Vacation to the Coast!

We finally made it to the coast! We took about a week and a half off from our activities here in the jungle and made the fifteen-hour bus journey to help a friend with a tourist mapping project (more about that visit in a future blog) and then head down to Puerto Lopez to chillax on the beach.

Snail trails on the beach in Puerto Lopez.

Right when we stepped off the bus, we got hustled into going on a whale-watching tour. We arrived right at the tail end of the whale-watching season; the whales are on their way down to Antarctic waters now. The ride was crazy--every time we saw a spout, the driver would take off towards it. We got to sit on the front end of the boat, giving us the best view.

Whales near Isla de la Plata.

The next day we headed out to Isla de la Plata, also known as "Poor Man's Galapagos." It's not nearly as diverse as the Galapagos, but we were able to see frigates, all three kinds of boobies (red-footed, blue-footed, and Nazca), something our guide called "red-billed tropic birds" (or maybe "red-bearded"...), and sea turtles that came right up to the boat. We also went snorkeling--it was like "Finding Nemo" without Nemo.

Baby blue-footed boobies.

 One of Kirstie's lifetime goals was to see blue-footed boobies, and that was definitely fulfilled on this trip--they're EVERYWHERE. We went during the nesting season, so every pair of boobies had their nest. They nest on the ground and seem to prefer the paths. Most boobies lay two eggs, and the parents take turns incubating and going out for food. Our guide explained that, unfortunately, this year the boobies laid their eggs really late. They're worried that the chicks won't be big enough to fly up to the higher parts of the islands when the rainy season starts. The two in the picture were the only two that had hatched so far on the entire island.

During the dry season, not many flowers bloom, but we saw a few.

We took a break from the beach for a day to visit the community Agua Blanca. Historically, a group known as the Manteño lived there, and archaeologists have uncovered some of their structures, art, and cemeteries.

A manteño funerary urn at Agua Blanca.

They also have a sulfur spring that we dipped our feet into. But the most exciting part of the trip was seeing the anteater exploring a termite nest and the owl sleeping in the orange tree.

Isaac holding a barbasco fruit at Agua Blanca. Barbasco is used for soap, shampoo, and stunning fish.

We also spent a lot of time on the beach, eating batidos (fruit smoothies) and shrimp, sitting in hammocks, and hanging out in our sweet hostel, Hostal Sol Inn, which Isaac dubbed "the treehouse." They rented out bikes and apparently can also hook you up with skydiving if you're into that. Kirstie was just excited about the cats.

Kirstie and the panther.

For our last day, we headed to Salango, just south of Puerto Lopez. It's a much quieter town with some of the same tourism options as Puerto Lopez and a lot of fishermen and net-makers. We visited the museum and then took a walk up to the mirador, a lookout tower on a hill facing Salango Island.

Kirstie and Isaac overlooking Salango.

 We were both in dire need of a vacation before this, and it was well worth the four days of bus travel to get there and back! YIKES!

..Kirstie and Isaac..

Here are some of the animals we saw on our trip! Click to see it full-sized!