We said goodbye to Ek Balam and boarded a taxi to Rio Lagartos. Rio Lagartos is located on a spit of land that extends out into a brackish lagoon. The lagoon is home to a whole host of birds, fish, and also crocodiles!
After dropping our things off at the hotel we walked along the marina (there are lots and lots of boats) toward our tour departure point. We arrived a few minutes early and had a snack at the restaurant owned by the same company that owned the tour company. Remy finally found a place that serves chicken nuggets. Afterwards we got to watch them clean and prepare the fish for the restaurant. Lots of fish guts!
Our tour went out into the channel between the mangrove forests, and we quickly found our first crocodile. It was a medium sized croc lounging in the water. It would probably be a stretch to say that the crocodiles are domesticated, but they are quite used to boats. Our guide mentioned that the bigger the crocodile the less they care about the tourists.
The lagoon is also home to an incredible amount of birds including spoonbills, egrets, herons, hawks, osprey, ibis, cormorants, gulle, and more. Even seeing just the birds, or just the crocodiles would have made the tour worthwhile, but we got to see both. We continued through the mangroves and ended up seeing several more crocodiles.
As our boat wove deeper into the mangroves, we quickly lost sight of civilization. The forest blocks out any view of the city, and only the occasional passing boat provides a reminder the human habitation is less than a mile away. Even without all the wildlife, the mangroves themselves provide an exceptional excursion. Our guide provided us with lots of information regarding the mangrove ecosystem and how interconnected it is, with the mangroves even helping to prevent damage from hurricanes and storms.
Once our tour was finished we walked back through town, stopping at the playground and a cafe to get Remy a poleta (popsicle). At 3pm we were able to check into our room. Our room was on the third floor and had a private balcony that afforded an excellent view of the water. Everyone had some quiet time before we went walking in search of an early dinner. We settled on seafood (chicken for Remy) and went back to the hotel. We had absorbed a lot of sun while out on the boat so an early bedtime seemed to be in everyone's best interest.
We had an early bird watching tour booked with the same company but Remy woke up with a very stuffy nose so we decided to shorten the tour to give him more time to rest for a bit in the morning. We got breakfast at the restaurant next door (pancakes of course) and started our tour at 9am instead of 730.
The second tour was similar to the first, but the mangroves seemed to be much more active in the morning. Whereas yesterday we were on a mission to see as much as possible, today's outing was more focused on a few spots and seeing a variety of things. Our first stop was next to an enormous crocodile laying on the beach. We parked next to him for 10 to 15 minutes and I don't think he moved once other than to slowly open and close his mouth. Perhaps it was a prop?
Near the end of the tour we headed out a bit farther than the previous day and got to see some recently arrived flamingos near the salt pools (where they manufacture salt). With everything checked off our list we quickly zipped back to the hotel to catch our transfer to the ferry to Isla Holbox.
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