WSC Galapagos class

Our journey will begin with a flight from Denver International Airport to the City of Quito, Ecuador (a world cultural heritage site). During the first week we will travel from Quito to Otavalo where we will work with native citizens of the country to restore native forests in Cotacachi. We will then visit the Cloud Forest of Intag. The Cloud Forest contains a private center for environmental education with accommodations with shared bathrooms, solar-heated water and organically grown fruits and vegetables. We will enter the reserve by foot and/or horseback.

During the second week we will spend 8 nights and 7 days exploring the Galapagos Islands on a 16 passenger Yacht with trained naturalists to help us interpret the geology and ecology of the islands. Some of the areas that we will visit include Santa Cruz (which hosts the Darwin Research Station), Rabida, and the Sante Fe Islands. For a full itinerary see below.

In our final stage of the journey we will travel overland and through the mountains to reach the Napo Wildlife Center. The Napo Wildlife Center, part of the Tropical Nature conservation system, is a community-based ecotourism project that has turned the surrounding 82 square miles of rainforest into a private reserve within Yasuní National Park. Ecuador's two most accessible parrot clay licks are located on Napo Wildlife Center land, and Giant Otters inhabit the lake in front of the lodge.

Date/Day	Place
May 19 (Wed)	Denver to Quito
May 20 (Thurs)	Otavalo
May 21 (Fri)	Intag Cloud Forest Reserve
May 22 (Sat)	Intag Cloud Forest Reserve
May 23 (Sun)	Intag Cloud Forest Reserve
May 24 (Mon)	Intag - Quito - Baldra (Galapagos)
May 25 (Tues)	Galapagos Islands
May 26 (Wed)	Galapagos Islands
May 27 (Thur)	Galapagos Islands
May 28 (Fri)	Galapagos Islands
May 29 (Sat)	Galapagos Islands
May 30 (Sun)	Galapagos Islands
May 31 (Mon)	Galapagos Islands
June 1 (Tues)	Baldra - Quito - Papallacta Hot Springs
June 2 (Wed)	Papallacta Hot Springs - Cosanga
June 3 (Thur)	Napo Wildlife Center - Rainforest
June 4 (Fri)	Napo Wildlife Center - Rainforest
June 5 (Sat)	Napo Wildlife Center - Rainforest
June 6 (Sun)	Napo Wildlife Center - Rainforest
June 7 (Mon)	Napo to Quito
June 8 (Tues)	Quito to Denver

Wednesday May 19
Denver to Houston 11:38 am, arriving 2:00
Houston to Quito 2:59 pm, arriving at 10:36 pm

Tuesday June 8
Quito to Newark 7:00 am, arriving 4:17 pm
Newark to Denver 5:40 pm, arriving at 8:10 pm