Seahorses in Maracaipe

Not more than 20 feet from the Xale de Maracaipe entrance is a dirt road leading to the Maracaipe River where the shore and mangroves are thick with noisy tropical birds, crabs of all shapes and sizes, and schools of fish. Hidden among the obvious wildlife are teeny seahorses too- and I was nearly beside myself when I found out we could take a tour to see them. It meant walking through a river bed of squelchy mud that sucked off our shoes, and tiptoeing among literally thousands of tiny crabs sunning themselves during low tide to get to the wooden boats.  All in the unforgiving and rising heat of the morning. 

Regardless my family followed me, with smiles on their faces more or less. The tour was simple enough, a quiet ride along the river with a few stops along seemingly dry roots which would later be fully submerged at high tide. In order to preserve the tranquility of the water, only one snorkeler was out looking for seahorses. He quickly produced a few, placing them in a jar for better viewing. We admired their delicate features and continued on our way. 

Deets was more impressed with Grandpa telling him he found a sea snake (leftover skin of a recently poached fish) and watching two crabs fight over the meat. Margo was more impressed with her feet not getting eaten by fish or crabs. She opted to ignore everything and pout. Regardless, I enjoyed our cute adventure and walked away from the swampy heat of the morning with the same smile I walked in with. 

Boats on the Maracaipe River

Me overly excited.

Snorkeling for sea horses hooked around the mangrove roots.

Yay!

So tiny!

Battling it out.