Isla de la Plata, known as "The Poor Man's Galapagos", is a small island that's about an hour and a half boat ride from Puerto Lopez. It's surprisingly barren most of the time, but apparently every few years a spurt of rain turns the whole place quite green. I have no Galapagos to compare it to, but I found the whole place fascinating. I'll let the photos do the talking.
An overview of one of the many footpaths snaking around the island.
These are Magnificent Frigatebirds, one of a few species of birds to call the island home (a certain other deserves it's own post). Though I'm not sure they warrant their particular adjective, they are quite interesting in their own way. The photo above is actually something of a tragic scene. You see, the male Magnificent Frigatebird puffs out a bright red throat pouch in mating season. See that small patch of red in the photo above (click to enlarge)? Mating season is well underway for these birds and that unlucky bachelor seems to be the only one on the island without a partner.
Some cliffs of Isla de la Plata. Legend has it that the pirate Sir Francis Drake hid a large amount of silver near those cliffs (Isla de la Plata translates to "Silver Island") but, after extensive snorkeling, I didn't find any of it.
An overview of one of the many footpaths snaking around the island.
