A Jungle Tour

Tour Pangas

Estuary of San Cristobal

A Crocodile Encounter

Egret

San Blas has a truly unique tropical setting tucked among the estuaries of Estero del Pozo and Estero de San Cristobal, home to over 300 species of birds with a rich ecosystem of fish, wild crocodiles, turtles, and iguanas that live and nest throughout the lush mangroves. On the day before Christmas, we took a taxi to the tiny village of Mantanchen near San Blas – tour pangas depart from the village taking visitors through the narrow, winding estuary of San Cristobal. It looked a lot like the jungle tour in Disneyland, except the ride was much longer and the birds and animals were for real! Numerous crocodiles and turtles were sunning themselves on the rocks and in the underbrush, while iguanas and birds scurried through the tree tops overhead. Our panga driver stopped several times so we could get a good look at the wildlife - we were careful to keep our appendages inside the boat! Half way into the trip we came upon three huts built on stilts, it was a movie set made for the 1991 Cabeza de Vaca movie. The film is about the adventures of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (1490-1557), an early Spanish explorer, one of four survivors of the Narvaez expedition and shipwreck. He became known as a shaman among the Native American tribes who had helped him survive. His journey began in 1528 and after his return to Spain he published his journal in 1542 – the screenplay is based on the journal. We continued our trip up the estuary swerving around interesting mangrove root systems growing out of the water, while making sure to duck underneath the overhanging branches so as not to lose our heads! Our next stop was at the wildlife refuge and crocodile breeding center. Here we saw enormous crocodiles behind fences with their own private swimming pools; another section housed tiny little baby crocodiles that sat under heat lamps to keep warm. We spent about 20 minutes admiring these prehistoric looking creatures and then it was back in the panga for a ride to La Tovara, a fresh water spring and swimming hole. No worries, it’s fenced off so the crocodiles can’t get in. “La Tovara” is an Indian word for “sweet water” and the springs are still used today as a source of water for the local communities. There’s a cute jungle café situated next to the swimming hole so we ordered some shrimp tacos, salad, and a refreshing Pina Colada. We spent about an hour at La Tovara watching people swim in the beautiful clear water; there’s even a rope swing and diving platform where kids can play Tarzan. The panga ride back to the village of Mantanchen was equally exciting. Instead of the earlier more leisurely pace, our driver sped through the estuary like a thrilling amusement ride with the boat tilting around the corners! He seemed to know how to avoid any head-on collisions with pangas coming the other direction; guess Mexico doesn't worry too much about liability issues. Just the same, the tour was great fun and definitely worth the excursion fee.