La Tovara

It is Sunday morning and today will be busy – packing and putting everything we’ve dragged out and misplaced getting ready for tomorrows departure to Mazatlan. Bill has the most to do with all the lights outside and the chairs etc. I just have to make sure the cupboards are put together so they don’t rattle or things don’t fall out.
Last night we went out to dinner and walked the plaza for a while and Bill ALMOST got hit by an out of control car. Sure was scary for a minute. Couldn’t have missed him by more than 10 inches! We all saw it coming but couldn’t do anything about it. Just a jerk teenager turning a corner at high speed – could be anywhere.  Lots of people in the plaza last night – especially children playing. Bill bought another plaster parrot from the lady who sells them – he wants to bead it when we get home. Tom bet him he wouldn’t finish it by August – keep tuned. But back to last week.

Wednesday – I’m catching up! Anyway the morning started with a bright blue sky and lots of sun so we thought it would be a good day for a boat ride in La Tovara – the mangrove swamps. Bill fixed breakfast and off we went. We got there, an area between Aticama and San Blas, before anyone else so we got our own boat and boatman.

 Just some of the scenery - love the reflections in the water and the spooky looking plants

 The first of many birds that we saw. The boatman sure has good eyes. Even with him pointing to the bird I had a hard time findingand seeing it. Especially using the camera. 

Just more scenery

 The first of many crocodilos we saw

 Another one swimming by.

 This bird was wading right behind a big croc. Stupid or gutsy?

And yet another bird. Had a hard time finding this one with the camera - got a couple of shots of his butt.

 How about spending the night here? They were built for a movie years ago. 

 More scenery. See the big plant there?

White flowers of some sorts. 

More reflections in the water. The ride is so peaceful and quiet.  Very slow going in. 

 Love the twisted roots and a big fern. 

 An even bigger and prettier fern.

 Another croc

A turtle - caught him before he hit the water. They are quick.

 Bird didn't like us disturbing him. 

 A beautiful air plant - love to see them growing in the trees. 

 And I only posted some of the bird, croc and turtle pictures I took.

More ferns and trees

 The mountains in the back ground. This part of the ride had land instead of water next to the water. So different plant and animal life here.

 Another turtle - saw quite a few of them this year. Don't remember any from last year. 

 Lots of these - they're called Garza here

An iguana 

 Look down his throat - when his mouth is open it closes up.

 Another iguana this one is orange and black

I took something like 160 pictures during the boat ride – so I left a lot out. The ride is about 3 ½ miles into the land and then of course back to the dock. Very slow going in then a stop at a crocodile refuge where we got out and walked around and saw some really really big crocs and a couple pens of baby ones too. The picture of the throat was taken at the refuge. Then back on our boat and a fast ride back to the dock. About 3 ½ hours in all. Lots of fun.
That evening we went into San Blas to go to a pizza place we’d seen a few nights ago. Glad we went it was very good. The crust was very thin and crunchy the sauce and cheese good. I had pepperoni, Bill had Hawaiian and Tom had pepperoni and peppers. Forgot to take pictures. [Went there last night – Saturday -  to have pizza again and the place was closed. Closed until next Wednesday because someone had a baby! Guess it is a small family operation.]
Then we walked over to the plaza to see how Bill’s parrot was coming. It was done. It is beautiful. The woman who did it was apologizing for the design. She said she had never done a parrot before and wasn’t sure what to do. This is the couple who do the bead work. 

This is the parrot and a close up of the work. It is about 15 inches long.

And one of the hat bands they made Bill

Next I'll write about our boat ride out in the ocean. Probably will post it later today 'cause tomorrow morning we'll be on the road before I get a chance to come over to the restaurant to the WiFi. At least in Mazatlan the TelCel Banda Ancha works good.