After meeting them at the quarry, located halfway between Tulum and Cancun, we were given a tour by the director of the site, Armando Real. The following morning we left at at 4am to meet our guide Manuel Galindo Triay in Boca de Paila and entered the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve. Manual Galindo Triay is in charge of developing and promoting eco-tours, and training Mayan guides. We met Manual at5 a.m. in Boca de Paila and he took us to photograph the lagoon ecosystem in Sian Kaan. We photographed the canals, the lagoon and the surrounding mangrove vegetation.
Lagoons are important bird nesting sites and provide nurseries for fish.
The roots of the mangroves create shallows that are prime fish habitat and feeding grounds for migratory species. The mangroves colonize the marine system, eventually creating savannahs which host a wide variety of other species that are both native and transient. In the canals we saw double breasted comorants, ospreys, and several species of herons. Manual then took us to an island rookery in the lagoon where we photographed frigate birds, roseate spoonbills, and pelicans. Manual then took us to the other side of the lagoon where we joined a scheduled ecotour group and visited a native plant nursery run by Candido Caamal Huitzil.