An early morning pick up from our Hotel; into the back of a pickup truck ( our transportation) and in 10 minutes we are boarding our traditional long boat with only the light from the moon, our captain and a long pole to guide us though the narrow channels of the Mangroves.

Manglares de Monterrico come alive as the sky gradually lightens on the reed swamps and illuminates colours and the sounds of the estuary.  Birds are in abundance at this time of year as the northern winter and spring bring the nearctic-neotropic migratory birds to Monterrico.  Shorebirds like the Stilt, Pectoral and Western Sandpiper zip in and out of the reeds with larger American White Pelican, Herons and snowy Egret keep watch over the water system for their breakfast.  Roseate Spoonbill and White Ibis, Mangrove Yellow Warbler and Mangrove Vireo as well as flocks of black Skimmes can be seen during our tour ( impossible to photograph in the dim light from a moving boat but impressive to the natural eye.)  As the sky lightens and we enter the lagoon fishermen are busy casting their hand thrown purse nets in search of sweet small shrimp and small sardine like fish with only the American Pygmy-Kingfisher to compete with.  The four eyed fish called Anableps skips across the waters surface and is use to stimulate the production of milk in mothers that are hypoglycaemic.   The red, white and black mangroves host the Pashte vines which host a fruit sponge which we know as Luffa.  But a picture is worth a 100 words so….