Isla de la Plata, named for the silver that Sir Francis Drake supposedly hid there centuries ago, is now better known as the poor man's Galapagos for its abundance of bird and marine life without the expense that go along with a trip to its more famous counterparts. Our group of ten tourists boarded a 30 foot passenger boat, Yuberta, and off we went on the one and a half hour voyage out of Puerto Lopez. Shrouded in low hanging clouds, the island revealed itself to be a dry, rocky desolate place covered in head high shrubbery and thousands of birds. The most famous bird that inhabits the island is the blue footed booby.
This fearless pair allowed us to within five feet as our group was down to four people including our guide (I chose to go with the Spanish speakers only).
The bird in back was so confident she couldn't even be bothered to wake up...
Our guide on the right, getting us up close with nature...
The island also had a huge Magnificent Frigatebird colony, with groups of 20-30 sharing a single tree perch.
Honestly, these thing were pretty mean looking...
After our three mile hike around half the island, it was time for snorkeling a brain coral reef with hundreds of colorful fish of all sizes and day glow blue and green starfish everywhere. Then finally, lunch back on the boat before we set towards shore.
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