Update on M/Y Coral I & II 2012 itineraries:

The M/Y Coral I & II have been recently assigned by the Galapagos National Park a new Island in the itinerary a new visit of one of the highlights in the Galapagos "North Seymour"; an approximately two hour walk amidst large nesting colonies of blue-footed boobies*, magnificent and great frigatebirds*, and swallow-tailed gulls for an in depth encounter with sea bird breeding cycles and as well as sea lions. You will also encounter sea lions, land iguanas, and on a lucky day, you might even come across a Galapagos Snake, only for this visit the M/Y Coral I & II will not be sailing together. Itineraries A and D have been also modified changing the order of the visits for the Charles Darwin Station and The Highlands. Attached you will find the revised itinerary with the new sites in red. lucky day, you might even come across a Galapagos Snake, only for this visit the M/Y C

Chaski Route - Magdalena Karanki Community 2nd Anniversary

The Kichwa- Karanki indigenous community of Magdalena is located at approximately 9,842 feet above sea level at the slopes of the Imbabura Volcano with a most privileged location surrounded by valleys and lagoons, home to Atahualpa, the last of the Inca Emperors. It is immersed in this remarkably breathtaking pastoral setting that the Karanki keep the same harmonious relationship with their environment they've kept for centuries, tending to their livestock,cultivating their land and enjoying the clear mountain air.

Kleintours has developed a social and community-based tourism project to help them improve their living conditions by creating jobs and promoting ethnotourism. We have adequate comfortable double and triple rooms for 27 guests with private facilities so tourists who want to participate in their cultural traditions can lodge with them and enjoy exquisite meals prepared with the crops of the land and the sumptuous mornings of the magnetic Ecuadorian Andes.
We would like to deeply thank you our partners who trust in our project and for those who would like to be part of this unique experience feel free to contac us and join our scheduled fam trips along the year including this great project and our Galapagos cruises.

What's going on in Galapagos during May?

• Waved albatross lay eggs on Española Island.
• Blue-footed boobies begin their world-known courtship.
• Weather: fine and clear.
• Air temperature 60° - 80°F / 16° - 27° C.
• Water temperature 69° -74° F / 21° - 23° C.

Train Road Opening

We are glad to inform you that the 30 km. railroad track of the Northern Andes that goes from Ibarra to the Afro-Ecuadorian community of Salinas has been renewed and is open for operation from Wednesday to Sunday.
This fascinating route embraces high altitude vegetation, dry zones with bromeliad and pear cacti, ending in a sub-tropical zone with sugar cane plantations. The main attraction of this ride is the traveling through tunnels and bridges following the canyon of river Ambi. Passengers will enjoy a delicious lunch and a visit to the Salt Museum.
Ask your reservation agent about Salinas tours combined with a Karanki Magdalena Community visit.

M/V Galapagos Legend, M/Y Coral I & II Maritime Security

The Archipelago of Galapagos is one of its kind and require special handling to guarantee the conservation of marine and island ecosystems. It's considered "Particularly Sensitive Sea Area" (PSSA) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), meaning that this area needs special protection through action and Kleintours / Galatours (KT/GT) have to operate in accordance with IMO's normative.

KT/GT meets all national and international certificates and approvals to have a safe and sustainable operation in this fragile ecosystem. Furthermore our Captains, Deck, Engine officers and crew are experienced and are constantly trained in safety and hospitality.

As part of our security manual we have emergency drills twice a week with passengers so they all know exactly what to do, where their lifejackets are and how our cabin escape plan works. Frequent inspections and audits are conducted to verify the full compliance of safety manuals and any procedure related to them.

Our state-of-the-art navigation equipment and a master voyage plan that rules our operation allow us to control by satellite in real time the position and the navigation route of the fleet; and also help us to be in continuous communication with the office in Quito.

San Cristóbal Flights

Due to our new Galapagos cruise operation we now have flights to San Cristóbal Island. The departure and arrival time of these flights are later than those to/from Baltra. These flights will be used on itineraries C & D for all our vessels. You can check Aerogal flights schedule on our web page www.kleintours.com/en/galapagos-cruises/galapagos-tours.html

What's going on in Galapagos during February?

