My Palm Pilot wakes me at 6:15. I go down to rouse
Mitch (he didn’t bring a clock,) throw a little water on my face, slather myself
with sunscreen and get dressed. A little iced coffee gets the motor running.
Our van arrives precisely on time and we meet Michael Malone, our guide, and
our fellow tour-mates, an extended family from Ontario: Christy, Catherine (mother
of Christy), John (Christy’s boyfriend/husband,) Grant and Nan (John’s parents,)
and Robin (John’s sister.) Catherine’s husband is back at the hotel suffering
a little stomach disorder.
Michael whips us all into shape and we drive about 10 miles west of Puerto to a boat landing. This is Los Negros, a community where 300 years ago, escaped slaves settled after a shipwreck. A common occurrence in the Mexico coast.
Next to the landing there is a small palapa restaurant. We pee (a
scorpion comes to help me wash up) and check out the big map of the lagoon to
see our route. I get into the boat with little difficulty and the assistance
of all. We are introduced to our boatman, Lalo. Michael hands out great binoculars
to everyone in the boat (since his summer job in Canada is selling binoculars,
he has a few on hand.)
From Michael’s web site:
Laguna Manialtepec is located 10 miles west of Puerto Escondido.
During the rainy season, the Río Manialtepec breaks through its sandbar and
the lagoon becomes a tidal estuary. There are 100’s of species of birds–cormorant,
anhinga, herons (including great blue, little blue, black-crowned night heron),
ibis, parrots, egrets, ducks, jacanas (lily walkers).
Michael Malone is a naturalist from Canada, formerly employed by
the Canadian Wildlife Service. He has spent the last 23 winters in Puerto Escondido,
and currently leads birding trips in Oaxaca for the Audubon Society and Quest
Nature Tours. He is the guide for the Manialtepec a.m. trips, for Thursday Chacahua
trips, and for most of the Sunset Cruise trips.
NOTE: on the rare occasion when M. Malone is not available the
trips will be led by his wife Joan Walker, who is also very well informed about
tropical ecology and this region after living here the past 23 winters.
When not living in Pto. Escondido for the 4 winter months Malone &
Walker operate Pelee Wings Nature Store, near Point Pelee National Park, Canada.
The boatman is a local fisherman/guide employed to operate the motor, leaving the guide free to answer questions regarding tropical ecology, to identify birds, and to ensure your safety and comfort. When interesting bird life or plants are encountered the motor is stopped to ensure respect for the wildlife and allow for good quality photos.
The “boca barra”, or river mouth at Manialtepec opens to the ocean for the six month rainy season, but closes off for the dry season October to May. On our beach break you can experience both the tranquil lagoon and the crashing Pacific surf.
Our most popular excursion is offered daily each morning Monday through Saturday except Thursday. This trip is for people interested in tropical birding or for those who would like a close-up look at the remarkable tropical plant and animal life of Oaxaca’s coastal lagoons. Manialtepec- “the place of spring-fed waters”, is a tranquil mangrove encircled lagoon hosting a rich diversity of wetland bird life; we’ll glide quietly past tropical waders – herons, ibis, and egrets, watching for more exotic species like Roseate Spoonbill, White-fronted Parrot, Boat-billed Heron and Bare-throated Tiger Heron. In addition there are great photo opportunities for magnificent displays of tropical flowers, luxuriant mangrove forest, and fishermen at work from their dugout canoes. Bring along a camera, hat, sunscreen, and if you have them – binoculars. Brunch will be on a secluded beach at 9:30; bring along fruit, juice, sandwiches, etc. The trip is for 4 to 10 persons.
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 The Boat Dock at Las Negras |
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The Red Mangrove Swamp Surrounds Manialtepec Lagoon |
| Heading into One of the MItch has his "cuppa" |
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We are soon into the beautiful glassy lagoon surrounded by magnificent red mangroves. A short distance later, we stop at a fishing boat landing where the fishermen show us the varieties of fish caught that day: lisa, catfish, crabs and snapper.
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The Fishing Boat Landing Where We Got to Inspect the Day's Catch Sara Plays with her New Camera |
Out into the lagoon again. Lalo has previously hacked a path through the mangrove into a hidden lagoon. And we are soon dodging mangrove branches and roots as we snake through the water way. The water is brackish but very clean.
| The Incredible Tangle of
Roots and Branches |
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We play Chinese fire drill in the boat a couple of times, as Lalo tries to “trim” the boat. Ha! That’s just a euphemism to get all the fat people evenly distributed.
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More Red Mangroves - Reflected in the Perfect Stillness of the Lagoon |
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Can You Find the Heron on a Branch? |
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Birds are everywhere. It is still early and they are out sunning and feeding in abundance. We spot pelicans, cormorants, ten varieties of heron, white ibis, vultures, ducks, ospreys, hawks, stilts, jacanas, sandpipers, gulls, terns, doves, parakeets, a parrot, anis, kingfishers, woodpeckers, kiskadees, kingbirds, magpies, martins, swallows, grackles and my personal favorite: the Magnificent Frigatebird. We also spot some not-so-small iguanas.
