Tovara River Birding

Our hotel had very thick, old walls and good air conditioning so we had a very peaceful night. A light breakfast of coffee, toast, jam, fruit and cookies was served outside of our door at 7 a.m. and then we headed out to see some birds.

The reason that we came to San Blas was to go on a river cruise up the Tovar’s River to see some of the many birds that inhabit this area.

First a taxi ride to the dock area.

Then an hour and a half slow boat trip starting out in a wonderful mangrove swamp. The guide helped to point out and identify the various tropical birds, alligators, turtles and iguanas that live in this natural habitat.

We didn’t write down the names of the birds that we saw but I remember that we did spot several boat-billed herons, kingfishers, flycatchers, woodpeckers, doves, ibis, a great white heron, swallows, an osprey, vultures, chachalacas, anhingas and more. This area is home to more than 300 species of migratory and local bird species. In fact, over 80% of the migratory birds come here during the winter months from North America, making San Blas, Mexico’s best, ‘undisputed’ birding location. That is why birders have come from all over for the International Birding Festival that was being held in the town.

One of our favourite moments occurred when we were watching up-close, a tree full of swallows. They didn’t seem bothered by us and then in a ‘puff’ all of them flew away. It was like watching a giant dandelion seed puffball had been blown upon. Very magical.

We continued on and came to an open area where part of the Cabeza de Vaca movie set remained - little houses on stilts in the river.

Eventually, we arrived at a swimming hole (which is fenced in securely, as it is in the same river as the crocodiles!), and our driver let us off for an hour to swim, lounge or grab a snack at the small restaurant. The water in the river was warm but refreshing and we had the whole swimming hole to ourselves.

The guide returned and we had a fun speedy boat ride back to the docks. The excursion was well-worth the $10 Cdn admission.

On the back to town, we thought about getting out of the combi and walking to the Contaduria fort, built in 1760. We changed our minds when we realized that we had to hike up a steep hill in the early afternoon heat. I guess that it will be something new to do if we ever visit San Blas again. The fort was also a counting house for the Spanish and has quite the history.

When we got back to town, we had to wait around a bit for the bus, which gave us time for a lunch in the square and time to people watch. Kids were getting out of school so it is always fun to see what they are up to. Gail had time to get a haircut and I went on a successful search for postcards for our grandkids and stamps.

Just before catching the bus, we took a 1/4 of a gravol which made our trip back to Las Varas on the Nayar bus, easy. Then a taxi to Chacala. We didn’t feel like making dinner so a ‘hamburger and fries’ dinner at the Surfer Boys restaurant was next on our agenda. We are so spoiled. On the way home we picked up our washed, dried and folded laundry ($2.80 cdn).

Mexico ... With a little patience, a few dollars, no expectations of perfection and a ‘go with the flow’ attitude, you can have a pretty good life here.Read more