Jungle river trip
27 December 2008 | San Blas, Nayarit, MX
VC

WELCOME, THE TIP DEPEND OF A GOOD SERVICE. THANK. This is the endearing greeting painted on the side of the bow of the lancha (launch) we boarded for the jungle cruise up to Tovara Springs and the crocodile nursery. Tovara Springs is the source of most of the San Blas's water.
At 7.00 am.we walked the kilometer from Matanchen Bay beach to the departure site for the jungle cruise. The early time was suggested so that we would see the most birds and reptiles. Our guide and lancha pilot was Ramon who had an easy smile and eyes sharper than a sailor's penknife for spotting the wildlife camouflaged among the mangroves, bromeliads, lilies, ferns and matted rafts of root and debris along the banks of the river.
It is a twitcher's heaven with a riot of species of heron, red headed kingfishers, egrets and snail eating hawks swooping among the mangrove branches or preening themselves in the fresh morning air. Iguanas peered at us with disdain from the tangled mangrove roots and turtles, crabs and carp did their thing, apparently not even noticing our presence.
At our point of departure, the river water is salty, brackish and the color of 70% dark chocolate, but as the journey towards the spring progresses, the water sweetens, becoming clear as glass and incredibly inviting until you spot the first crocodile sunning itself next to that sparkly pool of water. Gulp! I have never seen a wild crocodile before, it is quite a thrill. These giants were once hunted to near extinction along these banks, but now they are protected and in The Cocodilarillo, they are bred and nursed to restock the Estuario San Cristobal. We chose to visit the breeding area and there you can get close enough to count a crocodile's teeth and check if he has been flossing after meals.
Two hours later Ramon sped us back the way we had come in long sweeping curves following the twists of the river banks. We digested some of the names of the birds we had seen; Pico de Bote (Boat billed Heron), Corona Negra (Black Headed Heron) and Anhinga (Snake Cormorant) feeling that we had truly been initiated into the tropics.