Isla de la Plata

On Saturday we were up, packed, out of the hostal and had eaten breakfast by 7:55am. After everyone was ready, we headed to the beach to take a boat to "The Poor Man's Galapagos," also known as Isla de la Plata. They didn't have docks, so we had to wade out to the boat we were going to take to the island. On the way we passed all the fishermen bringing in their catches. There were sharks, ling cod, sea bass, and even a marlin! Anyways, we waded out to our boat and got ready for the hour and twenty minute ride to the island. The boat was nothing like I expected - it had two outboard motors and a canvas covering. AN ADVENTURE! On our way to the island we saw five humpback whales! One of them even jumped out of the water right in front of us! The rest of the ride was pretty smooth. Upon our arrival to the island, we waded in, put our shoes on and started our two hour hike. On the hike we saw lizards, and blue footed boobies. We also saw another bird that puffs up a red sack on it's chest when it is mating. It was pretty sweet. I was also amazing to see how dry and brown the landscape was. It looked like a desert. After our hike we did some snorkeling. It was pretty cool! We saw a tortoise, quite a few different kinds of fish and some sea stars. The ride back was a bit bumpier, but I thought it was great! When we got back to the mainland we jumped on the bus and headed to Montanita, about an hour away. After checking into our hostal, we discovered that if someone was showering on the first floor, people on the second and third floor had no water to shower, wash their hands, or use the toilet. A bit frustrating at times, but the view was worth it! After everyone was showered we headed out to dinner. We ate at a place that made their own pasta. The food was good and the wine was cheap. ;-) After dinner we went out to explore the night life. Oh, the fun we had! We went to a bar called HolaOla where six dollars bought you unlimited well drinks! After a couple hours at the bar we went to the beach for a quick swim. The water was perfect, however I was the only one of the four who left the beach unscathed. Apparently there was a rock hiding in the depths that Rachel and Scott busted their feet open on and Susan scratched her hand on. So we went back to the hostal, Susan broke out her first aid kit and we played doctors! After that, we tucked ourselves into our mosquito nets and fell asleep. A GREAT DAY!