This amazing wildlife reserve of La Tovara is the first outing my husband Rick and I undertake along the 180km coast of Riviera Nayarit from our grand hotel in Nuevo Vallarta (just north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico). Our goal is to take in as many of nature’s wonders and drowsy fishing villages as we can fit into a week’s stay.
 
Our stop at the port of San Blas awards us a glimpse of the town’s past glory. Milling about the massive stone shell of the colonial-era church, and hilltop fort built in 1770, I imagine the activity when this was the seat of Spain’s Pacific navel command – the original great cannons still stand guard like aging sentinels.
 
A few kilometres down the road we come to the quintessential Mexican village of Bucerias. Shop owners give their best spiel as we pass by on the cobblestone streets. Our waiter at a side-walk cafe keeps the tejuinos coming (a refreshing semi-fermented corn drink) as we wile away the afternoon. Fishermen haul their fresh catch onto the docks, restaurant owners come out to make purchases. From their favourite benches, old timers reminisce while gazing out to sea. Noisy tots dash about their mothers who are busy catching up on news with friends.
 
In the surfing Mecca of Sayulita, a lesson on “catching the wave” is a big hit with Rick, while I check out the intricate beadwork in native Huichol art in the open air market.
 
Our last village stop is San Francisco where at certain times beaches are reserved for other than human visitors. From mid-June to November the endangered Olive Ridley and Leatherback Turtles are so intent on egg-laying, they barely notice members and volunteers of a local conservation group protecting them during their mission; and then collecting and transporting the eggs to a hatchery. I would love to be here in September and October to watch the hatchlings being released and see them scurry to their briny home.
 
As our vacation time dwindles, we can barely believe our good fortune. Being slightly past the winter season when Humpback Whales come to breed and give birth to one-ton calves, news spread of a few stragglers off the coast. Still dripping and mirthful from our swim with the dolphins at the Vallarta Adventures Center, we quickly make our way to the centre’s main dock and were soon in an APEX (rigid inflatable boat), squinting over the horizon for a sign of these huge cetaceans.
 
I gasp as suddenly the gigantic body of a lone Humpback surfaces about 100 metres away, making our vessel seem like a toy.  A blast of water sprays from its blowhole and a huge eye looks up at us before he submerges with a tail slap that rocks our small craft. How’s that for a super “tail end” to our Riviera Nayarit visit!

Irene Butler