Tourists reported the presence of the giant 3-meter-long reptile on Monday morning on Bacocho Beach in Puerto Escondido. According to authorities, the animal posed a real threat to humans if it remained in the crowded area.

🐊⚠️ #PlanetaOnce | ¿Te encontraste un cocodrilo en la playa? Un ejemplar de más de tres metros es capturado en Playa Bacocho, en Puerto Escondido, #Oaxaca, tras el reporte de turistas.

Autoridades indican que pudo desplazarse por el mar de fondo y lo reubican en la laguna de… pic.twitter.com/tpy4Sr655t

— Once Noticias (@OnceNoticiasTV) April 7, 2026

In a video shared on social media, Civil Protection’s personnel are seen capturing the animal and transporting it on an ATV to another location. 

After it was confirmed that the animal had no injuries, it was taken to the Lagunita de Punta Colorada, a coastal body of water that authorities considered suitable within the crocodile’s habitat in the coastal area of ​​San Pedro Mixtepec.

Authorities said that the reptile may be one of the crocodiles that emerged from the small lagoon at Playa Marinero after a recent swell event in the region.

In another part of the state, in the municipality of San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, two crocodiles were also seen in the area known as Rodeo Arroyo Pepesca. They were captured and turned over to the Municipal Civil Protection agency.

Civil Protection authorities urge residents and visitors to avoid approaching crocodiles, not to attempt to handle them, and to report any sightings to authorities immediately. They also reassured beachgoers that surveillance and inter-agency coordination are ongoing in the areas where these animals have been detected, in order to prevent risks.

With reports from La Jornada and López Dóriga

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At her morning press conference, Sheinbaum asserted that the aim of the report by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) is “essentially to criticize the government of Mexico” rather than present an accurate portrayal of the missing persons problem.

The UN announced last Thursday that the CED had “decided to request the UN Secretary-General to urgently refer the situation of enforced disappearances in Mexico to the UN General Assembly for consideration of measures to support the State Party [i.e., Mexico] in preventing, investigating, punishing and eradicating this crime.”

According to the United Nations’ own definition, “an enforced disappearance is considered to be the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State.”

Sheinbaum’s remarks on Tuesday came after her administration issued a statement last Thursday that said that “Mexico rejects the Committee’s report as biased and dismissive of the observations, analysis, and updates submitted by the Mexican Government.”

The statement also said that “the report primarily addresses events from 2009 to 2017 — under the administrations of Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto — and is limited to four states.”

In addition, it stated that “the Mexican Government does not tolerate, permit, or order enforced disappearances” and “has pursued legislative and institutional reform, in coordination with families’ collectives, to address this scourge.”

Human rights activists and relatives of the disappeared promptly condemned the government’s response, demanding that it accept international aid to face a crisis that has resulted in more than 132,400 missing persons in Mexico, more than 4,500 clandestine graves and nearly 72,000 unidentified human remains.

Sheinbaum: Enforced disappearances ‘no longer occur in Mexico’

On Tuesday morning, a reporter asked the president about the response of CED president Juan Pablo Albán to Mexico’s rejection of the CED report.

In a lengthy social media post on Monday, Albán wrote that the CED’s analysis of enforced disappearances in Mexico is “not limited” to a specific period but rather “examines the evolution of the situation up to the present day.”

En el debate público reciente sobre la decisión adoptada por el Comité contra la Desaparición Forzada #CED @UNTreatyBodies bajo el artículo 34 de la Convención Internacional para la Protección de Todas las Personas contra las Desapariciones Forzadas, considero importante aportar…

— Juan Pablo Albán (@JuanPablo_Alban) April 6, 2026

Among various other points, he said that Mexico’s disagreement with the CED’s findings is “legitimate,” but its condemnation (or disqualification) of the committee’s report is “questionable.”

