Isla de la Plata

Day Trip

Location: Isla de la Plata, Manabi, Ecuador
Date: January 2, 2011

It's Sunday, and its our free day in Puerto Cayo. What better to do than explore everything this region has to offer? One of the future goals of Puerto Cayo as we were told, is to organize trips to Isla de la Plata*. Isla de la Plata is a famous tourist attraction, known for its beautiful reefs and extraordinary wildlife. It is a "mini-Galapagos" or also known as Galapagos without the expenses. A group of 6 of us set off, we took the bus to Puerto Lopez, and waited for our tour guide. We set off, on an hour boat ride, and finally arrived to the island. Here we went snorkeling, hiking, and explored the island's secrets.

The most startling attraction at Isla de la Plata: the Blue Footed Booby. I'd heard stories, I'd seen pictures, but seeing in front of my eyes, I cannot help but stare in awe... at their feet. The color is just so bright, its unreal, and the contrast to its black/white feathers only makes the feet stand out. More so, there are hundreds of these birds. Each with their own nest, usually with the female and its offspring. The cute fuzzy babies, stand as tall as their mothers, but their feet only turn blue when they reach adulthood. See picture of the day.

The rest of the trip was fun, until... the boat ride back. The combination of tiredness, and a bumpy boat ride back wasn't ideal. The only thought to console us, was Puerto Cayo and the adventures that lay in store for us the following day.

Picture of the Day:

Fun fact: The bluer the feet the more attractive the male. Nature at its finest.

*Side note: Puerto Lopez is the only location authorized to make trips to Isla de la Plata. This is something that Puerto Cayo wants to change, especially since the island is closer to Puerto Cayo than it is from Puerto Lopez. Their hope is to organize day trips to the island from Puerto Cayo and in return it will bring more tourism to their town.