One day off is enough right?! LOL!! While our intention was to continue the theme of yesterday where the most interesting thing either of us did was drop a leg over the side of the hammock to give ourselves another push...sometimes plans change and today was no exception.
Before I tell you about today though I will do my best to give you a more comprehensive taste of what yesterday looked like...
The beach is white sand and littered with shells of all shape and size. The white sand is just like in Zanzibar...sugar fine and doesn't get hot so you can walk in your bare feet with no worry. The gate leading from our yard opens right onto the main beach and then it is just a few short steps to the waters edge. The water is clean and clear enough to see your hand at arms length beneath the surface. Although it is cooler than the Indian Ocean it might be just a teeny bit warmer than the Pacific. The colour of the water is kind of a sea foam green and there are no waves to speak of so the sound of the tide rolling in and out is there...but really faint. The lack of waves also makes it easy to swim/float/enjoy the water without worry. The ocean floor is sandy all the way out from where we enter the water and it drops off quickly enough that within a few meters you're up past your waist and able to swim. In fact, given the buoyancy of the water you can walk out to where you can just barely touch with your tip toes and then simply lift your feet off the bottom and float - vertically!
While I thought the beach in Troncones was deserted...this one truly is PRIVATE! Honestly, I did see someone once when I was out there today but that's about it! The privacy factor is so obvious that even though you can see you're not the only house on the beach...it kind of feels like you might be. In fact at one point while we were bobbing in the Gulf, Lynda said to me, "my but you have a big jacuzzi!" LOL...and it's true....right here I kind of do! As the water is so calm, and when you're looking out at someone with nothing but open water behind them, it really does look just like a giant swimming pool with nothing but the horizon in the distance...not a wave in sight!
After a cooling dip in the Gulf there is a fresh water shower in our yard where we can rinse the salt off before climbing back into a hammock or onto a lounge chair to continue to flip pages in the latest no-mind book we're entrenched in until our eyes drift shut again for another quick siesta.
So that was what our yesterday looked like until last night when the four other people who are staying here asked if we'd like to join them this morning it was what today was going to look like too. However, the offer to join their group, to make up the minimum of 6 needed for a tour, was too good to miss so we jumped at the chance. The tour was one that we knew we'd be making during our time in Celestun anyway so the fates determined that today was meant to be that day.
The other four people in our tour group have a car here but it was unlikely that all six of us could fit in it. (We didn't tell them we'd done four in a Fiat along with 3 suitcases and a rolled up bed in Villahermosa a couple of weeks ago so six in their car to the marina should be a snap!) There was no need for us to worry or to squish into their car though as our host, Wanda, offered her old Pathfinder to us so we could drive to the marina ourselves.
This morning at 8:00 a.m. the two vehicles left our casa and made the 5 minute drive to the marina. Now when I say marina...I'm guessing that you're all imagining something like the inner harbour in Victoria or the Yacht club in Summerland or something along those lines. This marina was nothing like that though. All of the boats in it are working boats. They're there either to take groups of six people out on tour or they are little tiny fishing boats that are nothing more than a very small row boat that the fisherman poles along the shallow bay to check his lines or traps and fish from the side. The tours they do are by day and by night. The night tours are in search of crocodiles (and neither Lynda nor I are interested in that one!) and the day tours are of the mangroves, along the estuaries, and in search of the pink flamingoes who winter here. Our flat bottom boat was very stable and as the waters are quite calm the ride was very smooth and comfortable. The boat has an engine on the back (where the captain sits) and has a canopy overhead to keep the sun at bay.
Within minutes of setting out our driver pulled over close to the mangrove jungles that line the waterway and within seconds of pulling over he stopped the boat to point out a little wee croc sunning himself on one of the roots that sat just above the waterline. A few minutes later there was another little guy but this one was floating...just hanging out in the shallow water. The water in these estuaries seems to range from about 6 inches deep to maybe 4 or 5 feet at most. The reason I think it is only that deep is that the fishermen's poles are only about 8-9 feet long and they're standing up in their boats poling themselves along.
After our two little crocs and loads of other birds ranging from osprey to heron and lots of little ducks that seem to walk on the water as they wind themselves up for takeoff, we rounded a corner and voila...there they were....a flock of pink flamingoes. This flock consisted of only about 80-100 birds but there they were in all their colourful glory! Their colour was emboldened by the fact that the green of the jungle behind them contrasted with their coral beauty. There were a few juvenile birds in their midst so they were still white but the vast majority of them ranged from a light pink to a deep coral. Their colour comes as they mature (about 3-4 years) and is the result of their diet (shrimp and other seafood that is rich in beta carotin). We were the only boat around and our guide told us that this location just one week ago was home to approximately 3000 of them! Yikes - that would have been overwhelming to see! The flamingoes leave in March to go to their nesting locations further north and so we are right at the tail end of them here in the Yucatan.
As we bobbed around enjoying the sight the flamingoes treated us to, they added to the show by honking and flapping their wings in dispute or....perhaps it was their mating ritual just getting started as they plan their nesting that they'll be heading toward any day now.
After the flamingo show our final stop was at a boardwalk that led us deeper into the mangrove jungles where we were able to walk along and enjoy the air of mystery that hung in this magical place. We saw termite nests that were nestled high in the branches of trees and the fresh water cenote that merged with the salt of the ocean at this place where tranquility and something much darker seemed to have found the perfect blend.
Once we were back in the boat and en route to the marina we were refreshed by the warm wind whipping against us as we raced to our destination.
After the marina we were ready for a big breakfast so decided to stop in town on our way back to our casa for a delicious breakfast with the rest of our tour mates.
Beyond this breakfast outing the rest of today has been more of what yesterday was and what I'm 99% sure tomorrow will bring too. Sun, sand, surf, and snoozing in a hammock. Yep...this is the life!
Hasta luego,
L & L
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