Mexico A Good Day

Mexico A Good Day

 

March 15, 2002

The RV Park near Agua Dulce, Veracruz has a poor reputation.  The electricity is very weak, ungrounded and the polarity is reversed.  Often there is no water pressure and the place is poorly maintained.  Otherwise, it enjoys an attractive setting and is the only RV park between Catemaco and Palenque, which is a very long drive for one day.  We chose to pass the Aqua Dulce park on the way to Palenque and suffered the consequences of a very long drive in the rain.  On the way back, we decided to stay at Agua Dulce -- even if it meant camping with no hookups.  

Agua Dulce is also very near a favorite spot for birders, but in recent years the fields where the special birds were found were converted into a tree farm.  However, the RV park is located on the edge of a large marsh, so we decided to spend a day or so searching for marsh birds.  Arriving at Agua Dulce in mid-afternoon meant that we had time for birding the remainder of the afternoon.  We headed north through town and past a large Pemex refinery.  In the town of Tonala, we stopped by the zocalo (main plaza) to photograph an interesting old church.  A bunch of Mexican kids were passing by after school.  I asked them if it would be OK to take their photos.  One of the older ones said it would be OK if I paid him.  I told him that I would not pay, but would anyone else like to be photographed.  A couple of the younger kids were eager to be photographed for free.  I took their photo and then showed it to them on the LCD screen of my digital camera.  They were so vocal with delight at seeing themselves so quickly, that all the others now wished to have their photos taken too.  They clowned for the camera and I took several photos.  One of the boys suggested that I take a photo of a chunky, bashful little girl he called “Gordita.” and her friend.  The boys could not resist crowding in behind the girls to make finger horns on the girl's heads.

After leaving the kids, we took the ferry across the Rio Tonala into the state of Tabasco and explored the coast.  We found many foundations of homes and assumed some storm had demolished the structures.  Heading east along the coast, we reached the small village of Pailebot.  A couple of hundred yards south of the town, we stopped in a marshy area along the only highway through town.  A hawk flew across the marsh and landed on a bare limb, giving us an excellent view of its breast.  We had just seen our first black-collared hawk.  The birds were plentiful and the diversity was outstanding, but we saw no other new birds to add to our list.

Black-Collared Hawk

 

We continued birding along the highway and every few minutes a local citizen drove by mostly on bikes and three-wheeled bike taxis they call a “trinci taxi.” The birds seemed largely unperturbed by this activity so our birding was largely uninterrupted.  We exchanged smiles and “buenos tardes” and continued our birding.  After maybe an hour of delightful birding in this one spot, we hurried back to our motorhome in the fading daylight.

The birding had been so much fun that we decided to spend another day in the area.  On our Guia Roji maps of Mexico, we noticed an icon indicating that there was an archeological site in the nearby town of La Venta, so decided to drop by and check it out.  We developed an immediate liking for the town and its large marketplace.  Though still early in the morning, the market was busy.  A lady selling fish asked if I wanted to take her photo.  She held up an alligator gar and posed.  She seemed very satisfied when I showed her the picture.  The fruits and vegetables were displayed so artfully and colorfully that another series of photos were required. 

Lady with Gar

 

On the north side of town, we came upon the archeological site and an Olmec museum.  Two very large, carved rock Olmec heads greeted us in the entry.  One had a somber expression and the other a toothy smile.  They are about six feet tall and may weigh up to 20 tons.  No one seems to know how these giant rocks found their way out into the marsh.  Olmecs are thought to be the inventors of the numerical and calendrical systems used throughout this area of Mexico.  But birding beckoned and just north of town, the marshes began and extended for mile after mile.  Pat said, “Stop and back up; I just saw a big bird.”  Sure enough, the “big bird” was still there after we backed up.  It was our first view of a large Pinnated Bittern that was so busy catching frogs that it largely ignored us even though it was very close to the road.  There were so many birds in the marsh that we moved very slowly on the narrow, paved road that carried mostly Pemex Oil vehicles.  Since there was no or little shoulder, we pulled off to the far right side of the pavement, turned on our flashers and hoped no one would run over us.  Mexican drivers are accustomed to cars, trucks, and animals stopped on the road and the traffic was relatively light so we caused no problems – in fact, most drivers waved and smiled as they passed. 

