Isla de la Plata  

This weekend started out interesting. On Friday, I was teaching Science and all of the sudden everyone felt a shaking sensation and a bit of noise. I experienced my first earthquake while teaching. It was very small and didn't last but a few seconds. I've checked the US Geological Survey site and it isn't even listed. The worst thing that it did was move water bottles. Nonetheless, it was interesting and an experience that I have never had before. I left Friday after school to go to Montañita to spend the night and then off to Puerto Lopez the next day to go whale watching and to go to Isla de la Plata. Humpbacks are in the middle of their migratory pattern, and were easy to find. I was very fortunate to be on the correct side of the boat to get a perfect view. It was pretty amazing. I couldn't believe how easily we found them. I got some pretty good pictures. However, in typical Jeremy form, I missed the most spectacular shot. A whale breached, with a whole half of its body out of the water. What was I doing? Playing with my camera, of course. It looked like one of those old Prudential commercials . . . just stunning. I feel priveledged just being able to see it. I do plan on doing it again (and again), so maybe next time. From there, we went to Isla de la Plata. Some guide books refer to it as "the poor man's Galapagos".

It is a national park that is uninhabited with great wildlife. The draw to the islands would be the blue footed boobies, red footed boobies, magnificent frigates, among others. It is an interesting world. Everything is extremely dry. The island is only green a few months out of the year. The birds are easy to spot and not scared of humans. They really don't have any predators, so I guess what's to fear? As you can see from the pictures, I saw many of the birds that I stated. However, the guides gave us a choice. There are two trails and you can see different wildlife depending upon your choice. The next time that I go, I will try the other trail to see the difference. I have a video of the whales. Just take some Dramamine before you watch it or some other type of motion sickness medicine.


It was a little rough where the whales were. In this particular trip, I went by myself. So, I decided to take the earliest bus from Montañita on Sunday. I left at 5 o'clock in the morning and got back around 7.

Montañita is the type of town where people were still out and about from the night before as I was leaving on the morning bus. Everything else is going well. I am meeting some very nice and interesting people. I'm enjoying the school and the students, but at the same time I really miss my old school, friends, and student population.
Here is a link to the rest of my pictures of whale watching and the island:


The whale video:


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