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March 15, 2009.Day 1 of 10 on Isla de La Plata.
The foundation I work for doesn't have its own boat therefore in order to get to the island we hitch rides with tourist boats.I got lucky today in a sense as there was only room for one person on the boat and having experience with the work on the island I was the one to hitch a ride.This means I get a free day alone on the island to spend with Hollis!To relax, think, write, read, nap, practice yoga in silence!Getting a free moment solo is rare if not impossible as I live in a full house and at this point know a fair amount of people in Puerto Lopez.In any case, I am very grateful to have the island to myself and am taking full advantage of having some quiet alone time.
Having little experience with islands I can't say whether it is islands in general that have a special energy about them, or whether is it Isla de La Plata in particular.Regardless of the why of it, I can say for certain that a unique energy exists here. I receive an incredible sense of inspiration every time I step foot on Isla de la Plata.Having the day to rest and recharge my battery by taking in the beauty of the ocean and the rich life gave me a chance to ponder what makes this place so special and realize how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be having this experience which is nothing short of consciously living a dream.
Simple yet incredible experiences that give the island its light and sense of being alive include… sitting on the balcony looking out into the water which is in constant motion and getting lost in the rhythm of the waves breaking softly on the shore… by day, observing birds feeding, fish jumping, turtles breaching, dolphins playing, and the occasional Pilot whale passing by…by night, walking along the beach with the millions of bioluminescent lights flickering in the water and on the sand... snorkeling along the points on either side of the beach amongst the corals and exotic reef fish…walking the trails and being surrounded by rich green plant life, birds, dragonflies, butterflies, grasshoppers, spiders, snakes, lizards, skinks; stopping at every outlook to watch the waves break and take in the rich views of the mighty Pacific and breathing in all its wonder.
March 16, 2009.Day #2
There are two main trails on the island (Machete & Escalera) both of which are over 3km long and full of Piqueros (Boobies) and Friggates (Friggate birds).My day began at 6h30 on Sendero Punto Machete (Machete Point Trail) with the first censo de aves for the month of March.
The whole trail takes about 3 hours.The Blue-Footed boobies nest right along the trail and I recognized many of the coupled pairs and their babies from last month.It was neat seeing that the babies had grown up a bit and it is always a pleasure being in the presence of these silly birds.Needless to say the morning was full of giggles and feelings of pure joy.I was quite surprised by the change in the Nazca Booby colony.Apparently their breeding season is a bit behind that of the blue-footed boobies as many of the Nazca coupled pairs were making their nests in preparation to lay egg/s or are incubating the eggs they have recently layed.
When I arrived back at the house around 10h30, I was greeted with a rich brunch of smoked fish and roasted platano (a fruit similar to bananas which is most commonly fried or roasted and served with ceviche). The meal was prepared by Jorge, the park guard who is staying here this week.Jorge and I have become pretty good friends as yesterday we shared two delicious meals, a cup of coffee, and a few hours of conversation together as the only inhabitants on the island.Sonja, a recent arrival from Switzerland and a friend I have become quite fond of already, arrived with one of the tourist boats shortly after we finished eating.We shared a day of complete relaxation, conversing about life, love, and travel, swimming and snorkeling in the bay, eating fresh fruit, and watching the sun set together under a beautiful tree from edge of the island.
The ocean was incredibly calm all day long and I was amazed at the view as we were watching the sun set. The ocean was like a giant swimming pool, as flat and motionless as far as the eye could see. The night as well is as still and as peaceful as can be, free of clouds, free of wind, and a sky full of gleaming stars!
In lieu of the tranquil night Jorge, Sonja, and I conversed over a round of Yerba Maté.I have become quite fond of this tea from Argentina after coming across it in Montañita.The tea is rich in vitamins and minerals, and full of earthy flavor.Unlike in the US where Yerba Mate is traditionally served in tea bags, there are rituals to drinking the tea that come from Argentina and it makes for a great social event.I learned the ritual to take Yerba Maté from one of the artisans making jewelry in the street in Montañita and since then have shared many rounds with friends here in Puerto López.
