Northern Peru Adventure - Part 6 - Puerto Pizarro

Puerto Pizarro deserves a page all to itself - it is a beautiful spot up close to the Ecuador border - but unfortunately this means that the fishermen often come under threat from "pirates" operating out of Ecuador. They get their boats raided, their gear and catch stolen, and some have even been injured by the raiders. The authorities are trying to protect the fishing fleet, but unfortunately Peru just does not have the resources to effectively police the waters.
I arrived early and first stop was the observation platform

There was plenty of bustle down at the dock

This guy was cleaning and selling his fish right on the slipway

This little fellow was making a lot of noise under the decking - hope mum was out looking for breakfast

There are a lot of places offering trips round the mangroves, but I had been advised that as it was low season (and midweek) I would get a better deal directly from one of the boats, and was offered a trip round the bay, a visit to the "bird Island" (Isla das Pajaros), a close-up of the mangroves and a visit to the crocodile farm, all for S/.20 (about £5.00). I was told I had to pay the entry fee to the crocodile farm, but it turned out to be included!

Similar to the boat I had all to myself

We weaved our way through the fishing fleet

Observation platform from the water

Crow perched on a boat

Fisherman ferrying ice out to the fishing boat

Many boats had nesting pelicans

Fishing boats moored up near where I left my bike - the ones at the rear are beached for repairs

Turkey Vulture

We soon left the bustling port behind and headed across the bay

Isla Hueso de Ballena (Whalebone island)  - unfortunately commercialisation has arrived here too, so I declined the opportunity to land here (it looked deserted anyway!)

Lots of bars and restaurants as this is a popular weekend retreat for residents of Tumbes

The open sea - we turned here as the boat was not suitable for the high sea

Puerto Pizarro from the bay's entrance

We headed deeper into the bay, which is a protected habitat for both the nesting birds and the mangroves, and it is a nursery for dozens of fish species, so fishing is also prohibited in the bay. I could see birds flying in the distance, and was told we were nearing Isla das Pajaros

Approaching the nesting sites

Oystercatchers on a sandbank

The Frigate birds were nesting in the mangroves

The first roosts we saw were Cormorants

... and there were also Pelicans in the trees

Though most were Magnificent Frigate Birds

The males were puffing out their red throat pouches for attention

There was also the occasional White Egret ...

... and Peruvian Boobies

Our boat went between two small islands of mangroves and you could almost reach out and touch the birds - it was an incredible experience.

The Frigates seemed to nest close together in certain areas, which I suppose gave them protection from predation.

Another Cormorant and Booby roost - these didn't seem to be nesting here - maybe it was not the breeding season for them

All round the sky was filled with, predominantly, Frigate Birds

Flying just over our heads ...

... but seemingly disinterested in our presence

We headed away from the nesting site and followed the mangroves 

Mangroves - vital to the marine environment. A multitude of young fish spend their first years in the sanctuary of mangroves, protected from larger predators in the shallow waters, and the root systems of the plants

Grey Heron

It was really peaceful slowly cruising through the mangroves

This area is protected and covers almost 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres)

We eventually turned down a small side river

Close-up of the root system

turning down a small river to the crocodile farm. I was actually dreading this part of the trip as I had read some bad reviews about the farm, and also knowing how generally in South America animals are not well treated, though a lot of this is due to lack of funding.

There was another boat already at the farm

Tumbes Crocodile Farm - the idea is to protect the American Crocodiles and then release them back into the Tumbes river, where hopefully they can build a sustainable population

American Crocodile

The crocodiles appeared to be separated by age

... and though some pens appeared a little overcrowded

... they did seem well fed, and the water was clean

This one was showing off

Tumbes in the distance

The pens were pretty featureless, but in the wild they spend a lot of time sunning themselves too

This was a juvenile

There was shade and water in all the pens

A couple of larger crocs

Not much free space here

On the whole I was not as disappointed as I thought I would be

There were a lot of crocodiles at the farm, varying from small ones to fully grown adults, and conditions were much better than I was led to believe. The pens looked clean, and all the crocs looked to be healthy, though some pens did seem a little crowded.
Soon it was time to head back to Puerto Pizarro

We followed the other boat out

The bay was pretty deserted, but looked very inviting

More pelicans roosting on teh fishing boats

We weaved our way back through the anchored boats

Pelicans not far away from the fishermen repairing their nets

This one was doing his figurehead impression

I had had a wonderful day out, and vowed that I would return one day to this beautiful spot. The combination of a traditional fishing village, the mangroves, Frigate bird nests and, to a certain extent, also the crocodile farm, made this a magical place.