Lagoons, mangroves and crocodiles

Part 3 - Lagoons and mangroves

Early morning at Mermejita Beach

Dawn colours appearing over the hills

Deserted beach

The frothy white breakers

Pattern on the sand

A well-camouflaged crab, blending in with the colours of the sand

The next village down the road was Ventanilla, an interesting local indigenous community involved in ecological and conservation projects. A kind of low-key ecotourism run by the locals and very commendable.

Sign indicating where to turn off to the village

Houses near the beach

Boat rides on the lagoon to see the mangroves and visit the Island of Um

Hand-painted information board

Making our way down Ventanilla Beach for 10 minutes till we arrived at the lagoon.

A lonely lifeguard's tower which has seen better days!

Our guide Juan paddling the boat

The first crocodile we saw. This endangered species is one of the largest in Mexico. This community is breeding them and introducing them into the mangroves.

One of the many birds we saw

The beautiful still waters of the lagoon

Passing by the trees with their aerial roots in the so-called white mangroves... these are fairly new since the hurricanes in 1997 destroyed this area.

Rows of shady palms on the island

A crocodile basking in the sun

"Don't approach the crocodiles"...

There was also an animal rescue centre on the island... a spider monkey looks out at us from his cage.

Nice fresh fruit

This lady is using a molcajete (mortar and pestle) to prepare the ingredients for the salsa

Like most molcajetes, this one is made of volcanic rock and has been shaped like a turtle

Smoking chillies, an essential ingredient in Mexican dishes

A peckish guinea fowl hoping to get a few tasty morsels

A nice cool spot to have a refreshing coconut drink and some watermelon

An iguana running for the safety of a tree

Heading back to the boat

Passing a local family on their way to the island

The beach goes on like this for 40 km up to Puerto Escondido!

Trekking back along the beach in the hot sun to reach the village

Bright Mexican colours

Cristina off to do a 3-hour horseback ride along the beach and to another lagoon

Accompanied by a 16-year-old guide from the village who knows all the shortcuts

Marc and I head back to Mazunte beach and watched some boys battling to get their small boat out past the waves

The waves are really pounding the beach today

Marc deciding whether to go in

This is our last time on this beach... we're heading off to Huatulco tonight

Back to the beach at Ventanilla to wait for Cristina to arrive. A microlight about to land on the beach.

Cantering down the beach...

... and back to the village

Mexican-style saddle