La Isla de la Plata

The Beach at Puerto Lopez

Woke up tired this morning.
I did not want to go on my tour today.
But I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth and ran out the door

As I was walking along the beach this morning, I noticed that the sun was finally shining
It's been cloudy and overcast since Saturday
Got into town with 20 minutes to spare
So I ordered bread with jam and butter and fresh raspberry juice

As I sat down to eat when it appears as if all the wasps in town
were circling me and they kept landing on my arms
Suddenly I felt something very different land on my left shoulder
It was a black and green butterfly

This is the second time this year that a butterfly had landed on me
I wanted to take a picture, but I was afraid to disturb it
So I just continued eating
I took it as a good omen for the day
Also to mean that I was tranquil and at peace
And it stayed on my shoulder for 15 minutes
It finally flew away when I made a move for my camera

So off I went in a van with a bunch of strangers
to Puerto Lopez
The town itself is not much to look at
But the beach is interesting
Lots of blue and green fishing boats
Waded across the water to get on my boat
The water was a beautiful turquoise blue
I sat in the back by the motors
basking in the sun

I love being on the water
It gives me a great sense of freedom and tranquility
The fresh air
The wind filling my lungs and water spraying face
The sun over head and glistening golden on the water
The taste of my salty lips
The exhilarating speed and turbulence of the water
It just makes me feel care free and alive
My mind just clears and there I am in the moment
I am blissful and at peace
I feel closer to God
Can almost hear him...
But the motors are too loud

Suddenly I see something
Its grayish black and in the water
Then a fin
Suddenly it goes up and then dives down
My first whale!
I saw the head then the body curves in an arch and finally the tail as it goes back under

Then another whale
This one came up with its white striped belly up doing a back flip
It was so beautiful
I felt overwhelmed and elated with emotions
I wanted to cry

Then another whale was swimming along side us
Then a pair of whales together
Suddenly a trio appeared
They where so close about five meters away
Then next to me four whales about two meters away swimming next to the boat
going up and down, up and down
They move with a lot of speed and grace like synchronized swimmers
I wanted to touch one, and feel their skin it looked so smooth

They where humpback whales
They start coming around this time of year
The guide said on a very very rare occasion you might spot an Orca

Took over an hour and a half to reach the island
When we got there the water was a beautiful light blue

That is when I saw this huge turtle
Several turtles, they are Pacific green sea turtles
I have never seen anything like it
They are so beautiful
They tossed lettuce from the boat and the turtles eat it up
Then they go all around and under the boat
They looked like they were about my size is if I where to curl up into a ball
Maybe even bigger

The island was beautiful
It was still green because they had a lot of rain over the winter
The island starts to go dry and lose its leaves like winter around this time of year
Which makes bird watching easier
But since the foliage is in the way we were limited in the kind of birds we could view
They start to mate now and pair up
They use the same path we do to gather things for their nest
They all build their nest on the ground
There aren't a lot of trees mostly bushes and a even a few evergreens
Saw a beautiful giant cactus

We had a few paths to choose from
I initially wanted to do the longer path because I love trekking
But then I would only get 30 minutes to snorkel
and it was blazing hot out
I haven't even started walking and already I was covered in sweat
I picked the shortest path which meant I would snorkel in two spots instead of one
Besides I am not really into bird watching
I just like to admire the scenery

My group set off
The beginning was the hardest part because we had to climb some really steep steps
I always forget to breathe
So I was panting heavily, which I hate to do
because then it appears that I might be tired which I never am.
Then we reached an overlook
Beautiful cliffs and the sea crashing below
It was so beautiful, and the cool breeze was amazing against my hot toasty skin
I got to taste and smell white grapes
It was not sweet and felt sticky, almost dry in my mouth even though
it was juicy like regular grapes.
Apparently school kids use it as glue or hair gel, just mix with water
And if you eat to many like 6 or 7 then its a laxative

Along the path I saw little fat yellow hummingbirds
Blue footed boobies, and tropical birds
But what I fell in love with was the view

Blue sky
Crystal clear waters
And the waves crashing against the cliff
I just wanted to climb down and lay on the golden sand
and swim in the sea forever

Back on the boat we went to our first dive spot
I just love how people assume I cannot do something
Or think I need help all the time
I must come off as fragile, helpless or dimwitted
I sat at the edge of the boat by the engine with my legs in the water
One of the giant turtles swam by and was coming towards me
I was told it would bite my toes if I did not get my feet out
I assume that might be painful
even though the turtle did not have one of those turned down snapping mouths

After I assured everyone that I CAN swim
I dove into the warm turquoise water

I love snorkeling
Saw the most beautiful fishes
Million of shapes and colours
Saw some serpent shaped ones with bright yellow ends and blue bodies
School of purple and blue small fishes
Beautiful coral reefs
And then suddenly a Pacific green sea turtle
We swam together for a while
Or at least I was stalking it

I had my head down for a full hour
Just kicking with my feet
my arms to my side mostly
Took me a few minutes to fully relax and take long even breaths through the tube
Once I was done I tossed the mask and tube onto the boat
and just floated around in the water basking in the bright sun

Back on the boat I was told I could go on top of it
So I climbed up and just Sun bath
The crew all took turns staring at me
I was the youngest on board and in a tiny bikini
One of them even said "aqui hay una reina"
The upside of being the damsel in distress is that people wait on you hand and foot
I lunched on a delicious cheese, tomato and cucumber sandwich and washed it down with yummy coke. Don't know why soda taste so good after swimming in the sea

Then we took off to go pick up the others who did the long hike
I just laid out on top with my eyes mostly closed
Languid

The second spot was deeper
And not as bright since the sun was just beginning to set
I made the right choice in taking the shorter walk
The second spot has nothing to see
Some coral far off to the bottom and a jelly fish or two

The current was very strong here
The more I tried to go in one direction the further back it took me
I was getting very tired very fast and getting nowhere
Felt like I was going in a circle
I could not get back the boat  
Finally someone came out with the round life preserver
I managed to swim the two meters to get it and then they pulled us in
Five more had to be pulled in, in the same manner

Back on the boat we started to head back
I sat looking back at the golden Sun setting and illuminating the island
It was so beautiful
The sky with the clouds looked multidimensional
Spotted more whales
Saw a pair with the water coming out of their blow holes spraying into the air

I kept sticking my hand in the warm water
Feeling it hit my hand
the same way I like to catch the breeze when I am in a car

I just let my mind go free
Sitting on the edge by the motors
I could feel their vibration under me
The heavy rocking of the waves
I was peaceful
My mind was quite and still
I just took in deep breaths
and thank God for letting me feel alive and serene

Puerto Lopez is beautiful in the sunset
The water is golden and the boats are illuminated beautifully
as the red sun sets into the ocean
Everything looked so magical

We got back in around 6:30 PM
And took an hour in a private car back to Montañita
Almost saw a complete rainbow
a cloud was covering the top arch
It was so bright and big
The perfect ending to a magical day

I can still feel the waves and the ocean inside of my body as I lay in bed