By Dani Connor.
I have been living in a city called San Luis Potasi in Mexico with a friend since December. We have visited a large park called Tangamanga a lot, that has a surprisingly great diversity of wildlife. This park is a 20-minute walk from home and so is a great spot for sunrise. I’m currently filming a video about this amazing urban park too. But I was really itching to find some tropical wildlife, so we planned a short trip to Oaxaca, pronounced ‘Wahaca’. Oaxaca is known for its friendly people, amazing fruit, incredible street food and its glorious beaches. There is a Netflix series called Street food and they made one in Oaxaca!
After a long drive, we arrived late to the city. We were staying in a BnB overnight. The following day we had a long drive to the coast (and what a drive it was…). Because we arrived late, and due to everything closing early due to COVID, we had limited choices for food, until we found a quiet square with various street food options. As a vegetarian, finding veggie food in a meat-orientated country may seem difficult, but actually I haven’t struggled at all. We had tamales from the friendliest street vendor. Tamales are a steamed dumpling, wrapped in a banana leaf. Inside the dumpling, I had local cheese and rajas, a slightly spicy green pepper. On top they cover the tamale in a tomato sauce. It was delicious. We also had atole, which is a drink made from corn (it’s like a thick sweet vegan milk). I usually don’t like it but this street vendor had so many options - atole with rice and cinnamon and chocolate. I tried the rice with cinnamon and it was very good. For two people, the meal cost 50 pesos which is £1.76.
The following morning was the drive to the coast. I had imagined this drive would take two hours, but it ended up taking six hours. Although the distance from Oaxaca, the city isn’t very far from the coast, to get there we drove through mountainous forests on an extremely windy road. Within about half an hour on this road I was feeling car sick. We stopped in a small village, had a tlayuda (large folded tortilla, like a calzone with cheese, beans, nopales cactus and salsas) and bought motion sickness tablets.
I took half and started to fall asleep at the table and by the time we were driving, I was knocked out. I was in and of sleep most of the journey. We arrived to our BnB in Mazunte and the view from the balcony was glorious!
The following day was a beach day. I swam in the sea with pelicans and the magnificent frigatebirds flying over, and far in the distance, I could see a pair of humpback whales breaching out at sea.
On the second day, I looked for wildlife near the town. As soon as I got out the car, I almost stepped on an iguana.
I was confident I could find interesting wildlife. The first animal I photographed took me completely by surprise. I was expecting to photograph mostly reptiles and birds, but of course I found squirrels!
These are the Mexican grey squirrel, they are a sub-species of the American grey squirrel, but these tree squirrels are tropical. Instead of their diet consisting of mostly nuts, these squirrels eat a lot of fruit and insects. They are also had shorter hair - quiet evident at the tail that looks very skinny.
Grackles are a common sight across Mexico. They are very noisy birds but produce some incredible vocalisations.
The next species I found (that I was very excited to find) is the russet crowned motmot. They are stunningly colourful birds and this particular species is the most understudied in the motmot family.
I then spotted another squirrel who was happily munching on some fruit.
On our last day, a local told us that it would be possible to find some birds and crocodiles at a nearby town called Ventanilla. With hopes not that high, we took a taxi to this small town.
There was a small eco tour company selling boat trips, and so for £3.50 each we booked this trip for the late afternoon (when the light is a bit softer for photography). We walked along the beach and found the edge of some mangroves which is when we spotted three small crocodiles. At first I thought they were caiman as they were so small.
I crept up to one, low and slow, and was able to photograph one. A local walked very fast up to me and began to tell me the crocodile was getting irritated at me since it’s mouth was open. I have been fortunate to have worked in a scientific research station in Peru and Costa Rica whilst at university. I have worked with experts in all forms of animals. And with a degree in zoology, I know that the basic reason crocodiles open their mouths is to prevent overheating. As soon as the local walked up to me, the crocodile became nervous. His feet that were previously relaxed behind him, were now poised ready to run and his eyes were flickering between me, the local and the water in front of him. I have always been fascinated with animal behaviour and with time, you can learn how different animals respond when they are nervous. I find that squirrels tend to freeze but also look for an escape route. By waiting still, letting them relax and start eating again, you can slowly creepy closer. As a wildlife photographer you often want to go as close as possible, but too close and the animal will run away, so it is important to observe how animals behave. Anyway, the man moved away from the baby crocodile and I slowly crawled back. Once I was several metres away, I stood up. The crocodile remained in the same place, basking in the sun.
We then walked further along and found a small cafe. It was here that I saw the biggest wild crocodile I have ever got close to. It was a pregnant female and she was laying about five metres from the cafe.
The lady who owns the cafe said that she is very docile and is fed fish by the locals. Whilst I was keeping my distance, she decided to walk straight up to it. She was only a few metres away which is when I decided to go a little bit closer, crouched behind a tree with an escape route to a wooden bridge next to me.
After a few photos, I ordered a fresh coconut to drink and ate the flesh inside with lime and chilli. I then witnessed a local feed the crocodile and I realised how docile she really was. I personally think feeding a large dangerous wild animal like this is not a safe idea, especially when you might have tourists acting silly. Nevertheless, apparently they’ve never had an incident with the crocodiles in Ventanilla.
We then headed towards the boats and took a particularly short slow trip along the mangroves.
Mangroves are an incredible, complex system: where fresh water meets ocean water. Mangroves provide protection from coastal storms and a safe space for so much wildlife.
We saw egret, the meso-American slider turtle and a juvenile white ibis.
We then arrived on an island within the mangroves and could get close to crocodiles and iguanas thanks to a fence.
This is the first time I was able to get close to both of these species, as well as see the lineated woodpecker.
After a quick swim in the sea at sunset (in Mazunte, not crocodile town) that marked the end of the trip. I was hoping to stay longer but unfortunately travel complications back north prevented this. I am hoping to go further south soon but would like to stay in one place for a longer time. My next trip will be to Cancun, to the South of Mexico to hopefully meet spider monkeys again.
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