Speaking of tea…Being a tea lover I have not been one bit disappointed in the selection of teas here in Ecuador.There are many traditional herbs and fruits available to make various delicious infusions; Manzanailla (chamomile), yerba Buena (similar to mint), anise, oregano, yerba Luisa (lemon verbena), lemongrass, and limón (lime) to name a few.It is a commonality of the culture here to take different teas as remedies for ailments.For example, for an upset stomach you drink tea of oregano, for a fever hot lemonade with anise is recommended.My personal favorite is yerba Buena with chamomile to relax nerves and clear the mind (a self-thought-up remedy that suits me quite well)!
Day #3
Last night Sonja and I made our first round on the beach at 10:30 and encountered tracks from a turtle which had entered the beach and returned to the water without putting her nest.I knew this was a good sign because this means a turtle is looking for a place to lay her eggs.Sure enough we encountered the same turtle who had re-entered a little further down the beach.The night was full of emotion as I have not seen a turtle since my last time on the island, and Sonja had never seen a sea turtle in her life until last night!We were on the beach until almost 3am with the turtle and when she finally re-entered the water we walked back to the house giggling with excitement, rehashing the incredible late night island adventure.
We woke early this morning and made our way up the trail for more bird surveys.Antonella arrived with one of the tourist boats today and was waiting for us when we arrived back at the beach.All was well except for the language conversion as Sonja and I had to revert back to speaking Spanish after letting our English be our mode of communication for almost two days!I guess you could say it was a rocky few hours for the both of us;-)Bless Antonella's heart as she is super patient with the rough Spanish and even if it does bother her that neither of speak great Spanish she doesn't let it show ;-)
Day #4
¡Que suerte (what luck)!Sonja, Antonella, and I were up again last night until 5am with another mama turtle.Sonja is especially blessed in that she has already got to see two turtles; many of the volunteers who have been here in the time I have been here haven't seen a turtle yet.Alejandro for example was on the beach 4 nights a week for the month he was here and returned to Quito on Sunday without getting to see one turtle.
Speaking of Alejandro, as I mentioned he was only here for a month and his last night in Puerto Lopez was the night before I came to the island.I as well as the rest of the people at Equilibrio Azul, are definitely going to miss his young, refreshing, innocent energy.He is 22 years old and as kind and funny as can be.He could be found most of the time around the house strumming the guitar to American rock bands such as Creed, Goo Goo Dolls, and Pink Floyd, and was especially good at making people laugh with his light-hearted sense of humor.He loved to make fun of my accent which I always find amusing, and was another kind soul with lots of patience and helped me a lot with the language.
Getting back to the island… as we did not get much sleep last night we decided to take the day for a little rest and relaxation and skipped walking the trails today.We kept ourselves busy with a healthy mix of work and play.Antonella is working on putting together a presentation of her thesis project for a marine conservation conference coming up next week in Puerto Lopez, and I am finishing up a proposal for the newest project at Equilibrio Azul having to do with coral rehabilitation on Isla Salango.I took advantage of having some time for exercise and practiced yoga on the beach in the morning followed by a good 2K in the water as the sea was glass once again.
Day #5
Since my first trip to the island I have been hearing about the shark sightings in Playa Grande on the south side of the island yet have only heard the stories and seen the pictures of this exciting event.As luck would have it, I got to spend a good hour of my 7K hike around the island sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking this beach and watched as three large pelagic sharks patrolled the reef.The sight was beautiful and I couldn't help but daydream about what it must be like to be in the water with these incredible animals.I also found myself being so grateful for having the opportunity to be observing living sharks as the only other sharks I see in Puerto López are the dead ones brought in by fisherman.
Two of the sharks were traveling in a pair and I am certain that they were a species of thresher shark.Each was at least 2.5m in length.The other shark was a bit larger and was difficult to identify as it was moving a bit faster than the pair of thresher's.Aside from the sharks, I also saw a huge bat ray floating elegantly through the water.¡Increible!
I stopped once again further down the trail at a beautiful lookout to practice yoga.It was one of the most powerful practices here yet as I got absolutely lost in the power of breathing in the fresh air and overlooking the Mighty Pacific.It is impossible to keep form dreaming about wishing I could fly like all of the birds taking off from the edge of the 500m cliff.I would soar high above the island all day long and breathe in the freedom and power offered by the enormous ocean waters… in my next life!
