Amikuu Marina is where our boat launched on the Grijalva River and made it's way through the canyon. I was looking up at has 900 meter cliffs (more than half a mile) for about a half hour until we made it to the park. Apparently it gets greener during rainy season, but for me, seeing that much green in February was fantastic. And there were spider monkeys and crocodiles. This canyon is so important to the state that its silhouette is the base of the Coat of Arms. And the boat paused just in time for us to take our pictures in front of the coat of arms.
Amikuu is part zoo, part nature preserve, part museum and 100 percent awesome! We disembarked and began exploring. I heard the Chiapas anthem, which is now one of my favorite Mexican songs, and passed though a rope entryway to the aviary. I'm not usually one for birds, but these were not your average birds. These birds were technicolored. The vibrant hues of teh macaws and tucans were unlike any color I've seen in nature before. I came nose to beak with a tucan, hesitantly, and posed for pictures with the "Fruitloops" famed bird. From the aviary we saw crocodiles, in cages, of course, because the force a crocodile's bite can excess of 5,000 pounds per square inch. Crocodiles also can go a year without eating, crazy. But, the snakes were in rooms with paths for people to walk through. It was creepy to be that close to a constrictor. After trekking past big cats we chose our two activities for the day: Repelling and Kayaking. I've never repelled before, and hope this first time won't be my last, because it was a lot of fun. We were only about 40 feet off the ground, but it feels higher when you look down. Then, we walked and walked to the front of the park to go kayaking. It was too bad that we couldn't go further than the little lagoon-like area, but it was still humbling to look up at the canyon from the water. The sun was warm and the breeze was calm, creating a perfect moment to sit back, relax, reflect and enjoy my amazing surroundings.
After our self propelled boating adventure we boarded our vessel back to the Marina. The driver sped through the canyon kicking up a little water which caused a bit of concern for one of the passengers who didn't understand the possibility, well the probability really, of getting wet when on a boat. After a "discussion" the driver slowed down. To be honest, I liked speeding though the canyon. The warm breeze was a welcome relief from the sun and the drops of water weren't anything to get uppity about, especially with the wind serving as a drier.
So, back at the marina, as the sun was beginning to set, I took a few minutes to get my land legs back. My Amikuu adventure was ending. We walked across the highway to catch a bus back home, and said goodbye to the great outdoors (for now).
(On a side note, I am ever amazed at how easy it is to find a bus going in the direction I need to go, and even more amazed at how cheap it is to get from point A to point B. We waited for maybe three minutes and caught a bus going straight to the city for less than two bucks.)
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