Although I’ve always wanted to see the Galapagos Islands (because who doesn’t?), when I was in Ecuador it just wasn’t feasible. I’d already spent a semester studying in Peru and had a few more weeks in Ecuador before flying home for the summer. The Galapagos, while technically a part of Ecuador, are actually quite a trip, and expensive to boot.
While on the coast, however, we (my brother had come to visit for a few weeks) found out that near the coastal town of Puerto Lopez was an area known as the “Poor Man’s Galapagos,” or Isla de la Plata. Isla de la Plata, part of Machalilla National Park, is home to a few of the famous species found in the Galapagos–like those funny little birds, the blue-footed boobies!–and is a beautifully preserved area of the coast.
Most of Isla de la Plata is only available through guided tours to control access. We happened to find a tour guide right next to our hostel, and we were set! We didn’t do much research (this was a few years ago and I had never heard of Yelp, so we only a tiny section in our Ecuador book to guide us). You can do land tours of the actual island, but we opted for snorkeling/boat tour since we were craving a day on the water.
Winston Churchill, our guide, made it an experience to remember. It was one of my favorite days in Ecuador! (I loved Puerto Lopez in general). It was my first time ever snorkeling–these were in the days before diving!–and we were lucky enough to see a sea turtle. We also saw the requisite boobies (ha) and many other colorful fish. We fished, ourselves, and while I’m no expert fisher (fisherman? fisherwoman?), I caught a giant fish that Winston made into ceviche for us!
Talk about the freshest ceviche ever.
I love days on the water, and this day was no exception. If you ever make it to Puerto Lopez, Ecuador, make sure to stop at Isla de la Plata–and hire Winston as your guide!
Note: this was the part of the trip where my camera had just died (while I was taking endless pictures of monkeys…) so sorry for some lackluster shots! I was using a disposable camera (do those still exist?!) so all of the photos have an old-fashioned, fuzzy look about them. Some manage to look kind of dreamy, though! ;).
^^starting the day on the beach!
^^my brother snorkeling. the fuzziest of them all but wow that water is clear!
^^my attempt at a selfie with a disposable camera. it was a lot harder in those days ;).
^^a whole bunch of blue-footed boobies on that rock!
^^Winston accidentally caught a pufferfish while we were fishing. It was pretty mad, hence the reason it puffed!
^^this extremely flattering shot showcases my love of fishing and touching slimy things. still! I caught a fish!
^^Puerto Lopez is mainly a fishing village.
^^a perfect sunset to end the day, at that perfect spot!
Linking up with Bonnie, Kaelene, Sammy and Van!
