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Friday May 12 - Sunday May 14, 2017
Sorry for the lack of posts for a few days but I have a good excuse. I went to pick up my niece Dawn at the airport in Guayaquil Friday afternoon. Because she is thinking of moving to Ecuador, I took the opportunity to quickly show her part of the popular coastal area of this country.
We bused almost 5 hours to Olon, the place I was supposed to see in 2010 but never made it... There was also a little method to my madness because we didn't want a noisy place like Montanita but yet wanted to be close to Puerto Lopez for the next day. Olon was a superb choice and we loved the place. Quiet and extremely safe, this place was not overrun by tourists and was mostly staffed by wonderful people from all corners of the earth. We enjoyed a few beers with these people who mostly spoke English and we wandered the beach a little in the dark. Vendors were open until midnight but the pace was nice and slow because it is off-season. There was a huge display of dishes and knick-knacks on one corner and I had to ask the guy how he put all that stuff away at night..?? He said he just covers it with tarps, and he is not afraid of robbers because they would be strung up by the town when they got caught.
We had a lovely spacious room on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the town, and air-conditioning.
We were up early in the morning and slipped down to the beach for a quick look and to grab a coffee. Then we had to rush back to get our bags and get back to the highway to catch a bus to Puerto Lopez, about 40 minutes away. I had booked us to go on a tour to Isla De La Plata, better known as The Poor Man's Galapagos at 9am. While we didn't get away until almost 10pm we found the great company of a couple of brothers born in the US of French-Canadian parents, named Bob & Ernest Morrissette, to whom we are probably shirt-tail related somewhere... Bob's daughter Ann and her husband have lived in Cuenca for about 10 months and have been to Joe's Secret Garden. I thought she looked familiar...
We had a relatively smooth ride of 45 minutes to the island where we began our hike over the summit and down to the cliffs on the other side. The main attraction at this time of year is the Blue-Footed Boobie mating season. The Boobies are not monogamous and change partners every year. The males stomp their blue feet and flap their enormous wings to impress the females who play hard-to-get. Some of these guys look so plaintive while performing for a female who seems to be deliberately ignoring them.
Plying the skies are many other species of birds such as the frigate birds, terns, gulls, and I saw a mockingbird. The frigate birds are also in mating season where the males puff out enormous red sacks on their necks to impress the ladies. I am going to apologize now that I was not fortunate enough to get a shot of this because of the route forced upon us. However we did some great shots along the cliffs for you.
When we came back to the boat we had a quick lunch of watermelon and sandwiches before going to the snorkel area. Dawn jumped in for about a minute but the fright of possibly swimming with big fish put her quickly back in the boat. I am a lousy snorkeler, always getting great gulps of saltwater for my efforts, so I opted to just don a lifejacket and float for a bit.
The boat was visited by two large sea turtles and a manta ray but I didn't get very good shots. Part of the reason is because I only brought the new Lumix instead of the big Canon. A good decision for comfort, but not for overall photography, especially in low light conditions.
Then we took a milk-run bus ride to Salinas which took a good 4 hours. The bus station for Salinas is in a town called Santa Elena, a good 20 minutes away and a $5 taxi ride each way.
Our hotel advertised that our room was main floor, and that we could literally step off our balcony and onto the beach. The kind desk clerk apologized for the "big lie" in their advertising. We were put in a closet of a room, on the third floor, no elevator, reachable only on very narrow stairs, and with zero view. We were to tired to argue and got them to bring us up a small table and chair. The only good part of the room was a brand-new air-conditioner that was whisper quiet. Nobody had ever warned me that Salinas is a party town on Saturday night. While we enjoyed the ambiance of it all for a bit, we had to suffer through loud music from a street-cart liquor vendor until 6am and I got zero sleep at all.
The next morning was overcast and threatening rain and we walked the streets trying to find some good coffee and a small breakfast. We finally happened along a place owned by a family of Italian-Americans, where the patriarch was a proud former Marine captain. He had 2 lovely paintings of himself in a full beard with the captain's hat. The whole nautical motif of the good-sized restaurant was very appealing. They also went out of their way to look after us royally and chat with us. This was also the first business I had ever seen in Ecuador with proper electrical wiring and junction boxes outside the kitchen...
