Eco-touring the = Yucat=C3=A1n | The Eureka Reporter

Eco-touring the Yucat=C3=A1n

By Betsy Husband

Published: Jan 10 2008, 1:14 PM =C2=B7 Updated: = Jan 11 2008, 1:24=20 AM

Topics: Travel, Travel

It=E2=80=99s easy to arrange a do-it-yourself ecotourism trip. All it = takes is a=20 little research and finding the right guides.

Ecotourism is about awareness and respect. It=E2=80=99s an ethical = way to travel that=20 benefits all =E2=80=94 the tourist, the local community, and the = environment.

The Yucat=C3=A1n Peninsula is a prime place for nature-based travel = where=20 education and adventure combine for new experiences that don=E2=80=99t = compromise the=20 natural environs.

The first step is to think beyond Canc=C3=BAn and Playa del Carmen. = Leave those=20 places for fun in the sun and sipping grown-up drinks through a straw. = Get out=20 of the pre-packaged tourist mentality and get ready to explore. = You=E2=80=99ll return=20 home with a new appreciation for Mexico.

The Yucat=C3=A1n Peninsula is full of places worth exploring further = than Chich=C3=A9n=20 Itz=C3=A1 and Tulum. In Punta Laguna a Mayan guide will take you through = dense jungle=20 full of exotic plants, with howler and spider monkeys swinging in the = trees. A=20 vast variety of birds embellish the canopy, and an occasional toucan = might=20 appear. Less likely to make an appearance is the population of jaguars = that were=20 recently found.

After an interpretive walk through the jungle, we arrived at Punta = Laguna, a=20 small lake where we paddled a canoe over to the opposite shore while = watching=20 for crocodiles. Once there, I slipped into a harness before hiking to = higher=20 ground in order to fly across the lagoon on a zip-line.

The rudimentary stick that I was given to use as a brake robbed me of = any=20 confidence I had, but I swallowed my fear and ran off the platform, = screaming as=20 I flew over the water. After that, the thought of crocodiles trying to = eat me on=20 my return canoe trip seemed trivial.

Public transportation to Punta Laguna is non-existent. That=E2=80=99s = where Alberto=20 Morales comes in. Morales is a federally licensed tour guide who speaks=20 impeccable English. He can arrange anything from a few hours spent = driving=20 around in his comfortable car, to a spontaneous group tour in a van, or = a dive=20 trip to Cozumel, where he used to work as a dive master and = videographer. He=20 knows the Maya world and the stories he told while guiding us through = ruins and=20 eco-reserves helped us appreciate what we were seeing.

My husband and I spent a day with him in Ria Lagartos. It is a a = protected=20 Biosphere Reserve (one of 529 sites in 105 countries) on the east coast = of=20 Yucat=C3=A1n with the world=E2=80=99s largest nesting ground for pink = flamingos. This 150,000=20 acre reserve has a mangrove-lined estuary with over 350 different = species of=20 birds, crocodiles, jaguars, and endangered marine turtles. Because of = its=20 location, it hasn=E2=80=99t developed the tourism trade that the Riviera = Maya has,=20 leaving the small fishing villages of Rio Lagartos and San Felipe = authentic and=20 quiet.

As it turns out, Rio Lagartos is a misnomer. It was named by Spanish=20 explorers who didn=E2=80=99t know what they were looking at. Morales = explained that=20 =E2=80=9Cthey thought were seeing alligators (lagartos) on a river = (rio), when they were=20 really seeing crocodiles in an estuary (ria).=E2=80=9D

Morales arranged for us to be taken into the estuary by boat with = Diego=20 Nu=C3=B1ez, an English-speaking nature guide who is certified for the = Ria Lagartos=20 Biosphere Reserve. Within minutes we were watching the elegant flamingos = in=20 their natural habitat. His knowledge of, and respect for, the local = flora and=20 fauna is impressive. He knows where the crocodiles like to sunbathe and = where=20 the pink spoon-billed herons perch on bare branches. He described the = importance=20 of everything in the local environment, from termites to humans, telling = what=20 happened historically and how things are changing from lessons = learned.

The flamingo population more than doubled, from 26,000 in 1999 to = 54,000 in=20 2006, thanks to the protected status of the reserve and a local = environmental=20 group, Ni=C3=B1os & Crias (Kids and Critters). At one time the pink = flamingos=20 were threatened by extinction. Even now their nesting sites are = tentative,=20 subject to hurricanes and flooding, crocodiles and jaguars, and the = threat of=20 commercial development.

The Nu=C3=B1ez family owns the Restaurante Isla Contoy on the = waterfront, where=20 they serve a fabulous seafood lunch after the boat ride. Diego grew up = in Rio=20 Lagartos so he is emotionally committed to protecting the environment. = Besides=20 being a guide for birding in the estuary, he is also an avid fisherman = and takes=20 people fly fishing for tarpon and snook. He spends his leisure time = taking=20 beautiful photographs of the abundant wildlife.

About seven miles west of Rio Lagartos, San Felipe is a tiny town = with a huge=20 heart. This tidy village is worth a visit, for the fishing and = bird-watching,=20 and most certainly to see their Cementario Municipal. Morales described = it as=20 =E2=80=9Cthe happiest cemetery in the world.=E2=80=9D

Behind a pink stucco wall and baby-blue gate lies a whimsically = decorated=20 graveyard, exemplifying the healthy attitude about death as celebrated = with Dia=20 de los Muertos. Had Morales not been there to clarify things, I would = have=20 thought that the half-empty bottle of beer on a grave was disrespectful. = Instead, he told us that it=E2=80=99s a memorial to a person who used to = like beer.

These are life=E2=80=99s simple lessons. But without someone = describing what you=E2=80=99re=20 seeing, you are likely to misunderstand.

Part of traveling is learning, and part of learning is understanding. = When we=20 truly comprehend what we see when we travel, we gain respect for where = we=20 are.

If you go:

Alberto Morales, e-mail: peninsulatours1@yahoo.com.mx=
Diego=20 Nu=C3=B1ez, e-mail: diego2909@yahoo.com

0=20 comments Back to=20 top

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