Among various declarations on Tuesday morning, Sheinbaum said that:

• The CED used an analysis of enforced disappearances from 2009 to 2017 in four states “to extrapolate up to 2025.”
• The CED didn’t take into account “several observations” that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Interior Ministry made in response to a draft of the committee’s report that they were sent.
• Enforced disappearances “no longer occur in Mexico.”
• No government institution gives orders for people to be abducted.
• The government is working to combat — and “wants to eradicate” — abductions committed by organized crime groups.
• The government has “developed and approved new laws” aimed at combating abductions.
• The government is “helping to search” for all people reported as missing in Mexico.
• It is unjust for the CED to “equate” abductions committed by organized crime groups to enforced disappearances.
• The CED itself highlighted that “it found no evidence of a federal policy to commit enforced disappearances.”
• The CED “is not recognizing the effort” the Mexican government is making to combat the crime of abductions and locate missing persons.
• The aim of the CED report is “essentially to criticize the government of Mexico.”
• The CED report has “a lot of weaknesses.”

Sheinbaum said that federal officials and “human rights experts” would hold a press conference to explain in more detail why her government rejects the CED report.

“We can bring experts if you like … so that they clearly say what the [content] in this document means and why the government is rejecting it,” she said.

Sheinbaum — who has said that “attending to the problem of missing persons” is a “national priority” for her government — also posed a number of questions to the CED. Among them:

• “Why is there no recognition that a search commission was established [in 2018]?”
• “Why don’t they acknowledge everything the Mexican government has done [to combat abductions] and its firm commitment to keep making progress on this issue?”
• “Why do they want to take [the issue] to the United Nations [General] Assembly?”
• “Why don’t they recognize the difference between one form of disappearance and another?”
• “Why don’t they recognize that the Interior Ministry meets with [search] collectives once a week, once a fortnight?”
• “Why don’t they recognize the number of searches they have been carried out in the country?”

Sheinbaum asserted that there is “no recognition” of anything the Mexican government has been doing to respond to the missing persons crisis.

Sheinbaum rejected a suggestion that the Mexican state is “overwhelmed” by the situation of disappearances, asserting that it is acting in response to a “phenomenon” that “arose” (or, more accurately, worsened) after former president Felipe Calderón launched a militarized war on drug cartels shortly after he took office in late 2006.

Mexico News Daily 

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Border BioBlitz 2026 — El BioBlitz de la Frontera in Spanish — is a binational “community science” species survey in April and May taking place in various canyons and desert regions adjacent to the 3,145-kilometer U.S.-Mexico border.

Individuals and teams roam priority areas within 15 kilometers north and south of the international border from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico There are also organized events at different points.

Participants use the iNaturalist app to upload photos and GPS-tagged records of plants and animals they find.

Recent observations include a Southwestern speckled rattlesnake and a sweet clover root borer moth, and many people are coming across a rare, mushroom-shaped, parasitic desert plant called “sand food.”

The project’s online “statistics page” includes rankings for most observations and what species (such as saguaro cactuses and California poppies) are spotted most often.

In Ciudad Juárez, tours on April 18 and 26 will send residents into the Muleros/Cristo Rey range and along the Rio Bravo, opposite Sunland Park, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, to document borderland species. Similar outings are planned from south Texas to Southern California and from Ciudad Juárez to Tijuana.

The effort is led by the Next Generation of Sonoran Desert Researchers (N-Gen), with the San Diego Natural History Museum and Botanical Community Development Initiatives, in partnership with local groups such as the Sierra de Juárez collective.

“It doesn’t matter if you have experience or not,” said Raymundo Aguilar, coordinator of Sierra de Juárez. “Everyone is welcome. You just need curiosity and a desire to connect with nature.”

Participants are urged to leave rocks, plants and animals undisturbed, and to have their phone loaded with iNaturalist, an app being used in part to build open biodiversity data.

Organizers say the BioBlitz aims to “record as many species as possible,” filling data gaps in an environmentally rich but politically fraught region. 

Past editions have discovered rare or little-known plants, such as Tecate cypress and carpets of common goldfields growing right up against a portion of border wall.

