Day 397: Whale watching off the coast of Puerto Lopez

Whale watching has been on my to-do list for quite sometime now. And once I found out it was a possibility to do on this trip- in Northern Peru, or in Ecuador, I got excited. I may have even started singing Will You Be There in my head every time Andrew and I discussed when and where we were going to go whale watching. Once we decided we were going to go whale watching off the coast of Puerto Lopez, I may have wondered what the chances were of a whale breaching over me standing on top of our boat with my arms outstretched while water rained down over me. Although we were on the tail end of the season, other travelers we had met had good luck seeing some whales and we thought it was worth a try. The humpback whales stop along the coast of Ecuador between June and September to mate and give birth before heading to the polar waters. So we hoped to catch a few loiterers on their way out. We also decided to take a tour of the Isla de la Plata. It’s known as ‘The Poor Man’s Galapagos’ so if we didn’t see any whales, at least we’d see some other animals and birds on the island!

When I first heard that the whales mate and give birth during that time period off the coast of Ecuador, I wondered how long the gestation period is, thinking it had to be impossible for an entire whale to be made within a couple of months. According to Wikipedia, Females typically breed every two or three years. The gestation period is 11.5 months, yet some individuals have been known to breed in two consecutive years. The peak months for birth are January, February, July, and August, with usually a one- to two–year period between humpback births. They can live up to 48 years.

That answered a few questions.

Our guide also told us that if the whales were moving fast, they would need to surface often for air. If they were hanging out in the water, chances are we wouldn’t see them that often. On our way to the island, we saw one whale surface and could see water being blown up a couple of times, but then the big guy disappeared.

As our boat pulled up to the island, sea turtles swam around in the bay reminding me and Andrew of our sea turtle experience in Zanzibar. Now, I’m all for hiking and trekking through natural habitats, but had I known what (little) we were in store for, I would not have paid extra to take a tour of the Isla de la Plata. Birds are cool, but only seeing two species of birds when we were expecting more, and other animals as well, was a bit of a let down. Here’s some Booby pictures for you nonetheless. I feel it’s my duty to mention that halfway through our trek on the island, Andrew leaned in and whispered “I never thought I’d hear this come out of my mouth… but I’m a little tired of all of the Boobies.” I couldn’t have agreed more.

We walked to a few high points of the island, dodging Blue-footed Boobies all along the trail. They like to nest in open areas. The island was mostly covered in scrub brush and thorny looking plants and a few trees. The only open areas were the paths that were cleared for visitors. We had to walk in single file past each nest and weren’t able to stop. Some Boobies would get scared, and you could see their throat fluttering, pulsing even, but they would never leave their nest. They were interesting to see, but between them, and the numerous Frigatebirds on the island simply didn’t leave me begging to stay on the island.

After we walked around the island, we were served lunch (sandwiches and fresh fruit) and then immediately after we were finished eating, it was time to snorkel. Like our guide never had a 10-20 minute time-out from swimming rule after eating or something. Andrew and I both got in, but my first mask was broken and then by the time I got a good mask, I realized the water was too cloudy to see anything anyway and it was time to go. (I now look forward to our future shorter vacations where I can more easily bring along my own snorkel gear!)

I worried slightly that we were just going to head back to Puerto Lopez, and not get a chance to look for any more whales. But we headed further away from the island (and the mainland) in search of more! We saw quite a few, but right as half of us turned to sit down, the other half of the boat gasped as the whale we were just following breached in the distance. Of course, I missed it. Later, another whale seemed to follow right alongside our boat for awhile, but the pictures simply didn’t turn out. The most I was able to capture was several backs protruding out of the water and fins that were playfully slapping the water. It was like some of the whales knew we were there, knew we were watching and wanted to show off. Another couple of travelers we met, got really lucky and saw the same whale breach several times. They too, said they thought he (or she) was showing off.

