While taking a walk the other day I found the above book in a “Free Little Library” that we walk past on a daily basis. Sometimes we leave a book, or like the above take one. This reminded me of a trip that I lead in the Yucatan for the Michigan Audubon Society (MAS) in the early 1990s. I had arranged a tour with the trip coordinator for the MAS that would combine and expand two tours that I had offered. It would be two weeks visiting some of the largest Mayan archeological sites – Chichen Itzá, Uxmal, Palenque and Cobá, highlighting a tremendous number of Mexican birds.
A fun aspect of the trip was starting at Hotel Hacienda Chichen, a few hundred meters from the archeological site. Everybody loved starting the day while Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls were calling or the raucous calls of chachalacas. But somebody brought a murder mystery along where the murder occurred at one of the rooms of the Hotel Hacienda Chichen. This fun group passed around the quick read to others who wanted to read it. Ultimately, even I got to read the mystery.
One evening the group wanted to attend the laser-light show at the main temple, which was something that I had never done, but it was a fun evening and it allowed me to find a Great Horned Owl that was calling (a rather rare bird in the Yucatan), and with time over the next two days even find the nest. When our time there was done, after seeing many interesting birds we headed west to Uxmal, where we would be staying at the Club Med Villa Archeologica Uxmal, a hundred meters from the site.
As with Chichen Itzá, Uxmal was a massive ancient city and was filled with orioles and large colorful parrots.
From Uxmal we headed further south-west to Palenque, my home-away-from-home in Mexico for several years. Unlike the flat terrain of the Yucatan, Palenque was situated on a densely forested hillside overlooking a a vast plain. We were now surrounded by tropical forest, which many would call “jungle.” Our days were filled with birds from tiny hummingbirds and manikins in the woods to soaring Common Black Hawk, White Hawk and Solitary Eagle high over the ruins.
By the time we left we had seen most of our targeted bird species, leaving two sites still to visit. One would be the Palizada marshes and adjacent large grasslands. The other would be at Cobá, the last archeological site that we would visit.
After an early breakfast we got to the marshes early enough to see Striped and Barn Owls and Bare-throated Tiger-Heron as well as distant views of a Black-collared Hawk. Working along the edges of the marsh roads we found thousands of herons, night-herons and ducks, as well as other odds and ends like Jaçaña. We then headed east to the miles of grasslands along the road we were taking in search of birds that called these cattle pastures home. O=ur prime target was Aplomado Falcon, which with luck you could find as many as six or seven in a day. This was not a lucky day. After an hour of searching we could not find a single falcon.Finally, somebody rather wishfully shouted “falcon!” It wasn’t promising, but I set up a spotting scope and saw a male American Kestrel. The group was now getting hungry after a long morning, but I continued scanning in hopes of finding our target. Then I spotted a flock of Yellow-crowned Parrots, a rather uncommon bird, flying over the grasses coming towards us. I got everybody onto the birds as I continued scanning. Finally two Aplomado Falcons cruised close to us. Disappointment turned to glee. But we weren’t done. On the other side of the road a group of cattle, with a few cowboys were paralleling us flushing another group of birds – Double-striped Thick-Knees, a rather unusual shorebird. A dozen of these odd birds landed closer to us than the cattle, allowing good views. Good thing we stopped for that kestrel, because in twenty minutes w had three very difficult birds to see, especially in one day.
Now, on to lunch. In about an hour we would come to a roadside restaurant that I had passed many times without stopping. Today the place was empty, except for two women sitting near the kitchen. As we pulled into the parking area, the women rushed to the kitchen. I wasn’t sure whether that was a good sign or not. It turned out that one was the owner and the other a server. I walked into the kitchen, as I often did, just to check on clear it was and how the food was stored. The owner proudly showed me the kitchen and took me out back to where she smoked her own meats and what local woods for the right temperatures and smoky flavors she for the process. This was wonderful especially when she then washed her hands in the kitchen before starting out meal.
Lunch would be served family style with large plates of various meats, cheese, rice, beans, avocados and plantains. A large steel drum was brought near the picked style tables and fire lit. One of the women started making tortillas, the process getting the attention of the people. But, having to feed so many people at once was going to be a slow process. One of the people with me wondered if she could be brown rice and yogurt, to which I replied no, it wasn’t available. Lunch turned into a wonderful experience. As people got back to the van I chatted with the owner, paying the bill and leaving a large tip, thanking her for be some efficient with an unexpected crowd. I got into the van and started to leave when a policeman on a bicycle waved me over – what had I done? As we started talking I realized what he wanted. The President of Mexico was speaking in Chetumal, several hours out of our way and he wanted a ride. I quickly responded “No habla Español,” a lie, but useful under the circumstances. By this time the owner has come from the restaurant gesturing to the policeman. As they entered a lively conversation I took this as my opportunity to head off towards our next destination knowing that I had done nothing wrong, and that leaving good tip was always the right thing to do.
Our night at Villa Archeological Cobá was relaxing, with a light meal, and a cool swim. The next day we headed back to Cancun where our adventure had started.
More from Mexico in the future…
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