The volunteer work dovetails with efforts by botanists who have named dozens of new plant species in the border region and used field data to flag sites that might deserve new protections.

The original U.S.-Mexico Border BioBlitz in 2018 logged more than 800 species at 11 locations along roughly 500 miles of border. In recent years, roughly 1,000 volunteers have participated.

For more information, visit the BioBlitz 2026 home page.

Mexico News Daily

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Joao Madjer, head coach of the Portuguese national team, told ESPN that before the friendly match that inaugurated the still-being-remodeled stadium, they were able to judge the security situation. Their experience in the country was positive.

“We were delighted,” Madjer said. “We saw several landmarks in Mexico City, and there were no problems at all. We even went to Tepito, which they say is a very dangerous area.”

In an event organized by the Portuguese Football Federation on the eve of the match, a group of Portuguese legends made their way to the neighborhood of Tepito — on foot, weaving through the neighborhood’s famous street stalls selling jerseys, sneakers and micheladas — to play a cascarita at the storied Maracaná court, a beloved seven-a-side pitch in the heart of the city.

Former players, including goalkeeper Rui Patrício and forwards Nuno Gomes and Hélder Postiga, along with Ricardinho and Fernando Meira, faced off against a local team in the tricolor. After the match, they signed autographs and posed for selfies with residents and vendors from the neighborhood.

Madjer, who took part in the visit, reflected on the experience on social media. “In one of the most challenging neighborhoods in the world, we always felt safe,” he wrote, adding that the hospitality and warmth shown to the delegation made them feel at home.

The positive statements about Mexico by the Portuguese coaching staff and players are especially meaningful as they follow earlier statements of concern issued by the Portuguese Football Federation in February on the heels of the wave of violent events in reaction to the capture and death of drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Rubén Oseguera Cervantes.

At that time, team officials said they would assess the security situation to determine whether the necessary conditions were in place for the team to travel to Mexico. 

Paulinho, a member of the Portuguese national team, was in a good position to reassure his national teammates, being a resident of Mexico as a forward for Toluca. He acknowledged that there have been recent violent incidents in Jalisco, but stressed to his teammates that they are not daily occurrences.   

“My role was to talk to my teammates, to tell them that Mexico is a safe country,” he said in an interview the day of the match. “I talked to them and reassured them.”

With reports from El Financiero, ESPN and Record

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“The Company confirms that nine colleagues have now been found deceased,” Vizsla Silver said in a statement.

The Vancouver-based company said it “remains in close contact with the family of one colleague who remains missing and continues to support the authorities in their ongoing investigation.”

The announcement came after the remains of Saúl Alberto Ochoa Pérez and Miguel Tapia Rayón were identified this month. The bodies of seven other Vizsla Silver workers were previously identified. The worker who remains missing is Antonio Esparza.

The remains of the workers who have been identified were found at a clandestine grave site in El Verde, a small community in Concordia, a municipality that borders the state of Durango. The deceased workers were originally from various Mexican states, including Sinaloa, Sonora, Guerrero, Chihuahua and Zacatecas. Most were aged in their 30s or 40s.

On Monday, the president and CEO of Vizsla Silver, Michael Konnert, said that the confirmation of the deaths of Ochoa and Tapia was “a devastating outcome.”

“… Our heartfelt condolences are with all the families impacted. We stand beside them with continued support as we mourn our colleagues and friends,” he said.

Canadian mining company confirms mass kidnapping of employees in Concordia, Sinaloa

Konnert added that “we will always carry this loss with us” and “will honor our colleagues through the work we do every day and our ongoing commitment to their families, our community in Sinaloa, and the values that define us.”

The ten Vizsla Silver workers — including engineers, geologists and security personnel — were abducted from a company housing development in the early hours of Jan. 23. The housing estate is located near the company’s flagship Panuco silver-gold venture.