We probably didn’t see much, compared to how much we would have been able to see had we been in Ecuador a couple months ago. But it was breathtaking nonetheless. These whales are just so enormous that it makes you wonder how it’s even possible for something so big to exist in the first place. And so peaceful. They swim about, look like they are playing, and if you’re lucky enough you get to see it all. Amazing. This earth is simply amazing.

Day 367: Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America. According to our guide for the afternoon, 60% of it is Peruvian and 40% of it is Bolivian. However, he assured us if we were to find ourselves on the Bolivian side of the lake, we would be told that 60% is Bolivian. While the lake itself provides some beautiful scenery, its popularity stems more from the people who live on the lake. Tours go daily out to man-made islands, known as the Uros Islands, and the natural islands, Taquile and Amanatani (if you have time). We opted for a day tour to see one of the Uros Islands and Taquile. It was interesting – a little Disneyland-esque at times, but beautiful and I was finally able to have some fun with my Polaroid camera again! Which may have been my favorite part!

Per usual, we were picked up early in the morning only to drive around the city for an hour picking up others at their respective hotel before we even made it to the boats. I’m all for a hotel pick-up, but after a year of driving around in circles to pick up everyone else, I don’t see what’s so bad about telling everyone to be at a specific place by a certain time. It would guarantee an extra hour of sleep (at least) for all! Once we got on our boat, we waited for about fifteen minutes before the tour operator boarded the boat explaining that we could get upgraded to a faster boat if we joined a more expensive tour. The only catch was that we weren’t able to discuss this upgrade with the other boat members. Great! Except, why weren’t we told upon booking that our boat was going to take three hours to get to the Uros islands in the first place? It was all a little strange and I couldn’t help but wonder what was really going on. But we got on the “faster boat” that looked remarkably similar to our first boat and we were soon cruising across the lake towards the Uros Islands.

A close friend had warned me about the islands, saying they were a little on the touristy side. Trip Advisor forums went one step further, equating the experience to Disneyland and even suggesting the islands aren’t really inhabited these days, and they are more or less set up for tourists. Especially those who are in the market for some “one of a kind” souvenirs to take home (cough cough… Mom. cough).

When our boat landed, we were immediately greeted by the women of the island and told to sit in the center of the island for a brief presentation. It was here we met the president of the island and we were told how the island was built (layers and layers of reeds), how the island doesn’t have any electricity (but does have some solar panels), and how if you need to go to the bathroom, you have to climb into a boat and go to another island 20 minutes away. It was then I realized that I probably couldn’t live on the Uros. I’d spend more time paddling to and from the bathroom than anything else! We were told that the 40+ islands rotate daily to receive tours. This is so they can go about their daily life during the days they don’t have visitors and to give every island an opportunity to make some money (to be blunt about it). This is completely understandable, but halfway through our presentation, two other boats pulled up and suddenly the little man-made island, smaller than a basketball court was inundated with tourists.

We were already part of a group of about 30-40 people. Once other boats pulled up and people were walking around us shopping, while we were trying to learn about the island completely transformed this “Oh, what a cool little island” into “Ohmigod I hate being a tourist.” We were then shuffled to the back of the island, presumably so the next group could have a meet and greet with the president. A giant reed gondola awaited to take everyone for a spin (for an additional fee). Think Venice, only instead of just you and your significant other on the boat, it was you and forty other strangers crammed together. It was something I didn’t need to do, and instead hung back to take some Polaroids and hand them out to the women (and children) of the island.

Once one of the mothers figured out what I was up to, she motioned for me to hold on and disappeared into one of the houses, returning a second later with different clothes for the baby. She changed her outfit, pulled all of her children together and then we took another picture. Then she set the baby down and asked for a picture just of the baby. It was a lot of fun (much more so than sitting on top of another tourist on the full gondola) and it makes taking pictures a much more interactive activity! I have to admit, I feel better about taking pictures when I’m able to give a physical print to the subject right away.