The marshes were almost all under water.  However, fences surrounded marsh pastures and Brahma cattle sought islands where they could rest on dry terrain.  However, to find grass, it was necessary for the cattle to enter the marsh.  Mostly they were knee deep, but a few were belly deep in water as they grazed among the palmettos.  Some seemed to actually be floating and swimming.  We chatted with one rancher who arrived on the local bus.  He seemed to be very glad to see us and shook our hands.  However, he was then a little disappointed when he found that we were not the archeologists that he was expecting to come explore the Olmec ruins on his property.  He explained that there were lots of birds on the island we could see maybe a half-mile from the road.  The island contained a small house, a corral, several trees and a higher mound on one end that looked like possible Olmec ruins.  “The birds eat all my fruit,” he complained.  A young man rode up on his bike and we shook hands again.  They both climbed into a rickety boat and poled their way toward the island.  We debated trying to wrangle an invitation to visit his island but decided that the birding was great anyway and we had miles to go. 

Grazing in belly deep water

 

We continued birding along the road toward the town of Benito Juarez, then north to our favorite spot at Pailebot where we had been the previous evening.  By then it was mid-morning, but the birding was still great.  The birds are usually too far away to show up well in my 3X lens, so I resorted to taking sneaky photos of the locals.  It is generally considered bad manners to take photos of someone without their permission, but I wished to obtain unposed photos.  So as they approached on bikes or trinci taxis, I pretended to take a photo of the marsh, then lowered the camera to my chest and took a blind shot of them as they passed.  With my free hand, I waved so that I could get a photo of them waving back.  Although my aim was imperfect, we got some acceptable shots.  One older fellow in a Trinci Taxi gave me a very stern look as he passed, but his wife smiled and waved.  Later, we met them again standing along the main road to Sanchez Magallanes waiting for a bus.  She pointed her index finger in such as way that it was clear she was asking for a ride.  As they were entering the car, she indicated by sign that her husband was blind – which helped explain the stern look he had given us earlier.

Family Bike

 

We chatted easily as we traveled.  He explained that they were Evangelical Christians and owned a coconut plantation.  But the price of coconuts was very low now -- only 220 pesos per Kilo (We assume that he meant this was the price he was paid for a kilogram of dried coconut meat or copra).  On top of that, the coconuts on average are smaller than they once were.  Several years ago only five coconuts produced a kilogram (of copra?) but now nine are required.  “What accounts for the difference?” I asked.    

“It is the chemicals in the air from the Pemex refineries,” he claimed.  We had noticed lots of dead and dying coconut trees closer to the refineries and the health of trees seemed much better with distance from the refinery. 

“We can get five pesos for a cold coconut for drinking, but the demand is not good.  There is also little demand in the world for dried coconut meat.”  

We wondered when was the last time that we bought a package of coconut meat or ate a coconut pie.  Have you ever seen an ad for coconut meat on prime-time TV?  Even the Mexicans spend an estimated 40% of their income on soft drinks, not coconut milk. 

Coconut Copra

   

We did not get detailed information on the cost of producing coconuts, but there is a great deal of labor involved, not only in the growing of the trees but in the harvest.  Collecting the coconut from high atop a palm-like tree would not be easy.  Cracking the nut and removing the copra would be labor intensive.  “It takes about three days for the meat to dry in the sun,” he said. 

We let the blind man and wife off at the zocalo (main plaza) in Sanchez Magallanes and found a restaurant on the water where we lunched on pescado vericruzano (fish cooked Veracruz style) and sopa de pescado (fish soup).  A collapsed tower stood nearby.  I asked the waiter what had caused the collapse.  “It was the hurricane of 1985," he said.  This fact seemed to explain the destroyed homes we had seen earlier.

Pescado Vericruzano

 

We drove across the bridge where, at an army checkpoint, we were asked for our passports.  We had not carried them with us, but I guess we didn’t look much like terrorists so they let us pass.  We continued along the beach and joined some fishermen on the beach (see other story).  

As we drove back to the motorhome, we agreed that it had been a good day.  Then we began to wonder what exactly defines a good day in Mexico.  We normally define a good day in Mexico as one where several new birds were added to our list.  But there is much more to Mexico than birds.  Maybe we can find some other definition of a “good day” where we had great fun without finding any new birds.

Now, we have decided that another simple criteria of a good day, is one where we have seen enough different and interesting scenes to have taken lots of photos.   

Birds seen at El Pailebot: Black-collared Hawk, Snail Kite, Pinnated Bittern, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Blue-gray Tanager, Limpkin, Reddish Egret, Ringed Kingfisher, Yellow Warbler, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, Brown Jay, Black-crowned Night Heron, Common Yellow Throat, Jacana, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Great-tailed Grackle, Turkey Vulture, Yellow-headed Vulture, Northern Waterthrush, Least Grebe, Laughing Falcon, Kiskadee, Double-crested Cormorant, Cattle Egret and White-faced Ibis.

Our count was 180 photos, and many new birds -- which certainly qualified it as a good day.

 

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