Because of the poor weather we cut short any more roaming plans in Salinas and caught a cab to the bus station and made our way to Guayaquil where we jumped on a bus to Cuenca inside of 20 minutes. It rained almost the whole trip until about 30 minutes outside of Cuenca.. Anyway, we were very happy to get home and be able to relax and get a good night's sleep.
Oh, and Cristina has rescued another street dog, a fluffy little male that sticks to her like glue now. She will try to find the owners...
I hope you enjoy the photos. That was the day’s excitement.
Cheers, Al
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If you want to borrow a picture for sharing with family and friends, PLEASE give me credit for the photo.
NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.
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| Photo of the Guayaquil Malecon hanging in the airport |
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| Photo of the Guayaquil old cathedral hanging in the airport |
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| Photo of the Guayaquil Malecon hanging in the airport #2 |
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| Dawn arriving in good spirits |
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| Walking near the Olon church |
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| Meeting the locals |
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| Olon church in the morning |
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| Early morning misty beach in Olon |
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| Looking south along the beach |
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| Looking north into more mist |
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| Fisherman is out very early |
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| Buzzards picking up scraps |
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| I like the misty mornings |
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| Lots of surf too |
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| Setting up the sun protection tents |
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| Pina colada breakfast in Puerto Lopez |
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| Always a lot of boats and birds here in Puerto Lopez |
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| Our tour company owns their own boats |
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| Ernest and Bob Morrissette |
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| 16 passengers and 4 crew on this trip |
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| Map of possible trails on Isla De La Plata |
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| Pelican on a buoy |
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| Getting instructions from our guide Adam |
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| Tons of lizards encountered on our hike |
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| Pretty, yeah? |
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| Looking back toward the beach where we started |
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| Looking now at the cliffs on the other side of IDLP |
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| Our first encounter with the Blue-Footed Boobies mating rituals |
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| Pairs everywhere doing their thing |
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| Checking out possible mates |
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| Some look star-struck |
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| Dating isn't always fun |
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| Climbing down to the cliffs |
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| A male doing his best to impress... |
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| Wing flaps and blue stomps are the ticket here |
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| Great backdrop for his wooing |
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| She is playing aloof |
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| Some of the group |
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| This female wasn't going for it.. |
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| Lots of birds flying the cliffs |
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| A very pretty sight |
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| Free as a bird |
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| Looking for Mr Right |
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| The skies are clearing |
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| Looking for a new boyfriend |
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| The cliffs are impressive |
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| They vibrate their necks to cool off... |
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| Hey beautiful, I'm over here... |
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| This guys using a rock prop |
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| Big flaps of his impressive wings |
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| He can even stomp on the rock |
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| OK, where did she go? |
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| Two males in the same area are performing |
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| I am calling you-oo-oo-oo-oo |
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| Whatdya think... remain bachelors?? |
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| The day is turning out well |
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| Lovcly hidden beach may have sheltered Francis Drake |
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| This mockingbird will sing |
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| Another lizard underfoot |
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| Back to the beach |
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| Loads of BFB's on the rocks |
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| OK, he's stompin' up a storm.. |
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| Make a new plan Stan... |
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| Full boat stuck on the bank |
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| Sea turtle in the area |
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| Sea turtle peeking at our boat |
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| I'm showing off my backstroke |
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| Just floating and enjoying the silence |
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| A manta ray pays us a visit |
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| Father-daughter through dirty window |
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| The ride back |
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| Leaving the island behind |
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| Sunlight on the water |
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| Lots of birds at Puerto Lopez |
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| Silhouetted boats at PL |
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| People and boats share |
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| Lovely Essential Oil shop |
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| These oils are not cheap |
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| Trying night shot settings in Salinas |
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| Lovely Malecon (boardwalk) in Salinas |
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| The beach always has action |
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| Grainy shots at night with the Lumix |
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| This entertainer sang well in English and drew a crowd |
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| This little train was very popular |
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| Swings inside the hotel |
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| Our hotel was a disappointment |
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| A blustery morning cut short this visit |
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| The marina always seems busy |
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| Somebody did some nice sand work |
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| Our marine captain with one painting |
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