What is a day on a tropical island without going to the beach?
Today we hit two of them, the first, the Punta Sur Ecological Park. At the southernmost point of the island of Cozumel, is the crystal beach. Devastated by Hurricane Wilma, the area is still in a fragile state of rebirth, owing in part to many volunteers who have replanted the mangroves, and protected the sea turtles, who use the beach to lay their eggs. There are several lagoons here, home to many species of tropical birds, crocodiles, and other animals. There is still dense tropical vegetation.
One must pay a fee to enter the area. The road from the entrance gate is flanked on the right by this vegetation, and on the left by the beach and ocean. This trip we were pleasantly surprised by the blooming plants which filled the air with their sweet perfume, much like honeysuckle.
We stopped for a stroll on the beach, which was strewn with seaweed, shells, and, sadly trash, most likely the garbage from cruise ships.
There is a small Mayan ruin along the way, and a large lagoon with an overlook tower.
We stopped for a bit, walked out over the lagoon, and spotted this guy.
The road ends at the lighthouse and museum. There are, thankfully, bathrooms here, as well as a snack bar, and the omnipresent vendors. We opted to check out the cotton shirts for Sandy, a bit of jewelry for me, and beer for us both. And, what better place to enjoy our drinks, and the locals, than in hammocks!
A local was in the lagoon in his small flat bottom boat, and came to the shore as we came down from the tower. The park 'official' told us that, for a fee, payable to him, and a tip to the boat owner, he would take us out on the lagoon. As there were many birds perched on the spits, we took him up on it. Once in the boat, our 'guide' gave us a laminated sheet with pictures of various birds and their names. This is a list of those we remember seeing - white ibis, roseate spoonbill, green heron, cattle egret, tricolor heron, brown pelican, several species of vulture, ospreys, kingfisher, mockingbirds, , bulbuls, catbirds and flamingoes. There were, no doubt more, but we didn't have a notepad with us, and were too busy looking! lol The flamingoes were too far off to even attempt photographing, but we will get them next time. After looking at the pictures we did take, we probably shouldn't have attempted any at all. Besides, we were in a very small boat, and there were crocodiles in the water!!!
Safely back ashore, we headed to the beach club. There are all kinds of water activities here, swimming, snorkeling, water toys, etc., as well as another tower to climb, horseback riding, kayaking and a catamaran tour to see those elusive flamingoes and more crocodiles. We opted for another beer and, wait for it.......
hammocks! Lucky for us, a guy there told us someone would give us snorkeling lessons if we wanted, and we decidided to come back later to take him up on it.
After awhile we headed back to the hotel for lunch and a nap, and then on to the next beach club.
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