On Feb. 10, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said that four people arrested in connection with the abduction told authorities that the victims were mistaken for members of a rival cartel faction. He said that the four people arrested were “from the cell of Los Chapitos,” and noted that that faction of the Sinaloa Cartel is engaged in a “fight” with the Los Mayos faction of the same criminal group.

President Claudia Sheinbaum subsequently said that investigators did not necessarily accept the notion that the abduction was a case of mistaken identity.

According to the newspaper Reforma, former and current Vizsla Silver workers have claimed that the abduction was related to the company’s refusal to pay protection money.

With reports from Milenio, Reforma, UNO TV and CBC

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On Monday, blockades were established on a dozen federal highways in protest of highway insecurity and rising business costs, including high fuel prices and extortion. As of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the only active blockades were in the states of Guanajuato (Federal Highway 110 at several points), Baja California (San Luis Río Colorado-Mexicali), Tamaulipas (Ciudad Victoria-Matamoros) and Michoacán (a stretch of the Mexico City-Guadalajara highway near Contepec).

#TomePrecauciones en #Tamaulipas se registra cierre total de circulación por presencia de personas, cerca del km 200+500, en la carretera Cd. Victoria – Matamoros. Atienda indicación Vial. pic.twitter.com/TpC708KIU7

— Guardia Nacional Carreteras (@GN_Carreteras) April 7, 2026

A Monday evening Interior Ministry press release said “constant coordination with state governments and representatives of the sectors involved” throughout the day led to the dissolution of six of the 11 highway blockades across the country. 

Citing the goal of minimizing the impact on citizens, while “respecting the right to free expression,” the government urged the remaining protesters “to use institutional channels of dialogue and clear the roads to … guarantee free transit on the country’s highways.”

In contrast, the National Association of Truckers (ANTAC) and the National Front for the Rescue of the Mexican Countryside (FNRCM) said the government had “sabotaged” their protests, while insisting the strike had not been canceled.

ANTAC spokesperson Jeannet Chumacero accused the authorities of using strikebreakers in the transport and agricultural sectors to sow confusion among truckers and farmers.

Chumacero also criticized the intimidation tactics and said the government would be held responsible for any aggression against leaders and participants in the strike action.

The newspaper El Universal reported that ANTAC claimed some protesters in the state of Tlaxcala were threatened at the point of a gun and beaten, while insisting several others were allegedly “disappeared.”

The Tlaxcala government said any action taken by the authorities was in strict accordance with the law, adding that there was no record of anybody being detained.

“State intervention was carried out under containment protocols and proportional use of force,” the government said, insisting that officials employed non-lethal deterrent agents such as water and tear gas to disperse the protesters.

Although ANTAC insisted the blockades would continue, the federal government said protesters had withdrawn from blocked highways in Tlaxcala and Morelos early Tuesday morning. 

Other protesters ended blockades in northern Mexico, allowing the Mexicali–San Luis Río Colorado highway — the main interstate linking Baja California to Sonora — to reopen.

Although truckers have shown support for the strike, freight companies have distanced themselves from the blockades. 

The National Chamber of Freight Transportation said that while it is sympathetic to the issues motivating the mobilizations, dialogue is the best way forward.

With reports from La Jornada, El Financiero and El Universal

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Set for April 17-19 at the Sanctuary of the Martyrs in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco (a suburb of Guadalajara), the Fearless Congress 2026 is being billed as “the largest masculinity congress in Latin America.”

Among the sponsors of the congress are the state government of Jalisco and the municipal governments of Guadalajara and Zapopan, all headed by members of the Citizens’ Movement party (MC).

Although MC is classified as a center-left, social-democratic and progressive party, Jalisco has long been considered a socially conservative state, featuring deeply rooted Catholic and traditional values.

The speakers range from entertainers like Eduardo Verástegui (an ultra-conservative actor/singer/producer who actively supports U.S. President Donald Trump) to footballers like Carles Puyol (former Spain and Barcelona captain), Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and Spanish psychologist Isabel Rojas Estapé.

