish stocks can rebound.

On Australia’s Ningaloo Coast, the Resilient Reefs Initiative is developing solutions to facilitate coral reproduction. When coral dies because of an event such as bleaching, bits break off and accumulate on the reef, creating a type of ‘rubble’ which prevents new coral from growing. For fertilized eggs to settle and reproduce on a reef, the surface must be clean and hard. The solution, tested as part of the initiative, is to fit small star-shaped structures made of steel bars onto the reef which allow fertilized eggs to settle and grow. The ‘stars’ are built by local indigenous people, thus creating local employment.

The Resilient Reefs Initiative continues until 2024, with a total of USD$ 10 million mobilized.

Reefs at the heart of the UN Ocean Decade 2021-2030

From this new plan to boost World Heritage-listed reef resilience to using water quality monitoring to protect coral reefs in Tanzania, to deploying nanotechnology to make reefs more resilient in the Caribbean, reef conservation and recovery are among key actions endorsed by UNESCO as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (The “Ocean Decade”). Launched in 2021 under UNESCO’s coordination, the United Nations Ocean Decade brings together scientists, ocean managers, indigenous and local communities, and public and private investment to co-design solutions for conserving and revitalizing reef ecosystems around the world.

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About UNESCO

UNESCO is the UN agency in charge of ocean sciences. It coordinates global programs such as ocean mapping, tsunami risk prevention, biosphere marine reserves, as well as numerous scientific research projects and ocean literacy. UNESCO leads the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, from 2021 to 2030. This year, the Decade is reflected in the organization of major international summits, including Our Ocean Conference (Palau, 13-14 April).

About Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) 

The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) was launched in 2020 by the United Nations, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, with the support of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). It aims to mobilize USD$ 625 million by 2030.

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