Long-legged pink birds greet you in the town of Rio Lagartos even before you hit the water. We’d come to town on a day trip from Valladolid and it was clear from the moment we arrived that the quiet, dusty town had one claim to fame: flamingos, which explains the plastic versions that decorate the main drag into town.

We veered off and head for the water determined to see some of the thousands of flamingos that come to the protected Ría Lagartas Biosphere Reserve to feed, breed, nest and rest. We were hoping to see some from the shore since we’d heard that the guided boat trips through the watery reserve were pricey.

We hadn’t gotten in much shore-searching when one of the local guides approached us and started bartering. Before we knew it we were in a boat with his colleague, guide Henry Jesus Pat Celis (more about him later), and on our way to flamingo-central for 450 pesos (about US$34) instead of the usual 600 pesos. Still a lot of money for us, but there are only a handful of places in the world where wild flamingos congregate like this which is why the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO site.

We headed out through a beautiful mangrove-ringed waterway and started seeing the first smatterings of flamingos within 10 minutes. Henry was non-plussed and kept assuring us that there were thousands more of the long-legged pink creatures to come.

He wasn’t kidding. We must have seen more than 2,000 flamingos before our two hour tour was over, sometimes in groups of 100 or more. Some groups were striding through the shallows scooping up krill with their funny backward beaks. Other groups were taking a running start at flying—followed by even more comical running landings—which made them look like they could walk on water. Still other clusters were standing along the water’s edge like, well, lawn ornaments.

Watch our video for a glimpse at the quirky flamingo antics at the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve.

Our intrepid guide Henry Jesus Pat Celis showed us thousands of flamingos in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve.

We also saw ospreys, crocodiles, frigate birds, great blue herons and a salt farm making the most of the area’s super-saline water—perfect for the brine shrimp that the flamingos feast on and which give them their delightful color.

Henry also took us ashore on a stretch of beach that had holes punched through the salty, sandy crust to reveal silky, mineral-rich clay beneath it. Henry told us that the mud in this region was considered medicinal and beautifying by the Mayans and it’s still applied head to toe by some people today.

TIPS
June is prime flamingo viewing time in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve with plenty of birds close to the embarkation point.

July and August are the peak months with lots of birds and lots of international and Mexican tourists.

September and October is the priciest season since the flamingos are further away from the embarkation point with means a longer and costlier boat ride to reach them.

Related Posts:

• Base Jumping – Valladolid, Yucatan State, Mexico

Your Isla Holbox adventure starts before you even get there with a 30 minute passenger ferry ride.  Once on Holbox (pronounced hole-bosh), we loaded our bags onto a golf cart (cars are not allowed on the island) and headed for the Holbox Fly-Fishing Lodge which is run by Great Alaska International Adventure Vacations.

The place may have “fly-fishing” right in the name (and the area is famous for gargantuan tarpon) but the Holbox Fly-Fishing Lodge has plenty to offer non-fishermen (and women) including a fridge stocked with beer, the best coffee on the island, very comfortable air-conditioned rooms, a spacious deck with hammocks and awesome sunset views (sufficiently prepped by a 5-6 pm happy hour) and a beachfront location that’s far enough from the center of town to be perfectly peaceful but close enough to be handy and totally walkable (shoes optional).

The Holbox Fly-Fishing Lodge is not just for fishermen.

Luciano, the gregarious Italian manager, knows everything and everyone on the island and it’s easy to  linger over his excellent coffee and talk about island life all morning. Morning is also the best time for long walks on the beach. While not exactly deserted, the homes and guest houses thin out considerably at the west end of the island and you’re likely to have the place to yourself, save for the sea birds, the seashells and the occasional starfish.

Warm water laps onto the white sand beaches that ring Isla Holbox.

Isla Holbox is developed enough to offer a range of eating options including economical places like the charming Restaurant Isla del Colbri.

From a visitor’s point of view, Isla Holbox still seems largely unspoiled, though the locals who’ve lived here for years would disagree. Cars are not allowed on the island, however, that’s lead to a dangerous proliferation of golf carts. There’s a wide (and ever-increasing) range of dining options including a lot in the fish-shack-budget range and some notable splurges like Los Pelicanos which served up some of the best Italian food we’ve had in Mexico including homemade pasta and made-to-order risotto (110-150 pesos), a lovely wine list and great homemade bread. Hotels run the gamut from hostels to high-end with more rumored to be on the way.

