Celestun, Mangroves and Flamingos

23.7. Friday

We have breakfast at a cute café near the hotel. Croissants are not their strength, but the carrot muffin is even better! The two women serving us provide us with a play in several acts titled: "how do I create more work in the service than necessary?" We have to smile a bit and hope for them that they will never be too stressed in rush hour...

Afterwards, we drive to Celestun. Yep, we're back at the sea! The drive is straight through the jungle. In Celestun, it almost looks like in Holbox - just less touristy. There are even the same big potholes and puddles, no, actually they are even bigger here. Anyway, we almost lose the plastic underbody of our car in one of these street lakes while looking for our hotel. "Äs chrooset" it's quite a struggle to keep driving... fortunately, we can clamp the part back in.

We check into the hotel. The man obviously doesn't have a reservation from us, but he still kindly wants to give us a room. On the way to the room, we realize that we are in the wrong hotel: Posada Liliana instead of Posada Maria Isabelle. No problem, it's on the same street and apparently they are still related or "Tia" (aunt) is also an endearing term. Anyway, we disappear and find ourselves at the right place 5 minutes later.

We went to Celestun because you can see flamingos here. And because they have a large nature reserve here: mangrove forests.

We book an almost 2-hour canoe tour through the mangrove tunnels with a nonprofit organization that is supported by Japan and Louisiana to protect and reforest the mangroves. Our guide is brilliant and we understand his calm and articulate Spanish very well. Along the way, we see a type of kingfisher, hundreds of cangrejos violonista (violin crabs), and beautifully speckled fish. At the end of the tour at Bosco muerte (dead forest), we actually see flamingos. It's not the season, so there are only about 60 birds, but the sight through the binoculars of them gracefully and gracefully wading through the water is enchantingly beautiful.

After a thorough swim in the sea, we want to take advantage of the proximity to the water and go out to eat fish. But wait - all fish restaurants close their doors at 7:30 p.m.!? We don't understand the world anymore, but the people of Celestun don't care and so there is food in a taqueria at the central square of the village, a kind of mini food court. In any case, we both immediately think of the square in front of the riding hall: beautiful, colorful, loud, and charmingly chaotic.

And so the day ends early on the balcony of our hotel, with a can of cider and another strange drink with chili in it. Cheers. :)