mangrove kayak trip in zihautanejo jan. 9 '10

where we got our kayaks for the day

roadside memorial for an apparition of the virgin of guadalupe which appeared on this tree

fruit stand on the way to the mangroves

daub-constructed cabin, made from adobe mud, along the road to the mangroves

roadside fish joint

there were actually about five iguanas in this palm tree. this guy was huge.

he's feeding on shrimp. we saw him in the pond on the way to the mangroves.

one of the ponds we passed on the way to the mangroves.

i have a new motto - give up on being perfect and having this blog be in chronological order. i get too hung up on the whole business and then don't want to post. having said that, this post is about being in zihautanejo (since jan. 5). good grief i can't believe how long we've been here. anyway, one day rolls into the next but there have been a few highlights.

January 9 for example. here's my journal entry. It was a short-lived working motor celebration. Up early to motor in to meet Jack and family for a kayak tour. The motor worked just long enough for us to leave the boat then it quit. For good. We rowed back to the boat, transferred our gear to our kayaks, and paddled to shore – late. But the rest of the day was incredible.

We drove through small villages to get to the mangroves where we spent hours in a relaxing kayak tour. so many birds it's hard to recall them all but here's a partial list: juvenil white pelicans, red & white mangroves, cormorants, frigates, great blue herons, egrets, reddish egrets, green herons, white ibis, wood stork, whistling ducks, wood rail. brian was our tour guide and he was very knowledgeable about the area, the flora and fauna. if you're ever in zihautanejo be sure and take one of his tours (zoekayaktours.com). jim just reminded me there are two tour options but the second one into the lagoon he offers only to locals because it's often used as a body dump from warring drug lords. he said it scares away the tourists.

then he drove us into a small village where we bought some local salt which is mined in the mangroves. we ended the tour by stopping at the refugio de potosi. this place is truly amazing. laural runs the place and has trained young locals to educate us on the inhabitants: great horned owl, hummingbirds of various kinds, kingbird, snakes, scorpions, lots of parrots and macaws, several sitting out on open perches. and then there's the butterfly enclosure, iguana area, raptors, and indigenous trees and plants. there's more but my memory fails me now.

and now, looking at all my pictures, i realize there are too many to put in this one blog. more to come.