We have now arrived back at height in Quito for a very short stop of one night and have a reasonably fast internet access so we can upload some pictures and update the blog.
Our last stop was 5 days at the very laid back and easy going backpackers village of Puerto Lopez. No real hotels mainly hostels or hut type arrangements on stilts. We are staying a small place run by a UK guy originally from oop t’north and his Ecuardorian patner and family. We are in a wooden cabin with thatched roof set amongst lots of flowers and plants. It is very peaceful until 4.00am when the next door neighbours friendly cockerel starts his morning singing lessons. I think he would go down well in one of the local restaurants!! Lots of cheap restaurants abound selling seafood plus lots of bars and quite a few run by Europeans and even Brits. It is a nice easy chillin’ type of place, very lively and busy at the weekend but now gone quiet with the local weekend trippers from Guayaquil back at work.
The main tourist part of Puerto Lopez is the sea front road or “Malecon” and this has most of the bars and restaurants, some good some, well being polite, not so.
The area we are in is the only marine side national park in Ecuador and is called Machilillia National Park. It is quite hilly and even has areas of cloud forest with monkeys and lots of birds. Most of it looks quite dry and arid with dried up river beds although this is supposed to be the rainy season.
The thing that most tourists come for and probably why the area was made a national park in the first place is an island of shore called Isla de la Plata and the seas around it.
During July to September Humpback Whales migrate to the waters around it to mate and give birth to the calves. The boat trip out from Puerto Lopez takes about an hour and very soon after leaving we spotted our first whales just swimming along coming uo for air and seeing “spouts” from the breathing. As we neared Isla de la Plata there were more whales and soon started seeing the odd one breeching or tail slapping. It was a fantastic sight especially when they came close to the boat. Boats do not go within 100metres of the whale but of course the whales can go where they like. Close up they are huge and as they surface the sound of the breathing is like a roar.
The Island is full of birdlife and as we had spent quite a long time with the whales we did not have so long to walk there but is was good never the less. Large colonies of Magnificent Frigate Birds nesting in the small trees on the cliffs and those funny Blue Footed Boobies seem to be everywhere. The Boobies are so comical looking ungainly goose steeping as they walk along but in flight they are so graceful. They tend to be paired up and just sit on a scrape of a nest on the ground and do not move as you approach. You are not supposed to walk of the path that winds its way around the island but the Boobies often stand or occasionally nest on the path and you walk round them.
At the end of the Island part it was back to the boat for food. Nothing gets thrown over the side except for a few pieces of water melon and soon we saw why. 3 or 4 large turtles soon appeared on the surface feeding on the melon obviously habitualised to the boats that come each day and feed them. We were allowed to snorkel of the boat and see the fish and coral in the clear Pacific waters before heading back out to the trip back across to the mainland. Again more whales but only on the surface and not displaying with slaps or jumps this time.
Our last evening took on a small bit of excitement when we heard about the earthquake in Peru and a Tsunami warning was being given out for Peru, Ecuador and Columbia for a time. Being laid back the village did nothing, fishermen still fished, bars stayed open and no worries. We decamped from out hut at sea level to the first floor of a concrete building for a couple of hours then went back to the hut. They were right, no waves let alone a Tsunami but it passed the evening over a glass or few of wine.
Next chapter (with any luck) will be about the jungle trip which starts Friday for 4 days.
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