| Southern Veracruz
is dominated by Los Tuxtlas, a chain of small mountains that preside
over the marshy coastal plains. Incredible biodiversity meets magical
realism in this corner of Veracruz - just visit Lake Catemaco, nestled
between the two larger volcanoes.
The region is known for its herbal medicine and witchcraft.
It's also the northernmost tropical rain forest in Latin America.
NATURAL HISTORY
The Tuxtlas have had a long history of occupation, dating back
to at least 1400 B.C. The area abuts the Coatzacoalcos River Valley
in the southern part of the state on the border with Tabasco. This
was part of the Olmec
heartland, and the Tuxtlas served as the quarries for the ginormous
Olmec heads that can be seen today at various archaeology museums
in Mexico.
LAKE CATEMACO
The most popular tourist area is Lake Catemaco, which sees the
majority of its business during holidays and weekends. The oval-shaped
lake is 16 kilometers (10 miles) long and is surrounded by the volcanic
mountains. On the northeast side of the lake is San Martha Volcano,
a special biosphere reserve. This entire region is noted for bird-watching,
the most spectacular of which takes place during the fall and spring
migrations.
On the northern shore is Parque
Ecológico Nanciyaga, an entertaining and educational
40-hectare park with a great trail system and informed guides. It's
a New Age center of sorts with steam baths (temascal) and mud baths
and a good deal of chanting. The officials here are targeting environmental
restoration and have reintroduced crocodiles and turtles in the
area. There are guest cabins perched on stilts on the edge of the
lake.
CONSERVATION
Conservation is frequently more controversial than nature loving
travelers and environmentalists would like to admit. More often
than not setting aside land for conservation into national parks
and bioreserves comes at the cost of dislocating communities and
inflaming conflicts over land rights and resources. Displaced populations
commonly retaliate violently against conservation efforts, slashing
and burning tracks of the very land environmentalists hoped to protect.
One alternative, is encouraging and facilitating community conservation,
in which biodiverisity is protected by community controlled management
plans and is sustained economically by ecotourism.
In 1998 when the last of the virgin rainforest in Veracruz, Mexico
was set aside in the Biosphere Reserve of the Tuxtlas, the project
was not well received by the local population. But since then several
communities are trying to do something very different, building
environmental consciousness, reforestation, monitoring and maintaining
rainforest through ecotourism.
ECOTOURISM NETWORK
Four communities, Lopez Mateo, Las Margaritias, Miguel Hidalgo
and Sontecomapan, have formed the Ecotourism Network of the Tuxtlas
to coordinate tourist visits and share information and promotion.
Spending time in these villages offers excellent opportunities to
enjoy birdwatching, waterfalls, rainforest biodiversity, swimming,
hiking, canoeing and rock climbing, as well as learn about Mexican
community life, local history, plant uses and recipes, and an interesting
perspective on the role communities can play in conservation.
These are eye opening and breathtaking trips, but they are not
for the faint of heart. Tourism is new to the area and accommodation
and trails are rustic. Guides and staff are attentive, well trained,
and knowledgeable. Nonetheless, be explicit about personal and dietary
needs such as purified water or vegetarianism as some of these details
may be new ideas for the community.
COMMUNITY HOSTS
The four communities are situated around Lake Catemaco an area
famous for the monkeys that live on the lake islands, brujos (or
witches), and producing tobacco for cigars. The city of Catemaco
is fairly large and has an ADO bus station, plenty of hotels, restaurants
and Internet cafes. The villages are a nice change of pace, reached
over bumpy dirt roads where there is often only one phone line.
The red-faced Macaque monkeys come from Thailand.
The University of Veracruz imported the monkeys in 1974 as part
of a research project.
Lopez Mateo is situated about half and hour from Catemaco. A beautiful
jungle village with several impressive waterfalls and a clear mountain
river to swim in. They are building a community museum to display
local history and uses of jungle plants. Hiking along the beautiful
interpretive trails you will learn ancient foods, medicines, and
the biodiversity of the region. There are also longer hikes in the
mountains and a mirador.
Miguel Hidalgo is higher in the mountains, closest to the nuclear
zone of the Bioreserve. Their community boasts a volcanic lake and
many impressive hiking trails through the rainforest, several amazing
waterfalls, natural swimming holes in basins carved in the rock,
cliff jumping and rock climbing.
Sontecomapan is a larger more developed fishing village. Traditional
tourism exists in this area but the ecotourism cabins are located
away from the village on land between cow pasture, forest and mangrove.
They offer canoe rides through the impressive mangroves into the
lagoon that is half fresh water half salt water. They also provide
trips to beautiful water falls and access to beaches.
Las Margaritas is located on Lake Catemaco. Canoe tours along
the undeveloped shoreline are perfect for fans of birdwatching and
fishing. There are also hikes to un-excavated Olmec sites in the
mountains behind the village.
The weather is moderate and misty. Expect light rain, cool nights
and hot days. Bring bug spray, good shoes and your camera.
MOVIE NOTES
Filmbuffs! If the towering rain forest reminds you of a movie,
you're probably recalling the 1986 Harrison Ford film The
Mosquito Coast. The actual Mosquito Coast, in Honduras,
was just too inaccessible for Hollywood crews, so the producer chose
the Tuxtlas insted.
More recently the region was the backdrop to Mel Gibson's saga
on the Maya, Apocolypto.
Gibson announced that he is donating the sets to the Veracruz state
tourism board, which in turn plans to turn the filming site into
a tourist attraction.
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