* Greater flamingos start nesting on Floreana Island.
* Marine iguanas nest on Santa Cruz Island.
* Penguins migrate away from Bartolomé Island to cooler waters of Isabela and Fernandina Island.
* Weather: Rainy season.

Fuel Surcharge Increase for 2012 in Domestic Flights

Due to the elimination of the subsidy on fuel for domestic airlines announced by the Ecuadorian Government; local Airlines will be charging a fuel surcharge to passengers traveling within Ecuador.

After several conversations and negotiations, staring February 1st AEROGAL will be charging a fee of US$80 per passenger including taxes for the roundtrip to the Galapagos either from Quito or Guayaquil this fee will be invoiced to tickets of tours that already have been booked or paid, if the fee was not pre-paid, it can be paid by cash or credit card at Kleintours' counter before boarding the flight.

Galapagos tortoise may not be extinct

Good news for conservancy! A rare species of giant Galapagos tortoise thought to be extinct for over 150 years probably still exists according to studies by a Yale University team, who reached to this conclusion after finding genetic traces of the turtle known as Chelonoidis elephantopus or C. elephantopus in the DNA of their hybrid offspring.

The C. elephantopus was originally found only on Floreana Island and it's estimated that it extinguished shortly after Darwin's historic trip to the Galapagos in 1835. Thirty of the tortoises found are less than 15 years old; so the chances of the pure-blood parents still being alive are high, given that they can live to over 100 years old.

The genetic sampling conducted in 2000 of these tortoises led to the discovery of genetic fingerprints that suggest that individuals of C. elephantopus could still live on the island. Now the researchers plan to have a workshop in order to discuss what can be done and send an expedition at the end of this year to look for the pure Floreana tortoises.

Photography contest winners!

We invited you to vote for the photos you like the most among those that have won during our photography contest that takes place on board M/V Galapagos Legend, M/Y Coral I & II.

The final results are: third place goes to Alex Talyamsky, second place to Zachary Zelazo Kessler and our winner is Tamara Renae Itterman with her underwater shot.

Congratulations to them and thanks for traveling with us!

What's going on in Galapagos during February?

* Greater flamingos start nesting on Floreana Island.
* Marine iguanas nest on Santa Cruz Island.
* Penguins migrate away from Bartolomé Island to cooler waters of Isabela and Fernandina Island.
* Weather: Rainy season.

Ecuador among the 2012 top travel spots by National Geographic

Travel experts have chosen Ecuador as one of the destinations to travel in 2012, this poll, conducted by the National Geographic Traveller gathered the opinion of travel journalists, guidebooks, tourist boards and other travel specialists.

Ecuador is located on the northwestern coast of South America and is noteworthy for its wide array of indigenous cultures, well-preserved colonial architecture, spectacular volcanic landscapes and dense rainforest, being the perfect place for a quality holiday.
Ask our reservations agents about Kleintours 2012 wide array of tours that will let you discover this fascinating country.

Christmas with our "Karanki-Magdalena Community

On December 17th, children in the Magdalena Community were honored by a group of Lojanos (people from the southern province in Ecuador, Loja); this group denominated "Alma Lojana" celebrated Christmas with about 250 children and their parents in a program filled of games, contests and presents.
Rosa Mena, our Accounts Manager, is a proud member of this group and shared with us her experience with this remarkable community, one of the top visited places in Ecuador by KT passengers.

2011 Photo Contest on board Kleintours' Fleet

Help us to choose the 2011 best photo of our passengers among those that have won during our photography contest that takes place on board M/V Galapagos Legend, M/Y Coral I & II.
Click the following link:
www.kleintours.com/en/photo-contest.html to vote. You will need to rate each photo with the stars on top before passing to the next one.

The British Ecuadorian Chamber recognized the "Chaski Route" social project

On November 25th the first British Ecuadorian Chamber Charity Ball took place where its main objective was to collect donations for projects inside the Corporate Social Responsibility focus. Eight projects were submitted by the Chamber members and Kleintours "Chaski Route" project was within the three finalists.