Day #6
We sent Sonja off yesterday afternoon ;-( and Anto and I were left here with nothing but diving on our agenda for the next 5 days!Byron, our captain, arrived this morning with one of the tourist boats and we began our island diving exploration adventure this afternoon!What a beautiful dive we had, though, we are still in search of more sites with black corals and these corals were sparse where we dove today.After realizing 20 minutes into the dive there was little hope of encountering black corals we took the rest of the dive to explore the rocky reef.We swam amongst huge schools of reef fish, a few turtles, and spent a lot of time exploring the holes in the rocks which are home to eels, urchins, sea stars, and other exotic invertebrates.
On my swim today the waters were so clear I could see everything going on around me for 10m.There were turtles everywhere in front of and underneath me, playing and breaching for air.As I was swimming over the huge hard coral reef I saw the biggest school of fish I had ever seen in my life.They were mostly (large) Triggerfish and Pargo, both of which are stunning in the water.Pargo (Snapper) is certainly one, if not my absolute favorite fish to eat here.Their meat is bright white and really tender, much like rock fish in Oregon.Other favorites include Loro (Parrotfish), anything from the Tuna family, and Dorado, which is typically used to make ceviche.
Speaking of fish to eat, I have found that I actually eat more on the island than I do in Lopez.We have got lucky with fisherman this week as each day a fishing boat has arrived and traded us a fish or two for the use of a tool, or the use of a place to rest, or a kitchen to cook a quick meal in.Most of the fishermen are friends with the park guards staying here so it makes for good conversation to have them aboard for a few hours.I feel like I have eaten fish prepared in every way possible over the last week.I would love to contribute to the cooking festivities, however, I don't have much experience cooking fish and Ecuadorian's seem to be pretty set in their typical meals.In any case, I contributed my cooking expertise one day with breakfast of scrambled eggs, with ham, green pepper, and onion, served with toast and instant coffee ;-)Hey, at least I tried!
Day#7
No Tortugas last night, though there were two sets of tracks, presumably by the same turtle so tonight I believe we will be up with another turtle.After one of my trips up and down the beach I found myself exploring the bathroom here at the house for all the animals I could find.It seems to be a popular place for nocturnal animals to hang out.There is a resident crab, I call him the Dueño (Keeper) of the stalls, who patrols the bathroom at night for meals.I have observed the little guy feeding on other small crabs, hermit crabs, and cucarachas.I was also greeted one night by a good size rat (the island is full of them), and a snake.There are a few species of snakes on the island, the larger ones can be found along trails, but my bathroom buddy, I guessed, a type of gardner snake.My curiosity got the best of me and I picked it up out of the door jam where he was hiding.I didn't expect him to be aggressive as the gardner snakes at home are pretty docile creatures.Well, this guy was a little perturbed and tried to bite me right away.I held onto him as long as I could but couldn't get a good enough grip close to his head and had to let him go before I could get a good picture.
This morning we woke, ate our usual breakfast (watermelon with granola and fruit), and were on the beach readying our boat and equipment for a day of diving when the first tourist boat of the day arrived.To our surprise Rischard, one of our friends and an Isla de la Plata guide arrived and will be staying on the island for a couple of days doing some exploring of his own.In any case, we had an extra boat hand for the day which was nice.
Anto and I decided to head to the other side of the island near Playa Grande to look for sites.We had high hopes of swimming with sharks, though unfortunately we were skunked in that respect.The reef was beautiful though, full of fish, inverts, and beautiful gorgonias!I have never seen so many beautiful 3D corals in my life.Gorgonias not only have incredible shapes, but are also brilliantly colored!On our second dive I came across a Sea Horse!This was a first for me so I was going crazy with excitement giving Anto the motions for what I had found (picture us under the water in dive gear pretending we are riding a horse)!
