Puerto Lopez

This is not a good looking town. They are doing a lot of work on the water front, so that makes it a muddy mess but the sand and the beaches are not as pretty as Olon. We're staying at a hotel on the beach......but the beach is dirty so what does it matter.. We came here.......in the rain, on a 1 hour bus ride. Most of the buses have been really clean and comfortable. This one was a ride to  "Ashmont". It being raining did not improve the look of the town.

Why did we come here? We are going to the Isla de Plata.
Isla de la Plata:
The Poor Man’s Galapagos

Isla de la Plata, one of the hidden places in Ecuador, is a small island off the coast northwest of Puerto Lopez.  Although currently known as the poor man’s Galapagos, it has long been called “Silver Island.”

Some say the name derived from the fact that Sir Francis Drake buried his treasure there centuries ago.  Others say the silver refers to the large amounts of guano, or bird droppings, that shine in the sun!  NICE.

The island can be reached by boat from the Puerto Lopez area. Puerto Lopez is a small town located on the north coast of Ecuador in Manabi province. The trip can be choppy and usually takes more than an hour.  It’s best to have motion-sickness medication handy—just in case!.......I'll let you know how it turns out.

Once on the island, the visitor can enjoy many species similar to those found in the Galapagos — blue- and red-footed boobies, pelicans, petrals, frigatebirds, terns and albatrosses.

The tour we booked will  provide lunch, a guided hike and time for a little snorkeling. No cerveza. ( my Spanish is impeccable)

One of the main attractions of this special place in Ecuador is the humpback whales but I don' t think it is the right season for that.  They mate near the island from the middle of June until October. We’ve been told that it is not uncommon to see groups of up to ten whales at one time, frolicking in the ocean. Dolphins are plentiful and there are good coral reefs for snorkeling.

There is no shade on the small island and the trails are rough, so good shoes, wind or rain gear are important items to have along and a hat is a necessity unless you want a burned scalp. Isla de la Plata is one of those places in Ecuador where you can lose yourself in a landscape uniquely different from any other on earth.

We'll see!