Celestun

Located 60 miles southwest of Merida, Celestun is a quaint fishing village where the infrastructure is very basic. There are a few 2-star hotels, the 5-star ecological resort Xixim, a new resort called Playa Maya and Hotel Manglares, several very good seafood restaurants, a few small shops and a harbor.

Celestun is famous not only for its seafood restaurants, such as La Palapa, located on the beach, but also for its river or ria, beautiful flamingo colonies, fresh water springs, and calm beaches. You will also find a 36 foot tall lighthouse and salt fields near the town.

The most popular thing to do here is contract a boat to travel the ria and see the flamingos. These boats are located at the entrance to Celestun, where you can easily contract with a guide.

Things To Do

Birds

Celestun is a sanctuary for birds, of which there are plenty.

The best time to visit the birds is in the morning because of the possible winds that often swirl up in the afternoons.

You can hire a lancha which will take you to the birds - about 30 minutes sail away.

The trees were amass with birds and termite mounds.

NB If you take a boat you must ensure that you do not let it approach the birds, or attempt to make them fly.

Egrets

Egrets are beautiful birds. You can see them all over Marin County at home. Nonetheless, their snowy white feathers and graceful flight makes them stunning birds to watch and their beauty never ceases to impress tourists.

Mangroves

On the way back from the birds, the flamingo tour goes through a mangrove forest. (Mangroves are tropical trees found in coastal and riverine intertidal habitats -- usually in salt water). These forests are part of the reason that the flamingos are here, as they are nursery for the juvenile stages of shrimp and fish that the birds eat.

As with nature/mankind conflicts everywhere, the mangrove forests are threatened by man - both by harvesting the wood and pollution. In this nature reserve hunting or cutting is not allowed (but you can always scare your wife by mentioning the crocodiles hiding in the mangroves).

Swimming at the springs

The tour also stops at a fresh water springs that is emptying out into the estuary. A boardwalk has been built through the mangrove forest. The water is salty even though the freshwater springs were emptying right there.