Tuesday, February 24th, 2015 Puerto Lopez
We walked to the cevecherias by the pier last night but they were both closed by 5 pm. Lunch only, it seems. So, we walked back to our hotel and had ceviche and breaded calamari there. While we were eating, we met a couple about 50ish who boxed up their bicycles at home in Moose Jaw and flew with them to Bogota, Colombia. They've been biking south for a few weeks. Sounds a lot like work but we had to admire their adventurous spirit.
At breakfast this morning we talked to the same couple. He's a firefighter and they also own a sporting goods store. They're peddling Rocky Mountain Metros, which are made in Canada. We'll have to check them out, not that we're about to do any crazy bike touring.
Our boat tour car picked us up at 9. After a short stop at their office to pay the $40 each, we walked to the pier. There were 16 tourists on our boat. It took an hour to travel the 42 km to Isla del Plata, which is included in a national park. For part of the way, we were followed by a school of dolphins.
At the island, we joined 2 young Dutch couples and our English speaking guide for the medium tour of the island, while the Spanish speaking rest of our group opted for the easy tour. One of the Dutch couples started in Costa Rica and are traveling by bus, like us. They are 4 months into a 7 month trip and will soon head south into Peru and Bolivia. Like the Moose Jaw couple, they told us that Colombia seemed quite safe.
It was really hot and dry on our 5 km or so walk but it was worth the effort. We saw hundreds of blue-footed boobies and their fluffy looking young up close. For a nest, they scrape a little hole in the dirt and surround it with a circle of guano (bird poop) as a marker. Then they lay 1 or 2 eggs which are guarded by either the male or the female. The young birds do not have blue feet. That only shows up as they age due to their diet of sardines. Who knew?
We also saw thousands of frigate birds.
Following our walk we had a quick snack of fresh watermelon and pineapple on the boat. Some local fishermen tied baitfish to a string to attract the sea turtles for us. After that, we went around the island to a good snorkeling area. Everyone snorkeled and we all enjoyed seeing lots of different tropical fish.
Our boat is just the right size for 16 tourists and the crew. It was fast and actually pretty comfortable.
There were lots of blue footed boobies along the shore as well as up on land under the bushes.
The fish were very plentiful and everyone enjoyed the warm water too.
When everyone had had enough snorkeling, we had some sandwiches and soft drinks on the boat and then headed back to Puerto Lopez. We had a great day but a shower and a cold beer were welcome. Tomorrow we're probably going to walk and laze on the beach. It's about time we had a chance to relax.
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