Sally, Jim, Anne, William, Kara, Paul
Porto Lopez One of the attractions along Ecuador's Costa del Sol is Parque Nacional Machalilla and the highlight is Isla de la Plata, commonly known as the poor man's Galapagos. On Monday we make arrangements with Katy, a local restauranteur/tour coordinator for a tour of Isla de La Plata.
We arrive at her restaurant at 7:50 am Tuesday and she walks us to catch the local bus to Puerto Lopez. She strolls at a South American pace and Paul finds it hard to walk sooooo slow. The two block walk takes us 10 minutes.
Katy explains in her basic English that we are looking for a green bus. A little while later one arrives and the six of us plus Katy hop on. It's definitely a local bus - but there aren't any live chickens aboard. :-). The bus twists and turns along the coast for 45 minutes until we arrive at Puerto Lopez, a small fishing town and the port for the boats to Isla del la Plata. Katy hands us off too local tour agent. As we're walking the four or five blocks to their office he gestures asking if we get sea sick. Some reply yes. Two shops down from their office is a conveniently located Pharmacia, where we pick up medicine for three of us.
Across the dusty street is the post with all the fishing boats and the fishmonger stands. Since we have 20 minutes one of the locals hanging around the tour office takes us over. Some of the fishermen are cleaning their catches and others are showing off what they have to prospective buyers.
We arrive at her restaurant at 7:50 am Tuesday and she walks us to catch the local bus to Puerto Lopez. She strolls at a South American pace and Paul finds it hard to walk sooooo slow. The two block walk takes us 10 minutes.
Katy explains in her basic English that we are looking for a green bus. A little while later one arrives and the six of us plus Katy hop on. It's definitely a local bus - but there aren't any live chickens aboard. :-). The bus twists and turns along the coast for 45 minutes until we arrive at Puerto Lopez, a small fishing town and the port for the boats to Isla del la Plata. Katy hands us off too local tour agent. As we're walking the four or five blocks to their office he gestures asking if we get sea sick. Some reply yes. Two shops down from their office is a conveniently located Pharmacia, where we pick up medicine for three of us.
Across the dusty street is the post with all the fishing boats and the fishmonger stands. Since we have 20 minutes one of the locals hanging around the tour office takes us over. Some of the fishermen are cleaning their catches and others are showing off what they have to prospective buyers.
Our Boat and the Italians There are four tour groups going today, and our group of six along with eight Italians and two tour guides are loaded onto a dive boat which holds 20 people. The tour guides do not speak English, and we speak very little Spanish, but we come to understand that the waters are calmer this time of year, but still choppy. Choppy is an understatement! I'm glad I am one of the people who stopped at the Pharmacia. The boat tries to skim across the swells, but often rises up and down and hits hard - this would not be a trip for someone with a back problem!
After about 75 minutes the captain slows the boat and the guides pass out some banana cake. Off the side of the boat there are a group of six to eight large turtles playing in the water. We approach our landing point on the island. This will be a wet landing, which means we pull off our shoes and the captain backs the boat as close to the shore as possible, then we jump out and walk up to shore.
After about 75 minutes the captain slows the boat and the guides pass out some banana cake. Off the side of the boat there are a group of six to eight large turtles playing in the water. We approach our landing point on the island. This will be a wet landing, which means we pull off our shoes and the captain backs the boat as close to the shore as possible, then we jump out and walk up to shore.
Blue Footed Booby with Eggs There is a nice tourist pavilion complete with banos which we use before starting our walk on the island. The island is very sandy and dry. There are some cacti as well as local shrubs - one used to make dragon's blood, a local cure for cuts and bites. Along our walk we are rewarded by seeing blue footed boobies which are nesting. In some cases we stand just three to four feet away from the nest. Our guide explains in Spanish and gestures that as the booby builds the nest they poo around it. That marks their territory and also keeps the insects away.
After hiking back to the boat the captain takes us 10 minutes down the coast to a snorkeling spot. All of us but William took the plunge. I saw some coral and a couple of large colorful fish. He stopped at a second spot as well, but it was close to some rocks and we opted to stay aboard. However, about half of our boisterous Italian boatmates were quickly in the water. Everyone was smiling.
After hiking back to the boat the captain takes us 10 minutes down the coast to a snorkeling spot. All of us but William took the plunge. I saw some coral and a couple of large colorful fish. He stopped at a second spot as well, but it was close to some rocks and we opted to stay aboard. However, about half of our boisterous Italian boatmates were quickly in the water. Everyone was smiling.
Group Snorkeling The ride back to the mainland was rougher than our ride out to the island and seemed to take two and a half hours, but against was only approximately 75 minutes. Many of the Italians were singing songs, which helped occupy the time. We stumbled off the dock and made our way back to the street where the bus had dropped us off. We understood that the bus would come at 5:30pm. About 5:35 we were joined in the street by an Ecuadorian woman and her small son. Five minutes later another man showed up who spoke a little English. He also had 't taken the bus back towards Olon before. He had been told by a local to stand here and the bus comes some times. Hmmmmm. At 5:45 we spotted a green bus headed in the right direction on the next major street over. All started running. Luckily all of us made it onto the bus. We paid our $2.50 each as the bus started it's 45 minute journey south to Olon.
We arrived back in Olon tired and a little sore, but all were very happy with our adventure.
We arrived back in Olon tired and a little sore, but all were very happy with our adventure.
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