Side-trip to Huatulco and coffee farms / tropical forests

A sample of the habitat that we left on the coast:  hot, dry.

Maguey - crowded, friendly, noisy beach in Huatulco.

At our hotel before we departed for the mountains

Las Senoritas Bogaard

Our tour guide Juanito.

So we recently returned from an overnight journey to a town called Las Bahias de Huatulco ("the bays of wa-tool-coe"), located a few hours east of P.E.

(I had trouble placing this video where I wanted it on this blog - it is short, showing Jeremiah, JB, and then Amy on a rope swing at the river. see below. Footage filmed by Liesl)

What I am sure used to be a quiet little fishing village with a series of protected bays and beautiful beaches is in the midst of a transformation into a resort destination - and all that that means. Lots of Mexican families, taking advantage of a 4-day weekend, were there with us.


So we bused from P.E. to Huatulco on two different "regular" buses in just over three hours. Lots of curvy roads but no barfing this trip! We secured a hotel room in an adjacent town called Crucecita (a cheaper town five minutes away from the beaches - its where all the workers live).


Our first afternoon was spent at La Playa Maguey - along, as you can see, with a lot of boats and ships and families. It was, shall we say, a high density beach experience - and not exactly what Amy and I were looking for. This beach had a bunch of restaurants all along the waterfront - small kitchens and big sand-floored eating areas, plastic chairs and tables protected from the sun (thank goodness!) by a series of rough-cut timbers and layered palm fronds - classic tropical architecture.


Little boats - lanchas - came and went with people. Big motorized double-hulled catamarans barged their way to shore, blasting American and Mexican pop music from scratchy speakers, and unloading and loading scores of Mexican tourists for a meal, a drink, and some time in the water.


So, the next morning, after feeling that we got taken for a ride with our meal at the beach, we shifted gears, walked to Crucecita's plaza and jumped in a van with three Mexican families for a trip into the mountains to visit an area known for it tropical forests, clear rivers, and organic shade-grown coffee farms. It was wonderful. Our guide Juan, as usual, spoke only spanish. He was very sweet. We took a long, winding dirt road from sea level to 800 meters - to La Llano Grande - a high open area at the upper limits of where coffee can be grown in this area.


The people on the tour with us were all very friendly. We sampled locally-grown coffee; we ate a family-style meal of mole chicken, frijoles, rice, and pork. The high forest canopy was filled with scores of noisy, colorful parrots; butterflies were everywhere.


We learned about local medicinal plants. The high point of the trip, however, was the river that we hiked into with, that right, tons of other families - kids, parents, and grandparents. We spent a couple hours here swimming in the river, jumping off the rope swing at the base of this gorgeous waterfall, talking and laughing with people.

See the photos below. It was a welcome break from the beach, the heat, and we got a good glimpse of one of the places that produces some of the organic, shade-grown coffee you all drink in copious amounts back home. Hopefully, all the farms all like these. The coffee plants were growing amidst what looked to me like a diverse, healthy, intact forest. The clear, cold water of the Rio Copalito seemed to confirm that they were doing things right.

A photo at the farm - 'La Gloria' Coffee Tour

The falls - cascadas - on the Rio Copalito.

The Bogaards experiencing some local, natural beauty aids.

At the base of the falls.

The rope swing at the river.

Tiger Butterflies.

There are two frogs quietly sitting in this flower petal, hoping that no one notices them.

Some of the amazing flowers in the forest. Does anyone know the name of this one?