Off the beaten path in Mexico (pics and video)

[shoefish]

So Nansea and I just got back from another trip off the beaten path in Mexico. This time we went south on the Yucatan Penninsula. About a 3 hour drive south of Cancun is an area called Sian Ka'an nature preserve. Once in the preserve, we found the place that we would be staying at- Cesiak (the thumb tack)






Sian Ka'an is a protected nature preserve, and has a ton of little establishments that you can rent a hut to stay in. Here was ours...





Here is a little video from the tower at Cesiak. It shows just how remote the area is, and how narrow the little strip of land is that we were staying on. The strip of land can't be wider than 1/10th to 1/4 of a mile, and runs south about 25 miles.

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And yes that is a tent...there was no electricity, and we had to share a bathroom, but the views were incredible...





About 6 miles south of the hut was a bridge that I did a bit of panga fishing



And caught some nice little bonefish, african pompano, snapper, jacks, and permit. Here is one of the little bones...there were literally schools of dozens of these things- so much fun on ultralights



At one point we came off the flats, and started searching through the deeper water for snook and tarpon. In our travels we came across this underwater spring- it was so neat to come up on. My guide told me that often times you will see snook and tarpon down inside this spring. Apparently there are springs like this that are fresh water, but this one was salt.

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While it isn't really fishing related, we took a side trip one day to snorkel in the Cenotes. For any of you who don't know what they are, they are essentially sinkholes that gather fresh water. They are unbelievably clear and warm, and tons of fun to snorkel in.

Here is what a Cenote entrance looks like











Later on that week I went offshore on an afternoon charter hooked up by site member Wasabi. I brought along a spinning rod and some butterfly jigs- the captain and mate literally laughed at me when they saw the set up I brought on board, but by the end of the day I had outfished them 3 to 1 and caught the two biggest snappers (I think they were mangrove snappers) of the day

Hooked up!


Back at the fillet table...


And straight to the dinner table




What a great trip it was. If anyone is thinking of going to the Yucatan peninsula, I would highly recommend getting off the beaten path- get away from the all inclusives and the crowds. Get out to see what Mexico really has to offer.

Shoe

[flatbottom]

shoe, looks like a very nice place to relaX. What other meals did you have?

[shoefish]

shoe, looks like a very nice place to relaX. What other meals did you have?

That's the best part of staying away from the crowds- you get real mexican food. The dishes are basically the same as anything you'd see here in the states, but the biggest differences I saw is that the ingredients are so fresh, and there are subtle differences like different types of cheese, the beans are the real southern mexican black beans, instead of sour cream they have a sweet cream, most of the time they make the guac to order, and the corn tortillas are freshly made. Damn, I need to go back

[Anthony of the ARK]

Thats my kind of vacation

[OffTheHookB&T]

Thanks for sharing Shoefish! Looks like a great time

[flatbottom]

I am ready for fresh lamb taco's...lets go !!!

thanks shoe !!!

[HOLWACHAGOT]

WOW! Quite a place to fall out of touch with the real world...Looks incredible. Great to hear you had a cool trip. I bet that is a far cry from the snow piles you came back home to. Thanks for sharing the pics and the videos.
Holwachagot

[Tenacious]

Thanks for the footage.....really cool!

[Squidnation]

Shoe and Nansea- you two are my heros. sounds like a hell of a trip. Nice meeting you folks on the plane.

[Finesse]

Damn Shoe !!!
Thats the way to do it
Thanks for sharing