Somewhere in the mid-to-late nineties, an oil refinery had a major leak affecting this entire coastal region. Not only did the government deny problem, they did little to clean it up either! I'd already departed when realizing I'd forgot to ask André for snorkel gear since I wasn't taking his organized excursion. Turns out, it was just as well.

It's estimated that 85-90% of the extensive reef system is dead. Travelers which had dove around Paicías and Playa Azul had already confirmed what I found at Playa Mero using my Czech mates' gear: Fish and other small forms of marine life were making a comeback, but reefs will likely never respire again thanks to suffocating pollution...kind of like the oil-slick feeling I'd first detected at Cayo Punto Bravo before ever knowing there'd been a problem.

As food supply re-flourishes underwater, the area's migrate bird population is also regaining momentum. What was left of seasonal flamingos, cranes and other wader species can be found in low-lying areas on the road to Chichiriviche, but an infamous section of Cays had no current shortage of feathered friends.

Isla de los Pajaros / Island of the Birds, is a cluster of several mangrove and tree areas closer inland than cays with beaches. In such a vast area, hundreds of birds circling like hawks signal location; the majority of boats appearing to pass for closer inspections.

Aside from gulls, pelicans and other species you'd expect to find, in most abundant supply were large black birds looking like a cross between a raven and a heron...up close in flight casting images of humongous bats Alfred Hitchcock should've included in his thriller! Their numbers, further concealed within the dense vegetation, was almost spooky - especially when startling them into flight out of nowhere. I never quite understood the Spanish word for what they're called and forgot before actual verification.

It wasn't until Playa Mero that we headed into the Park's most narrow channels with growth touchable from either side of the boat. The natural highlight beyond wasn't the beach, but the largest forest of coconut palms that I found anywhere within the park. Aside from beauty, their shade was a welcomed relief during our long wait since swimming/snorkeling wasn't worth staying wet for.

At pick-up, Carlos instructed us to put life vests on in taking a different way back to Tucacas - wide open Sea! It takes a lot to challenge my comfort zone, but there was an uneasy touch accompanying excitement navigating monstrous waves in the small wooden craft; faster passing speedboats disappearing at times between swells. Fortunately, I'm not the queasy, seasick type, but I can't deny staggering from the natural intoxication by the time we docked.