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!
Winston Churchill? Haha, cool name. It’s awesome that you got to hit up the Poor Man’s Galapagos! And disposable cameras! It’s funny how your photos have that vintage-y look people get by using filters these days – disposables aren’t even that old. . .or is my age showing? I just saw that episode of The Office where Erin is using disposables one and then throwing them away.
Haha I love that episode! I don’t think they’re THAT old since I was only taking these pictures about four years ago! But, I haven’t seen one in forever so who knows if they are even still made. And I loved Winston! He also had a son he named Obama lol.
Wow! This looks like such a memorable day! Who needs Galapagos anyway 😉 I love that your guide was named Winston Churchill.
Haha I know! The real Galapagos are probably just hyped up…right? 😉 but it was a really fun day!! Winston was the best!
The sunset is gorgeous and I can imagine that it was great tour! Never seen a pufferfish in real life, so cool that you saw one! Also Winston Churchill?? Hilarious!
Haha I know Winston was the best 🙂 I had never seen a pufferfish, either! They’re really cool.
These are beautiful photos! Even though some are blurry I actually really like the effect! Also I would be pulling the exact same face if I was touching that fish!
Thank you! I’m glad you like them despite the blurriness 🙂 I like them too, maybe because of that…they seem more nostalgic that way! Or something ;). And I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets squeamish about touching fish!!!!
I would have looked exactly the same touching that fish! How funny. That second photo is lovely! I have loads of those half of the head selfie photos from when I was growing up!
Hahaha I love that so many people agree they would be making that same face! I really thought I was smiling normally until I saw the picture ;). It is so much harder to take selfies when you can’t immediately check the photo or even use a front-facing camera!
Cool! Also, you face is absolutely priceless in that pic with the fish 😉
Hahaha thanks ;). I really thought I was just smiling until I saw the picture! I guess my face gets a mind of its own when I have to touch a fish!
Wow a disposable camera! I remember every time I went on school camp I got one of these. Most photos were just of my thumb haha, so you did way better than me!
Haha there were a LOT of thumb pictures that didn’t make the blog ;). It’s so much harder when you can’t immediately delete them if the thumb snuck in!
Love your pictures! I had to laugh at that awesome pic of you with your fish! Can’t get over your guides name either!
Thank you! 🙂 Despite the fact that I had to hold the fish I caught (and then had to eat!) it was a really fun day! And Winston is awesome.
Of course everyone wants to go to the Galapagos! 😉 It’s on my list of travel-musts for sure! I had never heard of the poor man’s galapagos! By the picture it seems it was gorgeous! It almost reminds me of South east asia a bit! Were there turtles??
Yes I definitely want to go to the OTHER Galapagos but someday ;). These were fun to see, too! It was beautiful! We saw a few sea turtles but the giant Galapagos ones are only in the REAL place lol.