Spring at Sage: Galápagos

Fly from Los Angeles to Quito and settle into a hotel near the airport. Tomorrow, you head for the islands.

Fly to Baltra, cross the Itabaca Channel by ferry, and make your way to Puerto Ayora. At the Charles Darwin Research Station, learn how research and giant tortoise conservation contribute to protecting the islands’ wildlife. Then explore the town’s murals, waterfront, and pier as you get your first sense of everyday life on Santa Cruz.

Set out by boat for a snorkeling trip near Santa Fe Island. Watch for sea lions, sea turtles, rays, and other marine life as you explore the waters around the island. Back on Santa Cruz, meet with Fundación Un Cambio Por la Vida and local youth leaders to hear how they’re working toward a sustainable future for their community. How do you protect a place while making sure the people who live there can thrive?

Head into the highlands to see giant tortoises at Rancho El Chato and walk through a lava tunnel. With a local youth ecology group, practice observing and photographing the landscape around you. Later, meet a scientist to investigate microplastics and consider how something so small can reach an ecosystem as remarkable as the Galápagos.

Walk to Tortuga Bay for a morning by the water, with time for a microplastics workshop, beach activities, and optional kayaking. Pay attention to what washes ashore: what can it tell you about the health of the ocean? Later, bring what you’ve collected to an Upcycling Galápagos workshop and turn discarded material into art.

Visit Finca La Envidia to learn how coffee is grown on Santa Cruz and discuss the choices involved in using land alongside a fragile ecosystem. Then spend the afternoon at Enchanted Galápagos Lodge. Rotate through a cheese-making demonstration, a bean-to-bar chocolate workshop, and a game of ecuavolley, with time to relax by the pool or in a hammock.

Board a boat for a snorkeling day trip near Pinzón Island. Keep watch for marine life and notice how the experience compares with your first day in the water. After a week of meeting scientists, conservationists, and local youth, what does protecting the Galápagos look like to you now?

Share your biggest discoveries in a final group conversation, enjoy a Chocolápagos demonstration, and browse Puerto Ayora for souvenirs. Then travel back through Baltra to Quito and begin the overnight journey home. Which ideas from the islands could you put into practice in your own community?

Arrive in Los Angeles with new friends, stories from the islands, and a closer understanding of the work it takes to care for them.