Afterwards we hung around waiting for everyone to finish shopping. Had it just been one boat full of people, it would have been great. But maybe because the island was still overwhelmed with tourists and I could easily hear an older American couple haggle- rudely- for a cheaper price when they could obviously afford the extra $0.50 equivalent made me ready to leave.

Of course, we all seemed to board our respective boats at the same time… I quickly climbed up to the roof of the boat to get a few shots of the island as we sped towards Taquile. Like clockwork, the women lined up to greet the next boat. I wonder how many boats land each day. In the hour or so that we were there, four to five boats had landed!

Taquile is one of the natural islands in the middle of Lake Titicaca. It was used as a prison during the Spanish reign and didn’t become the property of the Taquileños (people of Taquile) until 1970! There aren’t any cars, and no electricity on the island. It’s quiet and has some beautiful scenery- not only on the island itself, but surrounding it as well. We learned immediately that handmade yarn and weaving is a pretty big deal here. Nearly every woman we saw was spinning yarn, and nearly every man was knitting. The men wear special knitted hats to communicate if they are single or married.

While the textile industry is still huge, they make most of their money from tourism these days. 40,000 tourists visit each year! Our guide also informed us that the population is shrinking as many of the younger generations are leaving the island to go to school or get a job on the mainland where they can make more money than if they were to stay on Taquile. When we arrived to the main plaza, a photo shoot was in the making. I wanted to ask what it was for, but after hearing the photographers speak Spanish, I got a little shy about my shoddy Spanish skills and simply watched instead, jealous of their reflector. 

We ducked into the textile market full of colorful knitwear and woven goods.

Back out on the plaza, we took turns taking pictures in front of a sign reminding us of just how far away from home we are. Although, Andrew and I just might be closer than we’ve ever been on this trip!

These two little guys had trouble getting their drinks opened and asked Andrew for some help. When I looked over they were just sitting together enjoying the view. I had to take a picture… and then handed my camera off to Mom while I pulled out the Polaroid. At first they were a little confused- needing to reload the paper didn’t help matters. It’s also a rather slow camera. It’s not like a traditional Polaroid that spits out a photo immediately. It uses different paper, and while technologically impressive, it often requires a lot of “wait for it…” gestures and holding the camera up to a child’s ear so they can hear that something magical is about to happen. These two were pretty patient about it all.

After they asked for a second photo (one for each) they said something in Spanish that I didn’t understand. I looked at Andrew, and he didn’t get it either. We asked them to repeat what they said and another tourist passing by told us “They want a tip.”

“A TIP?” I looked at everyone surprised, even though this certainly isn’t the first time I’ve been asked for a tip for something or other on this trip. “But I gave you two photos! A gift! Why should I give you a tip?” I responded, in English, laughing. The other tourist rolled his eyes understanding my sentiments exactly.

We walked around the island, following a mostly stone path down the hill we had climbed up to the plaza. A few locals passed us by, or sat off to the side knitting, and asking for tips if you wanted a picture or two. We stopped at a small house with a large picnic table set up outside where we all sat down for lunch while we saw another presentation of how a plant was crushed into soap and then used to clean a dirty piece of wool. After lunch, their style of dress was explained to us and then we watched a small dance that was made adorable by the participation of an adorable little girl who was not afraid of asking tourists to dance.

After the dance, she was sent around with a tip basket. Everyone acknowledged and laughed about their most excellent business model, using her to collect tips that wouldn’t otherwise be given. When all of the festivities were over, we walked down to our boat and made our way back to Puno. I would have really liked to see Amanatani, the other, further island- but it requires an overnight stay because it’s so far to get to. It’s supposedly the least touristy island of the three- which made me want to see it all the more. I think the three (including the overnight) and Sillustani could have been crammed into two very full days, but we were already on a tight schedule and I’ll just have to save Amanatani for next time- with a side trip to and possibly through Bolivia!