Koiya soon after spotting dolphins.
Our Country Home anchored in beautiful Mantanchen Bay.
Fisherman are already hard at work as the sun rises.
La Familia Restaurant- a lovely courtyard setting.
Jungle limes- so big they don't fit in our lime squeezer unless we quarter them!
Caballero and his herd on the highway to Santiago.
The boat ride to Mexcaltitan.
Wood storks.
Approaching Mexcaltitan.
Walking the streets/canals of Mexcaltitan.
A restaurant with a lovely view, and cheap shrimp dishes.
“Cucarachas” are fried shrimp- excellent with beer!
White pelicans are huge and lovely! But they don't dive like our brown pelicans do.
Fish drying in Mexcaltitan. I love the amateur photographer shadow effect!
The town of Mexcaltitan has lovely flowering plants all over.
Oh, isn't she sweet?!
Bouganvillia and brightly painted houses.
This is a local fish that, when dried and splayed, looks eerily like Jesus on the cross.
Aerial view of Mexcaltitan.
Even on the panga rides, Koiya somehow ends up on the bow.
Murals in Santiago.
The murals depict the history of the town and Mexico.
Toro and the Virgen.
Koiya again.
Shopping for sombreros.
Todd tries to mash his head into one.
Koiya finally decided on this little straw number.
Near the boat landing there was a litter of cute little puppies.
Ruins of the old church.
The old church.
Todd trys to match Koiya's Horatio Hornblower (English navy) hat look.
The inspiration for Longfellow's The Bells of San Blas.
Koiya in the window.
Todd imagines himself as a Conquistador.
San Blas. Note the river and jungle beyond.
That's our boat in the estuary (right about the middle)!
Koiya gives directions as Todd aims the cannon.
Even here, people seek me out for advice.
Coconuts, delivered to our boat.
Sunrise.
A great blue heron (cenizo in Spanish) takes flight.
Golden crowned heron.
Immature golden crowned heron. (You can tell he's immature because he refuses to wear colors and just glares at you.)
Black eagle. These guys are much braver than the herons.
On the jungle boat trip with our guide, Abraham, and Pat, from Anchorage.
Termite mound.
Not a cormorant, but something like it. Here they call it a snake bird because it's long neck moves like a snake when it swims on the surface of the water.
These huts are left over from the filming of a movie about the explorer Cabeza de Vaca.
Spoonbill heron.
A wild crocodile.
Deeper into the jungle.
A great blue heron.
Another iguana.
At the Crocodilarium.
A wild coati, looking for scraps.
Felipe's teeth.
The babies are cute!
Todd and Koiya take a dip in the spring, which is protected from crocs by a chain link fence.
Confident that the fence has kept the crocs out, Todd plays Tarzan.
A freshwater Kolya bomb!
Schoolkids marching on Jan 31, a holdiay for local hero Madero.
Koiya's horseback ride on the beach.
Tacos and quesadillas, about $1 each and you can pile on all the beans, guacamole, salsa, and cabbage you want.
Todd awaits his torta.
And yet another shot of Koiya on the bow.
Fisherman on the river.
Koiya warms up for her dinghy certification test.
A rare shot of Susan driving the dinghy.
This shrimp boat had seen better days.
Capt Norm Goldie holds court in the plaza of San Blas. The man next to him is a shrimp boat captain, on whose boat the Saint rode for the water procession.
Koiya and the flowers around Madero's statue.
Nearby towns all sent arrangements.
The Princess and his bakery.
Koiya and I are ready for the procession.
Here's what it looked like without the flash.
Not sure if this was a saint or Mary?
These masked characters walk at the front of the procession and sometimes chase after kids. I think they're there to keep bad spirits away.
There's the Virgen of Guadalupe again.
Not sure why there is a guy with a donkey mask, but it was fun.
Young kids waiting to dance and march in the procession.
You have to be a confident young guy to put on a pink skirt and cape and march through town.
The fireworks tower in the center of the square.
A young dancer.
They all carried a fake bow and arrow that made a neat clapping sound when they 'fired'.
The man of the hour, day, and town: San Blas is carried from the church on the way to the shrimp boat for the water procession.
Dancers, musicians, and anyone who cared to join in marched with the Saint.
Video of the start of the procession for San Blas Day. Unfortunately we didn't catch the live music.
Red and yellow are the town colors.
Excitement mounts as all await the Saint.
The Saint on the shrimp boat, leading the procession.
Heading out to sea. The procession goes to a large white rock just outside the mouth of the estuary.
Koiya had put up a bit of yellow and red. We thought if we could have flown our yellow and red spinnaker, the town would have gone nuts!
After the Saint and priest are gone, the procession descends into a good old fashioned water fight.
One of the characters revealed on the fireworks tower: a duck. Others included a seahorse, pegasus, and the dove of peace.
Everyone was in the plaza to watch the show.
Not sure why this guy climbed the tower in the middle of the show, but presumably to fix something. Crazy!
The figures whirlled around and around, throwing sparks everywhere.
Dinner with the crew of Solace and Norm and Jan Goldie.
Tony's restaurant is famous for its food, and for the shell decorations made by the owner.
This was Koiya's favorite- a bouquet of shells.
Todd oversees Koiya's dinghy rowing.
Our boat in San Blas estuary.
Koiya is determined to get to the boat!
