Rio Lagartos Nature Reserve

Rio Lagartos Nature Reserve

Some 80km (50 miles) north of Valladolid (40km/25 miles north of Tizimín) on Highway 295 is Río Lagartos, a 50,000-hectare (120,000-acre) refuge established in 1979 to protect the largest nesting population of flamingos in North America. The nesting area is off limits, but you can see plenty of flamingos as well as many other species of fowl and take an enjoyable boat ride around the estuary here.

To get to Río Lagartos, you pass through Tizimín, which is about 30 minutes away. The best place to stay there is Hotel 49, Calle 49 373-A (tel. 986/863-2136), by the main square. There is not much to do in Tizimín unless you are there during the first 2 weeks of January, when it holds the largest fair in the Yucatán. The prime fiesta day is January 6.

Seeing the Rio Lagartos Refuge -- Río Lagartos is a small fishing village of around 3,000 people who make their living from the sea and from the occasional tourist who shows up to see the flamingos. Colorfully painted houses face the malecón (the oceanfront street), and brightly painted boats dock here and there.

When you drive into town keep going straight until you get to the shore. Look for where Calle 10 intersects with the malecón; it's near a modern church. There, in a little kiosk, you'll find the best-trained guides, members of a fishermen's co-op called Sindicato Unico de Lancheros. There you can make arrangements for a 2-hour tour, which will cost $45 to $50 for two to three people. The best time to go is in the early morning, so it's best to overnight here at one of the cheap hotels along the malecón. I looked at a few and liked Posada Lucy (no phone; $23 for two).
I had a very pleasant ride the next morning, and saw several species of ducks, hawks, cranes, cormorants, and osprey, and, of course, lots of flamingos. The guide also wanted to show me how easy it was to float in some evaporation pools used by the local salt producer at Las Coloradas (a good source of employment for the locals until it was mechanized) and a place where fresh water bubbles out from below the saltwater estuary.