We feel deeply satisfied of the fact that Salinas and Magdalena communities have progressed so positively -and in such a short time- in terms of sustainable development, becoming essentially self-sufficient in terms of the management of their many ventures.
This is an important recognition for our company and it encourages us to keep on working with our communities and we are sure our Partners will continue supporting this development given that tourism plays a progressively more important role in the development of communities, not only by generating jobs but also by revalorizing the communities' assets, their culture, traditions, food, and beliefs.

Celebrating the Foundation of Quito

The first week of December, Quito celebrates its Spanish foundation, which took place on December 6th, 1534. During this time the bullfight fair takes place with many of the most recognized "toreros" and a number of cultural activities and festivals.
All around the city "chivas" (colorful open buses) can be seen with a live band playing traditional Quiteño music and serving canelazos(warm cinnamon drink with alcohol), also there are also music festivals in plazas and churches; it's the opportunity to taste delicious delicacies of the Ecuadorian cuisine and to share with you our traditions, beliefs that are part of our culture.
Tomorrow December 6th, our offices will be closed due to this celebration; for emergencies with passengers traveling to Ecuador, contact our emergency numbers: (593-9)945-6205 / (593-8) 948-5967.

Supporting our local community in Galapagos

As part of Kleintours contribution with a responsible eco-friendly operation of our deluxe fleet, we are in constant support of local communities. During 2011 we have sponsored some important projects in the Galapagos on behalf of our companies and travelers:
-With the nonprofit organization "Ecology Project International", dedicated to developing place-based ecological education partnerships between local experts and foreign schools, we have closely worked with students in coastal cleanup, eradicating invasive species protecting giant tortoises and more.
-Ministry of Education, "Special Education section" we supported economically diverse recreational activities that integrated positively students, teachers and school volunteers.
-To the Institute for Children and Family (MIES) in Santa Cruz, Kleintours donated equipment to daycare and uniforms to the school students, the same support was given to The Cantonal Council of Childhood and Adolescence so that they can be continue their noble work with children and teenagers.
-As part of our internal procedures we buy and consume a substantial amount of local products (veggies, meat, dairy, and more) for our cruise operation in the islands that is handpicked by Kleintours' personnel applying our high quality control standards to guarantee customer satisfaction.

M/V Galapagos Legend improvements

After September dry dock these improvements have been made to the vessel:

• Satellite Internet connection.
• New decoration, furniture and linen in the restaurant.
• New restroom next to the restaurant.
• New adjustable air conditioning system.
• Implementation of noise isolating system in cabins.
• Improvement of the sewage system.
• An interpretation corner instead of the library with expositions of 14 different themes related to the Enchanted Islands the best interaction with our guides.
• New automatic massage chairs and steam room up to 6 people.
• New decoration and games in the Kids corner.
• 4 Standard Plus cabins will be interconnected and new Balcony VIP suite which is more ample.
• New video system in cabins to select up to 60 movies or the next day's briefing, possibility to make an international phone call direct from the cabin.
• New linens and pillows.
• General maintenance of furnishings of outer and inner areas.
• New carpeting and curtains.
• The auditorium has been renovated and has new chairs.
• Our chefs have been trained in fusion cuisine to offer guests a new delicious menu.

We are also happy to inform you that as pioneers in the tourism industry, we have gotten an environmental license issued by the Galapagos National Park which qualifies us to operate within the Islands safely without pollution, with our 2012 itineraries we will be navigating 400 miles less making us more efficient and less polluting.

Oro Verde Guayaquil Hotel upgrading

Starting November 1, 2011 each room in the Oro Verde Hotel will have a mini bar and the non-alcoholic beverages are included in the rate, these soft drinks are 6 per room during the whole stay; also availability of new linens and pillows in rooms and new brand of amenities in bathrooms, "Verbena y Romero". The hotel is also competing in the next World Travel Awards Caribbean & the America Gala Ceremony as the South America's leading hotel; this ceremony will take place on October 19th.