San Blas and the Birds

We sailed Indigo from Bandaras Bay to San Blas last Sunday, with wind on the beam. The Captain also landed a beautiful small Sierra, the first fish we have caught that was good for eating. We topped that great day of sailing and sunshine with Sierra with Mango Salsa.

Since then, we have been in San Blas, walking the city, researching expeditions, and catching up on various chores.  Today we hired a panga driven by Oscar Partida for a tour of the San Cristobal river. From the saltwater mouth at San Blas, we headed upriver through the mangroves, gradually transitioning to freshwater, which gushes from large, underground springs.  We saw dozens of bird species, including at least eight that were entirely new to us.  This river is well known for offering views of the Boat-Billed Heron, shown above.

There were a host of ibis and cormarants, including this pair: a White-Faced Ibis and an Anhinga.

No jungle boat ride along this coast would be complete without crocodiles, but we were impressed that large animals like this one were lazing on the river bank within several yards of the boat.  A crocodile this size is likely thirty or forty years old, old enough to know that skinny gringos aren’t good eating.