We started the final day of our expedition with an early morning outing in a beautiful, flat bay with extensive mangroves. We took advantage of the morning by exploring the mangrove’s estuaries and spotted many birds, including white ibises, tricolored herons, snowy egrets, yellow caracaras, kingfishers, cormorants, pelicans, and frigates, to name a few.
This area is known for its wonderful story of crocodile conservation. A much different story was painted seventy years ago. At that time, an era of crocodile hunters almost decimated the population. Through the efforts of marine biologists just twenty-five years ago, they were able to convince the ragtag hunters of the seriousness of this unsuitable practice. Today’s local guides are former hunters turned conservationists, and they monitor a successful recuperation project. They boast that they have released some 18,000 crocodiles back into these mangroves.
After the outing this morning, we enjoyed a wonderful brunch set up by our hotel staff as we enjoyed our last day in Colombia. The afternoon held a special surprise with a visit to the privately owned hacienda of Sanguare. We were received by the family with trays of local fruits and juices in a beautiful tropical garden surrounded by spectacular forest. The property was teeming with birds of all kinds, great trails, and a wonderful beach. Our closing act took place at sunset with a high energy performance of Caribbean dancing with synchronized drums and high-pitched flutes. It was an amazing ending to the trip.
