Passing through San Blas, we saw some beautiful buildings, had a shrimp feast on the beach, and then came across one of the greatest highlights of our Mexico roadtrip- the river tour. For $10 USD per person, I expected a Disneyland sort of tour- 10 minutes in a boat, on a circle river path. Instead, we were gone for nearly 2 hours- which could have been longer had we wanted.
We started by climbing onto this small motor boat with around 8 people and a tour guide. within 20 yards, the boat came to a stop and pointed out the first crocodile of many. The tour was absolutely beautiful- jungle foliage, exotic palms and orchids, and thick mango trees surrounded the river which was surprisingly clear.
We saw a number of crocodiles, ranging from 6 inch babies to 12 foot 20 year old crocs. We also saw quite a number of large turtles sunning themselves and swimming. Birds- exotic, unusual, flashy and showing off. We saw a number of cranes, boobies, and unusual ducks as well. We also saw a raccoon, and at one point, we were dropped off at a crocodile refuge where we saw plenty of housed adult crocodiles- HUGE- and a herd of wild pigs who stampeded when they heard us coming which was cool. Along this area, we were also greeted by a mongoose who was definitely not shy. He walked around us eating who knows what off the ground and even stood with us while we waited for the boat to return. Very cool.
The tour went on for a while longer, with plenty of stops for photos. We stopped at a restaurant area with natural pools fenced off for safe swimming and were told we could stay up to 1 hour, or catch the next boat back if we decided not to stay. We opted for the quick return since we had already been gone for an hour and a half and wanted to reach Mazatlan before dark.
When we returned to the docking station, we were offered a few complimentary beers and asked if we’d enjoyed the tour. There were a few spots here for shopping and another restaurant for cocktails overlooking the river.