If you look at the map, it seems that everything is very close and easily accessible from Cancun. However, there is simply no road along the water, and you have to drive a good hour to Valladolid, then north until you bounce back to the same body of water, Gulf of Mexico: a total of 3 hours. The sun set halfway to Rio Lagartos and, in response to everyone’s advice, I try not to drive during the night time in Mexico. We stayed in Valladolid overnight and moved towards Rio Lagartos at 6 in the morning. We wanted to catch boats leaving for the nature reserve early in the morning because you have more chances to see more animals and birds then.
We were "caught" by the captain just after entering the town and he escorted us by a motorcycle to the pier, straight to his boat. Since we didn't see any more tourists, there was no one to share the ride and price with (the motorboats can accommodate about 6 tourists), we negotiated the price (about USD40) and sailed away.
We didn’t see huge flocks of flamingos as I had hoped (it wasn’t the right time for that), but it’s still a paradise for those interested in birds, given that we saw many different varieties.
Rio Lagartos lives up to its name: crocodiles inhabit the river.
So far there is enough food and space for everyone.
After a narrow stretch of sand we saw Los Colorados (Pink Lakes), although they did not look anything close to pink.
Our guide and captain Paco was prepared for the trip. On the way he took some fish from the fishermen and used them to entice different birds. They were flying directly over our heads.
Prehistoric creatures: they resemble dinosaurs.
Our trip ended with a Mayan mud masks, which we washed away in the Gulf of Mexico.