La Ventanilla, Oaxaca - The Lagoons

The Lagoons

The main attraction, which is unique to this part of the Costa Chica is the lagoon, which is the estuary of the Tonameca River. The lagoon is cut off from the sea by the beach much of the year and is full of mangroves as well as a wide variety of wildlife. The two principle mangrove types here are the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) and the white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa). Tannins from the roots of the red mangrove turn the lagoon’s water reddish in the shallows and black in deeper areas. In the mornings, the lagoon fills with the sounds of the many birds that can be found here, including woodpeckers, kingfishers, ducks, storks cormorants, herons and others. The area also has crustaceans, turtles, deer, and iguanas, but what attracts the tourists are the crocodiles. During the rainy season the lagoon meets the sea and prompts sea life such as sea turtles, dolphins and fish to enter to feed on the crustaceans. There is also another mangrove area nearby on the Copalita River. Also nearby is the Rancho El Potrero, where iguanas are hatched and raised.

The lagoon areas as they appear today are in recovery from Hurricanes Pauline and Rick in 1997. The main lagoon was surrounded by tall trees up to thirty five meters in height and filled with mature mangroves. The trees were all destroyed as well as almost all the mangroves, with nothing but red mangrove trunks sticking out of the water. Initial clean up of the area took residents three weeks and the decision was made to help the zone recover faster by replanting trees and mangroves. Over 30,000 mangroves have been replanted, mostly of the red and white varieties as well as ferns, royal palms, mahogany, parota, ceiba and other plants. The replanting was done principally with seeds collected from the remaining healthy plants and nurtured in greenhouses. When plants where large enough, they were transferred to the lagoon area. Since then, both flora and fauna have recovered significantly.

Due to conservation efforts, the village does not allow motorized vehicles on the beach or within 100 yards of the lagoon sanctuary.

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