A Tour Through the Mangroves

After we left the condo in Bucerias, we went a little farther south and stayed for a few nights in Nuevo Vallarta. While there, someone offered to take us on a boat tour of the canals along which grow mangroves that are protected habitat for crocodiles, blue herons, and a couple types of iguanas.

I only had my phone with me to take pictures. What I discovered is that crocodiles and iguanas are camouflage experts! So my wildlife photos aren’t the greatest. They could fairly be compared to some Sasquatch photos you’ve seen. But really, we saw a ton of crocs and iguanas – even a couple iguanas in the throes of passion.

As you can see, it’s kind of a slow burn, the love these two share. I suppose the least I could’ve done was afforded the iguanas a little privacy while they made more iguanas. But I did the second-least thing and took this unclear photo with my phone.

Speaking of phone photos, my crocodile pictures are like a page out of Where’s Waldo, so I’ve made it easy for you, dear reader, lest you miss seeing these guys as I almost did.

We saw several blue herons that afternoon. It was interesting to see so many, but last summer I saw a blue heron at the Hardisty Golf Course. (Not golfing, of course. That would be awesome!) These birds are not as exotic to me as as crocodiles and iguanas are.

At one point, a heron flew low and fast right in front of the boat, calling out in a panicked squawk. Our guide Antonio said that the heron had likely spotted a crocodile too close for comfort.

To me, pelicans are far more interesting than herons. I’ve never seen one of these at the Hardisty Golf Course.

Here’s a single iguana not in the act of procreation. Clearly, she’s not single because she’s unattractive. In my opinion, she’s pretty showy! She just hasn’t found Mr. Right, but with a beautiful tail like that, any man would be lucky to have her.

And finally, here are some views from, and of, boats.

Thanks for dropping by! I hope you’ve had a really nice weekend. Take care. – Lori