DAY 1 SATURDAY
The trip began with a 7:30 am flight out of Portland. It was an hour and 45 minutes to Los Angeles, where I caught an approximately three hour flight to Manzanillo. Travel was smooth, even with the new baggage screening prior to check-in.
While approaching the Manzanillo
Airport, I recognized Barra de Navidad from the maps I had studied, and snapped
a picture. There was a lot of haze in
the air, and it looked like the haze was at least partly due to fields being
burned.
Arriving in Manzanillo, the humid sticky weather hit as soon as I walked down the stairs off the plane. Customs was quick and easy (I got the green light and was able to skip an inspection). The paperwork is much easier when flying into Mexico than when driving.
The airport
for Manzanillo is at the shoreline north of the town proper. Our first hotel was the Cabo Blanco, about
thirty minutes north of the airport in Barra de Navidad.
The information I had received from Field Guides said the trip leaders might meet participants at the airport, but was vague. I wasn’t sure whether to take a taxi on my own (the trip information had included where to take the taxi and how much it would cost), or to wait for the leaders. While debating, I ran into four other participants (recognizing them by their Field Guides luggage tags), who had apparently been on the same flight and were in the same dilemma. We shared a taxi (two-wheeled drive Suburban) to the hotel together. This actually was a good deal, as the taxi ended up being $10 each rather than the $20 I expected.
The taxi had natural air conditioning (drive fast with the windows down), and the sights and sounds were wonderful. Memories of last year’s trip to San Blas and the Durango Highway came flooding back.
We arrived at the hotel and checked in, with some confusion because we still hadn’t seen our leaders. We were able to sort things out, and I was able to settle into the hotel room with my roommate for the trip, Brad Warrick.
The Hotel Cabo Blanco room was better than average for Mexico, with hot water and air conditioning. Interestingly, and annoyingly, they require an arm bracelet (similar to what you might wear at a water park) at all times.
While waiting for dinner, the official beginning of the trip, many of us gathered at the canal in front of the hotel, birding and getting to know each other. After a short while, the trip leaders joined us and we were able to meet Chris Benesh and John Coons. Both Chris and John currently live in Arizona.
We had dinner at the hotel restaurant at 7:30 pm, with our choice of the menu items. We heard the plan for the following day, and then headed to bed.