Crocodiles, and Birds, and Turtles, Oh My!
16 April 2015
Terri Potts-Chattaway
February 20, 2015
Today a third party joined us; Rae & Don and their two children, Ameena and Henry from s/v The Vortex. That made us a group of eight with Jay and me and Kathy and Jim. We dropped off our dinghies at Gloria's again and headed up the road to La Tavara Tours.
Here we were offered two different options. For 120 pesos per person they will take you sight-seeing up the river and at the end is a fresh water spring and restaurant. We stop here for an hour and then return.
The second option, for 150 pesos per person, includes the Cocodrilario where we went yesterday. (That means we actually ended up spending more money by going with David! But if we hadn't gone with David, we wouldn't have had that adventure, so … no sour grapes.) Obviously, we chose option one.
We had heard the jungle tour was worth it, and it was. Immediately upon leaving we were in dense foliage on both sides of the river and even reaching overhead, creating a canopy of tree limbs. Much quieter than David, our guide, Jordan, was constantly on the lookout and spotted various species of birds. Amongst them we saw a Blue Heron, an Egret, an Eagle and a Duck-Billed Heron – who even made a sound like a duck. We were told there are over 300 different species of birds in this area.
We also saw a couple of baby crocodiles and one very large one.
We caught a glimpse of a few turtles sunning themselves, but they were quite shy and when they heard our voices, slipped into the water and disappeared.
We also passed an iguana sleeping on a tree limb.
And out there, in the middle of the jungle, were three structures made of wood rising out of the water. They reminded me of tree houses without trees. Jordan told us they were built for a Mexican movie location.
About thirty minutes later, we stopped at Tavara Springs, where the swimming hole was protected from crocodiles with a wire fence. The water was fresh and cool and a delightful relief from the humidity and heat.
After swimming a bit, we sat at the “restaurant.” (more like a snack bar) and watched as the children and some adults used the rope swing/trapeze to jump into the water.
As promised, one hour later, we loaded up the boat and headed back to Matanchen.
It was an amazing -maybe even once in lifetime – experience. A must-do tour when visiting the area.