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Magnificent Frigatebird in Flight |
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Boat-billed Heron |
 White Ibis in Flight |
 Great Blue Heron |
 Great Egret and Cattle Egret |
At length, we are out of the lagoon and into the Manialtepec River, where the flora changes dramatically. We lose the mangroves and find reeds and other fresher water tropical plants, including a very beautiful but decidedly deadly flower, the water hyacinth.
Water hyacinth is one of the worst weeds in the world--aquatic or terrestrial. Until only a few years ago, this floating plant was a major problem in Florida (as it still is in many places throughout the world) covering as many as 125,000 acres of water: boat traffic on several rivers was halted; hundreds of lakes and ponds were covered from shore to shore with up to 200 tons of hyacinths per acre! It forms dense mats that interfere with navigation, recreation, irrigation, and power generation. These mats competitively exclude native submersed and floating-leaved plants. Low oxygen conditions develop beneath water hyacinth mats and the dense floating mats impede water flow and create good breeding conditions for mosquitoes.
This South American native was introduced into Florida in the 1880s. Its growth rate is among the highest of any plant known: hyacinth populations can double in as little as 12 days. Besides blocking boat traffic and preventing swimming and fishing, water hyacinth infestations also prevent sunlight and oxygen from getting into the water. Decaying plant matter also reduces oxygen in the water. Thus, water hyacinth infestations reduce fisheries, shade out submersed plants, crowd out emersed plants, and reduce biological diversity.
| Water hyacinths are a severe environmental
and economic problem in all of the gulf coast states and in many other
areas of the world with a sub-tropical or tropical climate. This species
has rapidly spread throughout inland and coastal freshwater bays, lakes,
and marshes in the United States and in other countries. |
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| A Solid Mat of Water Hyacinths |
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More Water Hyacinths - Lovely, but Deadly |
We turn the boat around in a pasture filled with cows, cattle egrets and tons of water hyacinths.
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Birds, Cattle, Water, Birds and More Birds
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Now we travel down the river to a spot on the barrier dune where a big, new palapa sits. We clamber out of the boat and relax in the shade, or walk the beach, or enjoy a pee in the barrel of sand that serves as a toilet, while the senora of the palapa prepares sopas (fat tortillas with ridged edges with beans and cheese) for us in her “kitchen:” A flat stone heated with an open fire. I will have to have Sara remind what this looked like and how it worked. The sopas are a little piquanty for my taste, but still delicious. I never do find any others on this trip.
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The New Palapa Where We Had Our Lunch. This Will All Wash Out to Sea in the Next Rainy Season. I am Standing Beach Side to Take This Picture. Note Toilet Shelter Far Right |
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The Ocean Meets the Lagoon at
Looking West From the Palapa |
| The Beach is Pristine, Empty and Glorious |
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The Sand is Hard-packed |
Looking North from the Palapa Over the Lagoon - Cows Grazing on the Far Side |
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There is a beautiful vista at every turn. Before long, we are back in the boat. We speed home rather rapidly, since it’s late enough that the birds are not seen in as much profusion as they were earlier in the day.
A quick coke in the palapa restaurant at Los Negros as Mike reads off the birds we have seen on our trip and we dutifully check off the names on the list he has provided us.
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The Los Negros Palapa Cafe
Where we Filled Out Our "Bird Sheets" |
Back home, I need a nap. I am overwhelmed with nature. Mitch and Sara are off to the big bathtub that is Carrizalillo, but I hang out at the pool, wash out a few things, read and nap.
When the kids come back, we relax and swap tales until it’s time to go to dinner.
Back to the Adoquin and the Sardinia de la Plata, where we enjoy a feast of Roast Suckling Pig. To start, I have a delicious onion soup make with those wonderful cippoline onions. The pig (a joint and a big slab o' meat) comes with a side of mashed potatoes which have carrots flecked in them, covered with cheese and heated until the cheese is brown—sort of like twice-baked potatoes. All really good. More of that silly Sangria. Finish the meal with an excellent flan.
The restaurant is starting to fill up for the next seating. Everyone dressed in their finest to celebrate Christmas Eve. We watch the children come down the steps from the cathedral by age group singing carols.
The Spanish chef comes out again to ask us how we liked the meal. He is our new best friend. We have another pitcher of that sangria. Strange and strangely refreshing.
We are very tired and it's another big nature day tomorrow, so we do not stay up until midnight to celebrate with the revelers. When we get home, I hear sounds of a major party at a nearby house, but it does not keep me awake for one single second.
Puerto
Escondido |
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