“We are living through a silent crisis: men confused, empty and disconnected from their purpose,” reads the website of event organizers Fearless. “Masculine identity has weakened, leaving profound questions: Am I enough? Do I have what it takes?”

Tickets for the three days of the congress cost between 7,490 (US $422) and 1,450 pesos (US $82) and attendance is expected to surpass 10,000.

Andrés Villaseñor, the event organizer, says the project arose in response to a “crisis of male identity.”

In a message widely disseminated on social media, he asserts that “men have lost their way,” and face problems with depression, addiction and a lack of purpose. Villaseñor insists that men should “return to the original plan” to become “defenders, protectors and providers.”

Critics suggest that such statements reinforce traditional gender stereotypes and reduce the complexity of male issues to a conservative vision with a strong religious component.

The manosphere is described as a growing network of online communities that promotes masculinity and spreads misogyny and hate by trivializing gender-based violence and reinforcing discriminatory stereotypes, while suggesting that men are victims of the modern world.

The United Nations has labeled the manosphere a serious threat to gender equality.

Complaints have also arisen about the promotion the congress has received from channels linked to government agencies in Jalisco, Guadalajara and Zapopan, prompting debate about the use of public platforms to promote events with a specific ideological and religious focus.

With reports from La Jornada, El Sol de México, El Occidental, Debate and Espejo magazine

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Guadalajara International Film Festival returns 

The Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) is one of the city’s most significant cultural events of the year. It’s also one of Latin America’s largest and longest-running film festivals, now in its 41st edition.

The event showcases both Mexican and Ibero-American cinema, including full-length features, documentaries, animated films and shorts. In many cases, directors attend the screenings and host post-film Q&As, enabling attendees to gain behind-the-scenes insights into the creative process. 

The FICG this year features 192 films from Mexico, Latin America, Europe and the United States. As the guest country of honor this year, there will also be 28 films from Chile, including works that tackle challenging but timely themes, such as political oppression, violence, political resistance, morality and death.  

Films are screened at various locations around the city, but most happen at Cineteca FICG in north Zapopan, which is owned and operated by the University of Guadalajara. The vast majority of the festival’s films are shown in Spanish, but a handful are screened in English, Portuguese or German, with subtitles.

To check out the full calendar of screenings and purchase tickets, visit the FICG 2026 homepage. 

Date: April 17-25

Location: Cinteca FICG, Centro Cultural Universitario, Av. Perif. Pte. Manuel Gómez Morín 1695, Rinconada de La Azalea, Belenes Norte, Zapopan, plus other locations. View the full schedule here.

Tickets: Available from Cineteca (University of Guadalajara). Most films cost 60 pesos.

Dwindling green spaces in Guadalajara

As we approach Earth Day celebrations on April 22, one of the things Guadalajara residents frequently hear is that theirs is the most arboleda (wooded) major city in Mexico. And yet, a new tree census of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (GMA) published in January by IMEPLAN (the city’s urban planning institute) suggests that the city’s green spaces are coming under increasing pressure.

The GMA’s tree canopy has been steadily declining over recent decades, according to analyses of satellite imagery. Beyond the ubiquitous towers springing up in the city center, an urban sprawl westward (into Bosque la Primavera) and northward (into Bosque El Nixticuil) has consumed vast swaths of local forest in recent years. 

Large infrastructure projects have also contributed, with the Line 3 light-rail route that was completed in 2020, removing roughly 8,000 mature trees along the city’s north side. The tree census found that the Guadalajara Metro Area (GMA) contains 1.3 million trees, or one tree for every four residents. But the distribution is far from equal. 

A green space disparity

One of the census’s more surprising findings is that the city of Guadalajara is doing a better job in tree conservation than its suburbs. It also revealed wide disparities in conservation across municipalities — the GMA is made up of nine municipalities — and between wealthier and lower-income neighborhoods. 