The upstairs patio at Holbox Fly-Fishing Lodge is a great place to watch sunset over Isla Holbox.

Seagulls on Isla Holbox.

Morning beach walks yield more than just shells on Isla Holbox.

A local resident on Isla Holbox.

For now Isla Holbox lives in that sweet spot that offers ample services to suit all kinds of visitors without feeling too touristed. History tells us this cannot last and our advice is to visit Isla Holbox sooner rather than later. Right now is a great time to go if you’re into seeing whale sharks, the biggest fish in the ocean. These toothless giants (up to 60 feet long) show up off the coast of Isla Holbox every August, prompting locals to designate August 30 as Whale Shark Day.

The Mexican flag stands watch over Isla Holbox.

Today is another installment of the weekly online/social media travel round table called Travelers Night In (TNI) during which travelers from around the world share, discuss and debate one  travel topic. This week’s topic is Animal Encounters and that got us thinking.

We haven’t visited Africa or done a safari there (yet), but we have had some amazing animal encounters in other parts of the world. In Borneo we were essentially held captive by the frighteningly dexterous hands and feet of a young orangutan. In India we were within feet of endangered Asiatic lions and tigers and even a leopard which played a  kind of hide-and-seek game with us (it won).

In November we’re going to get the chance to hang with penguins when we explore Antarctica with Antarctic Dream. Why not take advantage of  our exclusive 30% savings to Antarctica and join us on the November 7-17 sailing, by the way?

Our ongoing Trans-Americas Journey has also given us some amazing animal encounters and here are a few of the highlights:

A herd of buffalo literally roamed our campground in Badlands National Park.

See more in our Badlands National Park photo gallery. Read more in our Badlands National Park  travel journal.

A black bear and her cub explored some downed trees just off a road through Yellowstone National Park.

See more in our Yellowstone National Park photo gallery. Read more in our Yellowstone National Park travel journal.

This young wolf seemd as curious about us as we were about it when our paths crossed on the Gunflint Trail in Minnesota.

See more in our Minnesota’s North Shore photo gallery. Read more in our Minnesota’s North Shore travel journals part 1 and part 2.

A moose and her calf appeared around a bend during a hike in Grand Teton National Park.

See more in our Grand Teton National Park photo gallery.

A female grizzly and her cub let us watch them feasting on blueberries in Denali National park for almost an hour.

See more in our Denali National Park photo galleries – part 1, part 2, and part 3. Read more in our Denali National Park travel journals part 1, part 2 and part 3.

Muskox roam the tundra on the North Slope in Alaska where we spotted them from a helcopter.

See more in our Deadhorse, Alaska photo gallery. Read more in our Deadhorse, Alaska travel journal.

This arctic fox already had its winter white coat on so it was easy to spot in the tundra in the North Slope of Alaska.

See more in our Dalton Highway photo gallery. Read more in our Dalton Highway travel journals part 1 and part 2.

Gray whales put on an impressive show for us in Baja.

Gray whales, including this baby, put on an impressive show for us in Baja.

We wandered amongst millions of migrating monarch butterflies near Valle de Bravo in Mexico.

See more in our monarch butterfly migration post.

Crocodiles of all sizes lazed near our boat as we traveled to La Tovara Springs in San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico.

See more in our San Blas, Nayarit Mexico post.

Mara the sea lion shared her fish breath with us in the warm waters off Puerto Vallarta.

See more in our Sea Lion Kisses post.

Thousands of flamingos went about their strange pink business as we floated through the Ria Lagartos Biosphere Reserve in Yucatan State, Mexico.

We failed to find the whale sharks in Belize but a pod of bottlenose dolphins found us.

See more in our Belize Whale Sharks post.

This spider monkey was just hanging out near Chan Chich Lodge in Gallon Jug, Belize.

See more in our Belize Jungle Surprises post.

A keel-billed toucan stayed put long enough for us to capture its impossible beak at La Milpa Field Station in Belize.

See more in our Belize Jungle Surprises post.

We tried our best to see a jaguar in the wild, but the closest we've come so far is this beauty in the Belize Zoo.

See more in our Belize Zoo post.

A clan of howler monkeys befriended us while we camped at Las Guacamayas in Chiapas.

Wild scarlet macaws gorged themselves in a tree above our tent at Las Guacamayas in Chiapas.