Celestún

We decided to do a day trip to Celestún, as even though we were loving exploring Mérida we'd seen a lot in a short period of time and we were quite keen to see some wildlife - specifically flamingos - since we were so close.

Celestún is about two hours drive from Mérida and has a shallow estuary and mangrove forests which attract a lot of birds. Our group was split into two boats to make sure we weren't too heavy and prevent us from getting stuck on the shallow sandy bottom of the estuary.

The boat ride itself was pretty fun and we saw some locals out fishing with small boats and nets. It wasn't long until we spotted a few birds and then in the distance we could see some pink/orange blobs which as we moved closer turned out to be a group of flamingos!

A bit further ahead there was another much larger group. We watched them feeding - filtering small shrimp out of the sea water. The shrimp is what gives the flamingos their brilliant pink colour. After watching for a while we were lucky enough to see one bird take flight to start a new feeding group. Others followed and soon dozens of flamingos were soaring low across the water. It was so impressive to see them almost dancing across the top of the water on take off and landing. Seeing such a large bird in the air was extraordinary.

We headed into the mangroves to look for other birds and our driver spotted a juvenile crocodile. Travelling through the tunnels formed by the mangroves was fun and had an adventurous air about it.

We stopped at a fresh water spring which bubbles up through the seawater - a low lying cenote. There were many fish in the water and we were able to have a refreshing swim before heading back on the boat.

We drove into the the town of Celestún, which is right on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, for lunch right on the beach. We sat with another couple from near Toronto in Canada who were also really enjoying Mérida.

After lunch we wandered around the small town. The downtown area consists of one main street along the beach and the main square with its picturesque church. There was time to relax in the sun on the beach before heading back to Mérida.

In the evening we had time to visit the Casa de Montejo, which originally housed soldiers before being turned into a stately home with very opulent decoration and furniture on display. We also visited the Catedral.

For dinner we went to a Frida Kahlo themed restaurant which has a large white rabbit in residence.