[Paddlewise] Kayaking among Baboons

Veracruz Trip Report Thursday 2/6/2002 through Saturday 2/15/2002

I had mixed emotions about driving 800 miles through a remote section of
Mexico along the Gulf with my new car loaded down with 3 kayaks, kayaking
and camping gear, food and water for 10 days, and my friend Scott
(neither of us speak Spanish). My most trusted companion was my Garmin
GPSmap76 which laid out the route from Corpus Christi TX to Veracruz
Mexico, identifying all the roads and towns for us to follow, and beeping
reliably whenever we approached a turn or exit.

We found spectacular kayaking with a wide diversity you could never find
in the United States. We were able to romp in what at first seemed like
intimidating Gulf surf, climb remote towering sand dunes, kayak along the
joyful vibrant Veracruz waterfront and harbor, paddle beautiful quiet
rivers with stately homes along the water, get lost in dense jungle
mangroves loaded with birds, and even kayak in a lake in the crater of an
extinct volcano with 7 islands, several of which had colonies of Thiland
baboons bounding about in the trees. Every kayaking trip had a charming
restaurant right on the water with out-of-this-world fresh fish and tasty
Mexican dishes. And there were side trips to ancient anthropological
sites dating back to 400 A.D. with large cities, pyramids, temples,
sculpture, and artifacts reflecting the original very advanced cultures
of that age. And everyone was very friendly. Rafael Mier-Maza was our
tour guide and host, letting us camp on his property and use his cabin
located in La Laguna, a small rural farming town about 20 miles south of
Veracruz. It is on a Lagoon that is connected to the Gulf by the Boca Del
Rio. The quiet and rural sounds of the farm animals in the morning and
evening were totally relaxing. No rush down here!

The 800 mile drive is a 18 or 19 hour drive. We did it in two days,
staying over at two very interesting and comfortable hotels enroute.
Scenery was always changing from desert, to scrub vegetation, to
highlands yet to experience spring, to lush tropical green forests and
jungles. The moderate weather was perfect for paddling and sleeping
during the entire trip. It turned out to be a very memorable,
comfortable, and inexpensive trip.

We will put together a full trip report when everyone gets home and has a
chance to collect their pictures and thoughts^E.but I though you would
like to view our incomplete and still expanding photo collections at:

Ken Johnson^Rs photos:

http://community.webshots.com/user/johnsonkw1 (page 3)

Juan Luis DelValle^Rs photos:

http://community.webshots.com/user/juanluisdelvalle

Scott Cartier^Rs photos:

http://home.stx.rr.com/scartier/Quetico%20Park%202002/Veracruz/index.html

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