Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Whale Watching Tour -- Part 2 of 2


NOTE:  Michael Edwards created a fantastic video of our entire trip.  (Click here to watch it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEkesIXiEEg&feature=youtu.be )

We continued on our trip after visiting the Guayaquil Historical Park.  From Guayaquil we drove about three hours to Montanita to spend the night at the Swiss Hotel (where we had stayed in Sept of 2010).  The hotel had been updated with new rooms and a swimming pool.


Day 2:  Early the next morning, we headed north to Puerto Lopez to catch the boat.  Here are pictures of Puerto Lopez, and the early morning launch:


These 3-wheeled motorcycles are the taxis in town

Beautiful beaches

Pelicans waiting for the fishing boats

Father and son cleaning the morning's catch

Our group waiting to wade out into the water to climb aboard

Safety vest, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, camera.  Ready to go!

Let's get some sun and see some whales!

Now for the whales:

A whale's tail



Up close and personal!



Saying "Hi"
Isla de la Plata

After watching the whales for about an hour, we continued onto Isla de la Plata (Silver Island). 

Approaching Isla de la Plata

Explaining the flora and fauna of the island, and the different trails

We walked to the center of the island and then took the short circular trail

Our trail-head sign


Parts of the trail were very steep, which led us to . . .

. . . blue-footed boobies

They weren't afraid of us, but we still kept our distance

Enjoying the warmth and the sunshine.  Ah, able to wear shorts again!

You can see the boobies' nesting area in the center of the photo

Coming back with food.  Boobies stay together as a couple to raise the young together
Waiting for my food to arrive

A nesting couple

Reminds me of Big Sur in California


We were gone for about five hours on the whale watching / Isla de la Plata tour.  Then we drove the one hour back to Montanita to clean up and go out to dinner.  We slept very well that night!  Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention about our first night in Montanita is that at around midnight, we had an earthquake.  Quite a trip!

Day 3:  The next morning which was the day we drove home from the beach, we had breakfast in Montanita and then drove north to a town called Olon to do some sightseeing and shopping.

The beach at Olon

Birds in flight

Conga line!


















After lunch, we headed back to Cuenca (which took about six hours).  Overall, this was a great trip and we really enjoyed ourselves with the warm weather and beautiful sights.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Patty and Mike,
    What great pictures! Sounds like y'all had a great time. We are looking forward to our visit to Cuenca on Sept. 20th. We need to get together. See you both then.

    Debbie and Greg Sanders

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    1. Hey,

      We've been wondering about you two! It will be good to see you next month and to catch up on everything. We should be in our new apartment by then also.

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  2. It was so nice to meet you guys this morning! I am so jealous of your trip. Looks like an amazing adventure. I can't wait to take the kids there!

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    1. Hi Sherry. I know that your whole family would enjoy seeing the whales. Take care and good luck with your finca hunting!

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  3. Great pix folks!!! Makes me want to go there, especially the pic that looks like Big Sur. Some kinda big ole varied country we have here. Tamara and I return to the states in 2 weeks after 80 days here.... think we'll be back. Hope to see ya'll somewhere in that mix. Keep up the great travel posts. BoB

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the pictures, Bob. (We sure enjoyed the Alaskan video showing the Orca whales you sent.) Wishing you and Tamara safe travels and let us know if your plans bring you back to Cuenca.

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