I Visited Isla De La Plata Island

Index

Ecuador

In the fall of 2007, I joined a tour of Ecuador organized by Fox Travel. It was a small group made up of people from all over The Netherlands, not a singles tour (Geen Singlereizen). The tour was led by a Dutch tour leader and an Ecuadorian bus driver, while local guides joined us whenever the group visited a particular area or attraction. Traveling with a group allowed me to see many different parts of Ecuador. Most excursions took place during transfers between destinations, making the journey itself an important part of the experience. In addition, several optional excursions could be booked, and there was usually plenty of free time to explore some of the stops on my own. One of the stops was Puerto López, where I had the opportunity to book an additional excursion to Isla de la Plata.

Poor Man's Galápagos

In 2007, I was working for STOGO Onderzoek + Advies, which meant that my vacation days were limited. I simply did not have enough time to include the Galápagos Islands in my travel plans. Fortunately, I still had the chance to visit what is jokingly referred to as the "Poor Man's Galápagos": Isla de la Plata. There was nothing poor about the experience, and I was delighted that I decided to spend the extra money on this optional excursion. Unlike the Galápagos Islands, Isla de la Plata attracts far fewer visitors. I loved the quietness and the opportunity to enjoy nature without the crowds. The island is home to an abundance of wildlife, and seeing so many animals in such a quiet setting made the trip one of the highlights of my journey through Ecuador.

Blue-Footed & Red-Footed Boobies

The animals everyone hopes to spot on Isla de la Plata are the blue-footed boobies and red-footed boobies. Fortunately, there were plenty of them. I took countless photographs during the excursion, but unfortunately most of my pictures from Ecuador were lost years later in a computer or laptop crash. Neither species is currently considered endangered, but both face challenges that have led to population declines in certain areas. The blue-footed booby depends heavily on sardines for food. Around the Galápagos Islands, declining sardine populations have made the population of blue-footed boobies decline on the Galapagos. The red-footed booby faces different threats. Unlike its blue-footed relative, it nests in trees and bushes, making its breeding colonies vulnerable to introduced predators such as rats, dogs, and cats. Human disturbance and habitat loss caused by deforestation also pose risks to nesting sites. Seeing both species was the highlight of my visit to Isla de la Plata.

Isla De La Plata

Reaching Isla de la Plata requires a boat trip of about one to one and a half hours from Puerto López. Once on the island, visitors can follow various hiking trails that wind through the dry, hilly landscape. A guide is helpful for spotting wildlife, as the animals are not always easily visible to tourists. Other animals inhabiting the island include the Nazca booby; it looks rather ordinary compared to the blue-footed and red-footed boobies. Other wildlife found there includes frigatebirds with their striking red throat pouches, lizards, and various other seabirds. Only a handful of people from our already small travel group decided to join the excursion to Isla de la Plata. The combination of a boat trip and a hike across a sunny, hilly island was not for everyone. For me, however, it was one of the highlights of my trip through Ecuador.