Chacahua Lagoon

Tuesday

A new experience today. We were picked up shortly after 9 a.m., met our tour guide and people we would spend the day with.
First couple are from Montreal, she very French, he very English. Second couple were from Switzerland, she could speak English and Spanish okay - he was very French but managed some English. He said they have been married 28 years. There was also a young couple who mostly spoke French but used English as well. He also was conversant in Spanish. Two young ladies, one from Italy and one from Spain were travelling together and could manage both Spanish and English well.

Typically, as soon as we got on Highway 200, our driver stopped for gas.

Our first real stop of the day was to see some century old 'strangler' trees. The trees grow up and around other trees, such as tall palm trees, and eventually they suffocate the life out of the inside tree. The story is that the seeds came from Africa, they are only known in a small area on the west coast of Mexico. Some of the locals in that area definitely have the darker skin and curly hair suggesting African heritage.



35 kilometres N.W, then we turn off the highway to Zapotalito. Here we board a panga (with a 69 hp engine) and good seats for 8 of the 10 tourists. It accommodates us well and we begin a comfortable trip through a huge lagoon, we calculate probably 30 k long. The lagoon is so big it has mangrove islands, some of which sustain life, one which has about 6 families on it - complete with their own church and school.




The trip is slowish so that we can enjoy the exotic birds which nest and live in these mangroves. Eg. great blue heron, little blue heron, tiger heron and green heron, osprey, white and brown pelicans, frigates, cormorants, terns, vultures, common black hawk, snowy egrets, great egrets and cattle egrets.

One and a half hours later we stopped at a village where crocodiles are raised and protected. When they are 8 years old, they are released into the lagoon.

From there it was a quick trip across the water to our noon stop on the largest mangrove island which borders the ocean. The beach and ocean here are gorgeous. Lots of perfect waves, perfect sand, very isolated yet at least 6 little beach cafes open and some cabins available to rent.

The waiter welcomed us, we choose a table, he told us that we could order and in an hour our meal would be ready. He wasn't kidding!! We waited over an hour and then Jim ate his sea bass (caught in the lagoon) and I stuck with the shrimp fried with garlic.



While we were waiting for our meal we wandered down to the beach (I had put my bathing suit on) and of course I could not stay out of the water. It was fun but nobody else was in then (of our group) so I played for a bit and then got out. Oh to be 20 years old and have a surf board!!!












The return trip to the village and van was quite a bit speedier in our panga. What a great boat they are. The skipper told us that the boat could easily plane at 50 k/h, with 12 people in it! The actual ride was slower and the water was quite choppy but it wasn't obvious to us.

Again we saw 'islands' with the trees full of birds which were getting settled for the night.

The drive back to the city was quiet - except for the loud music our tour guide thought we'd like (he didn't ask!!)