After the previous day we are sure today the pick up from the hotel will go much better. After all we confirmed the hour and we are supposed to be the first to be picked up so why would there be an issue? In fact the delay even longer than the previous day, we contact the organizers and they don’t respond and in the end we assume they missed it. And then they com about 40 mins late and supposedly there was a mix up and they thought we are to be picked up from a different spot?!
We were originally supposed to go to a nearby wetland area but it was closed by the government or something along those lines so we are going to Laguna El Quelele instead. It is relatively far away but at least we have to occasion to see downtown Puerto Vallarta again, if we only knew what will happen later in the day. After about one hour at the outskirts of the larger Puerto Vallarta area and in a different state we start on a dirt road towards the Laguna seeing our first birds including a beautiful Gray Hawk.
On the way our guide told us how there is a bridge at the location that his wife has forbidden him from ever taking again. When we see it we are surprised….that she let him take it even once. In fact the only boats here are also completely destroyed and we are a bit scared regarding what expects us. Especially as the guide regals us with stories about crocodiles eating unsuspecting tourists from the murky waters….
While we wait for the boats we do some birdwatching around the parking area. There are lots of dogs and dog (and other animal) poop around and while looking up for birds it is difficult to avoid the traps on the ground. Still we see our first rose-throated becard male which is quite beautiful!
The boats they bring are in reasonable shape and soon we are on our way through the canals. After yesterday’s sunset cruise we expected similar boats but these are paddle and not motor driven and quite quiet as we make our way through the mangroves.
There are surprisingly few birds in the area even though everyone is looking for them. We see however a few crabs and some yellow-crowned herons that our boat driver excitedly identifies as boat-billed herons initially before we can get a better look on them.
And then we exit on the Laguna El Quelele. Here we find out that the time for the tour is not the best, the tide is low and we cannot really cross the lagoon as the boat will run aground. The birds are quite far away but we start seeing them, mostly through high powered optics and not via naked eyes.
How low is the water level? We are quite surprised as one of the boat owners paddling one of the boats starts walking between the boats, it is much lower than we thought. He is walking between the boats as they brought a small rescued crocodile to be released in the water and he is showing the crocodile to both boats.
We get our chance of gently touching the crocodile, it doesn’t seem to even breathe and then it is time for it to be released and it soon disappears under the water.
The most special bird we see here is a Sora. It is surprisingly our first ever Sora so we are quite happy about it.
There are relatively few birds that come close enough to us for a good look. They are mostly egrets, yellowlegs and stilts as well as a few ducks.
Soon we have to return to the parking area. Given the time lost when picking us up and waiting for the boats to be brought in we are behind the schedule and we have one more stop as part of this tour. The return is uneventful, if we ignore the vultures gathering above us and the bus was able to turn around while we were away so back towards Puerto Vallarta and the Butterfly Sanctuary we go.
