NORTHERN VALLARTA
Because of the experience I am about to tell you about, I warn you: BRING YOUR BINOCULARS EVERYWHERE!! We approached the Pitillal River on the overpass, which is a beautiful brackish part of the river that empties into the Banderas Bay (see picture below). The banks were FILLED with birds… and The Riverman. We watched as shorebirds and herons plucked food out of the river and a short, older Mexican man blew us kisses. Just as I thought I saw a boat-billed heron, the river man approached. I ignored him but he continued to speak to Chris. He was short and lacked several teeth. His lips were enlarged and sores covered his face (mainly near his mouth). He wore a black and red backpack that contained a large box of juice. All of a sudden she exclaimed “NO, YOU GO!!” I turned around as the man scurried away. Apparently he asked her for a kiss. The Riverman ran back to the bank of the river and started throwing rocks at us as we briskly ran away.
Four and a half miles after the beginning of our walk, we approached the cruise ships dock and walmart. We decided to turn around since we had reached the epitome of American culture in Mexico. On the way back we stopped again at the river overpass then walked down a sketchy dirt road to the beach.
The following birds were seen:
Willet
Black-necked stilt
Long-billed curlew
Snowy egret
White ibis
Little blue heron
Green heron
Great kiskadee
American coot
Possible boat-billed heron
Turkey vulture
Inca dove
Cinnamon hummingbird
Green kingfisher
Swallow – The size of a cliff swallow but with a slightly forked tail (not barn swallow). Very dark-looking maybe a black-capped swallow??
Gull – black spot behind eye and black legs. Only a quick look.. any thoughts?
Sanderling
Magnificent frigatebird
Greater yellowlegs
House sparrow
Heerman’s gull
We returned to the flat via the beach on an uneventful journey (see picture below)… mostly condos and tourists.We did watch as many men attempted to fish from shore.
SALSA DANCING
Later that night, our host and friend, Patrick, returned to his flat from the States and we all decided to go to a Cuban dance club, La Bodeguita del Medio. After a few mojitos, we hopped on the dance floor. I danced with a very good dancer named Miele (spelling?), who taught me a few Salsa steps. Although I am still awful at Latin dancing, I learned a thing or two and would love to actually learn when I get back to the States.
EL TUITO
Today Chris and I dragged ourselves out of bed to travel to El Tuito. We walked about an hour to the south bus station south of the Isla Rio Cuale, then road the bus labeled “Botanical Gardens” an hour and a half to El Tuito. The bus was quite packed and an old gentleman with a bottle of tequila sat behind me. After a few stops the man was clearly intoxicated and stood up at the “Botanical Gardens” stop, spoke a few incoherent Spanish words, drooled down the front of his shirt, before sitting back in his seat. Chris urged me to move for fear of being vomited or peed on. We moved to the seats adjacent then to the back of the bus. He was carried off by a few passengers at his stop to his ranch, “Puerto las Canadas,” greeted by his dog, and waved cheerfully to the bus.
Upon arriving to El Tuito we were incredibly confused about the ride back. Note: if you ever go to El Tuito, the busses pass through every 20 minutes and pick up near the hospital (??). Chris and I then enjoyed a delicious meal of quesadillas de pollo, beef nachos and Mexican pepsi. Boy, there isn’t anything I love more in Mexico (besides birds) than coca-cola or pepsi from a glass bottle. YUM. We strolled the cobble stone streets of El Tuito trying to avoid the hot sun. The town was built in the 16th century and the church near the northeast part of town was amazing.The buildings were also quite charming, which matched their occupants. I found 2 new life birds:
*Yellow-winged cacique in a rose garden
*Giant cowbirds in a huge flock near the escuela.
The people rode horses and played in the river. Donkeys were tethered to posts while roosters harassed each other in overgrown fields. The town was surrounded by gorgeous mountains – green with trees and shrubs. Gorgeous.
We decided to end our trip by going to the Botanical Gardens, which was about 15 miles away from the town. However, neither Chris nor I wore a watch and didn’t realize how late we roamed around in the town. Prior to this realization, we couldn’t find the bus stop. A few local young men offered us a ride but we awkwardly declined. Many different people attempted to describe the location of the stop, but most spoke little English. Finally, we stopped near a supermarket and a dirt pile and waited…. And waited. I was entertained by a flock of 50 parakeets (yellow eye ring and red above the bill. It was overall green with a pointed tail, but had a little white in the wings). I’m still unsure what these birds were, so any help would be much appreciated!!
MALACON AND SKULL
Finally the bus came and we returned to Vallarta. We walked north from the bus stop on the Malacon (boardwalk) and watched street performers such as talking mimes and men swinging from a 40 meter high post playing music.
Post script: The sunset picture was from last night (see above). It was the most amazing sunset I have ever seen (besides at Itasca Biological Station)...
I commented yesterday, but today I see it didn't show up!
ReplyDeleteSo I won't say any more here. Grams
OK, I'll do it right this time. Your blogs are really interesting, Sarah, and
ReplyDeleteI think its wonderful that you are having such an exciting life and sharing it with the rest of us hibernating Minnesotans.