We picked the little guy off his rock and watched him swim and flutter his tiny fins for a good 10 minutes.I was so happy and overwhelmed with excitement at the whole experience I started laughing uncontrollably, which caused Anto to laugh, and soon the entire water space around us was full of bubbles from our giggles!So, though we had little luck encountering black corals, we had two great dives full of fantastic marine life, underwater laughter, and we also managed to sneak in a good round of underwater acrobatics as we practiced our somersaults and upside down levitation.
Day #8
So it is day #8 for me on the island, and day #7 without a freshwater rinse.Unfortunately, the freshwater pump is broken so we have been unable to bathe since last week.Of course, we have been in the ocean every day, though my skin is beginning to take on the smell of my wetsuit, I can almost braid the hair under my arms, and the hair on my head is beginning to dread and I am pretty sure it smells funky as I seem to have little bugs flying around my head wherever I go.Oh, and I can't forget to mention how awesome and unfresh my clothes are beginning to smell!I already know where my first stop is going to be once I get back to Puerto Lopez…the Lavanderia!
Anto and I had 3 beautiful dives once again yesterday. We dove three reefs that neither of us had seen before and were surrounded by huge schools Surgeonfish, Triggerfish, Angelfish, Butterfly fish, and juvenile Snapper.Eels occupy many of the holes in the reef, along with small reef fish such as Cardinal fish, small Wrasse, Gobies, and Acupulco Majors.It is also very common to see rays on the sand below, Large Parrotfish eating algae from the rocks or corals from the reef, Pufferfish/Balloonfish, Trumpetfish, and Cornet fish swimming by calmly fluttering their little fins.
Day #9, #10, and #11
I am writing this last entry from Puerto Lopez.It is not surprising that after 8 days of walking trails and diving by day, and patrolling the beach by night, I was lacking energy and time to finish up the journal entries on the island. Anto and I spent more time underwater searching for black corals, and though we searched without much luck, we had an incredible time exploring all the different rocky as well as coral reefs around the island.We were even able to sneak in a night shore dive the last night on the island.The night dive was pretty uneventful in the sense that we didn't go very deep and stayed in relatively the same spot for the hour we were underwater.It was a neat experience however in the sense that the fish, turtles, and zooplankton that were in the water with us seemed to be very attracted to our lights so we had a lot of up close and personal encounters with the marine life.
It was an incredible experience with the turtles in particular.We had not been underwater for 2 minutes, were at about 2 meters depth, and no more than 10 meters from shore when we had our first contact with a turtle.After that, we were visited by at least 10 more throughout our dive.They were all really tranquil and seemed quite curious about our lights.In any case, I was able to stroke their fins, make eye contact with some for seconds at a time, help clean their carapace of algae and diatoms, etc.Also, we encountered many Cornetfish which are long (1/4m - 3/4m in length), thin fish resembling a cornet.They were incredible to watch as their entire body would change colors in front of your eyes!It was beautiful.In total after the night dive I added an additional 9 hours to my time under water; in total, I have spent almost an entire day under water since I began diving!
Other than the diving adventures, we made it up to the Farro, the tower that sits on the highest point on the island, offering a spectacular 360° view of The Mighty Pacific and Ecuador's coastline.The sun set was at 18h39 the day we went and we left the house at 18h05.The trail is certainly not groomed and a bit hard to follow.Needless to say, it was a quick, sporadic, and exhausting 2k jog uphill.We were however able to make it to the tower and climbed to the top just in time to watch the sun be swallowed by the ocean in the west Pacific with all the brilliant colors swirling around in the sky.
Two nights before we returned to Puerto Lopez Anto and I were invited by a fisherman friend to join he and his crew on one of the (subsistence) fishing boats for a night on the sea.It didn't take much convincing, and though I was a little afraid of getting sea sick decided this was an experience I didn't want to miss.
The experience was culturally enlightening and I will forever have an increased respect for these subsistence fishermen whose families make up 80% of the population in Puerto Lopez.It is normal to have three to four men on board, one captain and two or more deck hands who set the nets/lines, etc.When it is time to bring the gear in it is typical for all aboard to participate in this back breaking task. Not only is the work physically challenging but the men are on the water for days at a time, and if supplies last and the fishing isn't so great they can be out to sea for a week or more.It is hard work and the pay isn't that great, though it is all they know and as far as my experience went, these men seem to be in love with their work-it is their life.
