Marchena & Pinta
Marchena is a large (130 km2) active shield volcano located due west
of Genovesa in the northern archipelago. Although it is the seventh
largest island, it has a fairly desolate terrain and absolutely no
visitor sites. There are some good scuba sites nearby, so you may get to
see the island up close if you are on a dive tour.
Pinta is an elongated shield located northwest of Marchena that used
to serve as the famous giant tortoise Lonesome George's humble abode.
Visitation to the island is limited to scientists and researchers with
pre-issued permits.
The wildlife you will see on your Galapagos tour are completely
unaffected by Galapagos travel visitors . For this reason, there is a
restricted number of visitors permitted into the Galapagos each year, as
part of a joint effort to protect the delicate environmental and ecological
equilibrium. The most sensible method of Galapagos travel is via our cruise
ships. The M/V Galapagos Legend provides 3 night, 4 night and 7 night
cruises to select from, which can also be easily merged with Galapagos
travel visits to neighboring South American locations