Thursday, Apr 7, 2016
I don’t remember the last time I was up before 5:30 am. Oh wait, yes I do…when I was working! 😉
Our day started at 6 am as two Moto Tricicles arrived at our hotel to bring us to the dock. 
Paco was at the dock to meet us and introduced us to his two sons, Ricky and Ricardo. No kidding, right? Does he know about I Love Lucy? 
The sons would be taking us out this morning and setting our lines to trawl for fish. The older son, Ricardo, is 29, and Ricky is 16. Ricky just wanted to pull his hoodie over his eyes and sleep the entire trip. Ricardo would give him a brotherly kick to get him up when help was needed.
I could only imagine the conversation Paco had with Ricky this morning…
Ricky: Papa, I don’t want to go hang out with the gringos all day!
Paco: If you want to have dinner tonight you will go help your brother and stop whining.
Ricky: I’m not whining, and Ricardo never lets me drive the boat…
…and so it may have went.
https://youtu.be/_ERAOAI82aE%20
We traveled down the coast about an hour before we came to this rock island. Ricky set the fishing lines and we looped around the island hoping a big fish would go for the one of the different lures we were using. 
Before we left the hotel, we drew names for the order we would reel in the fish as they got hooked on our lines. Easton drew #1 and after about 20 minutes one of the lines had a strike. Easton grabbed the pole and began reeling it in.
https://youtu.be/lUFc2V_p7r4%20
It became apparent this was not a big fish because a couple times while reeling in, we had to ask if anything was on the end of the line. 
 At the end of Easton’s line though was a Pargo, which might be good for a small fish stew. We were excited because it meant there are fish here, and hopefully a Yellow Fin Tuna was one of them!
The clocked ticked on, the boat circled the rock island again…and again…and again. We watched the ends of the fishing poles for any signs of activity, looked at every nook and cranny on the rock island, and made chit chat as the hours passed. About mid morning Ricky broke out the ham and cheese sandwiches for us that were probably made by Paco’s wife. I was hungry, and as basic as they were made, I was glad to have them.
Debbie drew #2, and eventually there was a second strike. She got up, grabbed the pole and began reeling it in. Unfortunately, the fish never got hooked. Part of the problem was that the hooks were pretty rusted and not sharp. Looks like Paco could have Ricky doing some maintenance for him in between tours. 😉
After about 3 hours in this spot fishing, Ricardo took us to another bay. We circled around various rock islands, up and down shorelines, all to no avail. There just didn’t seem to be any fish tempted with what we had to offer.
The area we were in had a couple buoys that attracted fish for snorkeling. We tied up to one of them and got into the cool ocean water. It was hot out and it felt good to be moving around in the water.
I saw a couple of Parrot fish, and some other types as well, but the fish were limited. Still, just spending time swimming was a real treat.
By the time we pulled back into Puerto Lopez, the lone Pargo was the only fish caught today. It was disappointing, but that is the life of the fisherman. Some days are definitely better than others. We left the fish for Ricky’s dinner.
After dropping our things off back at the hotel, we headed out in search of coffee and other beverages. We found a great spot along the malecon. It had an upstairs with open windows where the breeze blew through and provided a great view of the ocean. We stayed there for a couple of hours enjoying coffee, drinks, and a great pizza while we talked about our fishing trip, and shared stories of other past adventures.
We had a beautiful sunset tonight! 
 A fishing trawler passed the ball of fire sitting on the ocean and its silhouette 
could be seen in front of the sun. This was what we got to enjoy just before dinner.
We wrapped up the evening with dinner at Patacone Pias’o. It serves Columbian dishes. It is a very popular restaurant in Puerto Lopez, has excellent food, and is just a tiny place with a dirt and rock floor. I loved it!
Chao!
Recent Comments