The captain of the boat was the oldest, probably in his 50's and had a calm demeanor, one of a man who is very respectable, patient, and humble, only speaking when necessary and not even having to speak most of the time as his two deck hands took his signals by his driving maneuvers or hand motions.Being an observer of the whole process I was intrigued at this type of communication.Also, in contrast to my assumptions the boats are typically not made up of families.Luis, our friend who invited us aboard told us how many of his brothers and cousins are fishermen, however, it is uncommon to work on the same boat as other members of your family.A quick aside…once we began talking about family etc. with Luis I came to find out that one of his brothers is one of my friends who works in a cabaña on the beach.If you're from a small town you will understand that these types of connections are made every day but I still find them exciting and especially important when you meet someone and discover a mutual connection of someone you dearly love and/or respect.This connection was one of many small town type connections I have been a part of in my short time here and one that reminded me of my appreciation of the the fact that I am a small town girl, and that being said recognize the importance of these short distance associations between the people in a community and is reminder of the fact that you are living each day in connection with those around you...in short, I see it as being surrounded by love ;-)
Another interesting and insightful conversation was that of Luis' family.A bit sad really however, I have a hunch his family is like many here in Puerto Lopez…
Luis is 29 and his oldest of 5 children is 13.He has been married for almost as long and is not happy with his marriage in the least but is in acceptance that he must stay with his wife at least until the kids are grown up and can at least feed themselves.His wife it seems, is unhappy as well as they are constantly in disagreement, though he tells us, she is really only unhappy and frustrated toward him as she thoroughly enjoys being a mother of 5 and all the responsibilities that come with raising children (as likely she has been looking forward and preparing herself for these duties her entire life).
This is typical family dynamic... a couple who gets pregnant at a very young age and gets married as they are going to have a child together.This turns into a wife who is a stay-home mom and takes care of the children, doing all the cooking and cleaning and child raising, and a man working nearly every day of his life, making just enough money to feed his family and go on a short vacation to a nearby beach once or twice yearly. Luis told us how he prefers the boat over his household any day as his wife is always ragging on him for not working hard enough and telling him they need more money for this or that; and the reality is that most of the time these families are barely scraping by to feed their families let alone have a little spending money for other necessities such as cleaning supplies, toiletries, and clothes.
My first thought in all of this is, "but what about LOVE?!"How sad to be 'stuck' in a daily repetitious lifestyle, but having no other survival skills to get by in the case that you decide you want something better.I am assuming most of the couples here like Luis and his wife calmly (or violently in some cases) accept this way of life.Evidence of this unhappiness (in my opinion mind you) is the bar next to our house.It begins to fill with fishermen returning from the water on Friday afternoon and most of them are there until it is time to go back out to sea on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning.This example clearly portrays a man who is unsatisfied with his home life as he would rather spend the weekend drinking in a bar with his friends versus spending time with his family who he only gets to see once a week.
I tell this story not to discredit the Ecuadorian families. In fact, the people I meet here and talk with in general (women, men, and children) are very friendly, happy, humble in many aspects, and respectful souls.It is merely a reflection of my insight into a different outlook on life… Getting back to my first reaction to the whole situation..I am really turned off at first as Luis begins to tell us about his family situation. All I can think is, this is just crazy that a couple could settle for anything less than a life built on love, and how are you such a happy light-hearted person with this source of unhappiness and pain (to a certain degree) in your life?
I have never been married and don't have kids therefore don't know personally the changes that people, and the relationship goes through in a marriage, but I am a sucker for love and have such a strong belief in the fact that love carries all of us through, that it is hard for me to understand why some people live with this kind of unhappy family situation for their entire lives. At the same time, after hearing that Luis certainly doesn't get his loving energy from his family situation, I immediately wonder, then what makes this man so happy and content with the world?I begin to realize as the night goes on, by listening to the men interact and watching them work together on the boat, exactly where he gets his loving energy from.For Luis and others like him the exchange of love (aka energy for life) is between himself and the sea, and between himself and the men he works with. The energy on the boat was very serene and calm and you just don't get to have this kind of experience unless the energy of the people you are surrounded by is positive.
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