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With the wind blowing in your hair, the sun warming
your skin, and the water of the Rio Fuerte soothing your soul, this
trip is definitely worth taking. The boat ride begins at a unique
river bank home built entirely from hay bails and landscaped to
perfection with bright flowers and looming trees contrasting stone
walls and grassy slopes. Once at the dock, you will board the "La
Reina del Rio," a 24' river boat powered by an 80hp jet drive
engine allowing it to travel in the shallowest of waters. The boat
is US Coast Guard rated to carry 16 people, but for safety and personal
attention, only 8-10 passengers are taken during each trip with
a river captain and a deck hand.
The trip begins by journeying against the current
for 12 miles to the small lake below the Hidalgo dam. Cruising the
shores of the lake, the shallow draft of the "La Reina del
Rio" allows for adventure up the old river channel - with its
steepcliffs and magnificent scenery, then idle leisurely along with
the current back down the Rio Fuerte.
On the return journey the boat will disembark on the other side
of the river from El Fuerte to view the ancient petroglyphs of the
"Cerro de La Mascara" (the hill of the mask). Don Juan,
a spry eighty year old with a heart of gold and a love for the land,
will lead this tour and explain everything in great detail. He will
want everyone to sign his ancient guest book, which he prides in
having the names of archeologists from all over the world.
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This cruise is a bird watchers delight and has
been recommended by Chuck Bell, Tour Director of the American Birding
Assoc. During the winter months of December through the end of February
an island rookery with hundreds of nesting cormorants and egrets
can be seen. In January through the first part of March the great
gray herons are sitting on their nests in the tall cottonwoods along
the bank. More than 60 different types of birds have been spotted
by Birders lucky enough to discover this tour. Among these are Bare-throated
Tiger-Heron, Hook-billed Kite, Common Black Hawk, Great Black Hawk,
Crane Hawk, Rufous-bellied Chachalaca, Northern Jacana, Mexican
Parrotlet, Plain-capped Starthroat, Russet-crowned Motmot, Green
Kingfisher, Nutting's Flycatcher, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, Sinaloa
Crow, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Blue Mockingbird and Streak-backed
Oriole
Tour Cost:
$25 US/person (minimum of 3 people)
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