The city of Guadalajara, which encompasses a mere 6% of the total land area in the GMA, accounts for 42% percent of the total tree cover. Zapopan, which occupies 40% of the GMA’s land area, contains just 29% percent of its tree cover. Examined from another angle, Guadalajara’s wealthier neighborhoods like Monraz, Providencia and Bugambilias contain far more trees per hectare than the city’s poorer areas.

Utilizing these latter insights, Guadalajara’s city government has identified priority areas for reforestation as part of its 2025 tree planting plan. Residents interested in adopting a tree to plant on their sidewalk can request one by sending an email to arboladourbano@guadalajara.gob.mx. 

Zapopan residents decry tree removals 

To better understand what’s happening to Zapopan’s trees, we examined earlier urban canopy management in several of its northern neighborhoods. 

In February, neighbors in Zapopan’s historic center reacted angrily to the city government’s aggressive pruning and removal of multiple healthy trees. City officials defended their decision, stating that their actions were intended to discourage homeless people from sleeping under the trees. 

Area residents bemoaned the aesthetic damage and loss of migratory bird habitats. Others are concerned about how the tree losses will impact temperatures in the historic center. 

“People complain so much about the heat, and it’s precisely because of the lack of trees,” a historic center resident who gave her name as Elizabeth told UDGTV. 

A short walk east of the historic center, residents who live alongside Villa Fantasia Park were similarly caught off guard when city workers removed 10 trees inside the park last month. When residents sought answers, the government stated that the trees had been eliminated because they were not native species.

Citizen input is not being taken into account

Residents also learned that the trees were cut as part of a park rehabilitation project, created without citizen input. The plan, not yet fully implemented, calls for a total of 36 trees to be removed. 

Neighbors have mobilized to seek changes to the plan so that mature trees aren’t sacrificed. As of now, no decision has been made.

Separately, in expat favorite Colonia Ecológica Seattle, residents have been increasingly dismayed by the aggressive culling of more than 80 trees from the Parque Lineal Aurelio Ortega over the past year. This neighborhood is famous for its well-preserved tree canopy, low density and bikeability. 

With so much conflict lately, it seems that Zapopan’s municipal government and residents are not well aligned when it comes to the importance of preserving what’s left of the city’s tree canopy.

MND Writer Dawn Stoner is reporting from Guadalajara.

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Located in western Mexico, just northwest of Jalisco, Nayarit has a wide range of geographical attractions. Along the Pacific Coast, you have the popular Riviera Nayarit, a budget-friendly stretch of relaxed fishing villages and laid-back beaches. At its northern end, you’ll find Playa Novillero, Mexico’s longest beach, where you can stretch your legs over 90 kilometers of shimmering sand, while at its southern end lies Mexico’s biggest bay, La Bahía de Banderas, one of the best places in the world for whale watching.

In contrast, you have the eastern side of Nayarit, intersected by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Here you’ll find massive volcanoes like Sangangüey and Ceboruco, covered with pines and oaks dripping with Spanish moss.

This rugged area is cut, in turn, by the dramatic Santiago River Canyon, which winds its way through Nayarit for over 200 kilometers. The canyon can get as deep as 600 meters, featuring a semi-tropical environment at the bottom and offering hikers exciting challenges.

Along the river’s route lies the huge Aguamilpa Dam, one of the best places in the world for bass fishing.

Isabel: home of the blue-footed boobies

Nayarit’s geodiversity and biodiversity are greatly expanded by the inclusion of the Marieta and Isabel islands, off its west coast.

Isabel has been called “Mexico’s answer to the Galapagos.” If that sounds like an exaggeration, note that Jacques Cousteau spent weeks there filming a documentary on the island, after which he urged Mexico to turn it into a national park (which it did in 1980).

Just getting to Isabel is an adventure, during which you may make friends with humpback whales and dolphins. On the island, you will discover that the frigate birds and boobies nest on the ground and in low trees, unafraid of visitors. While camping on the island, your hosts will treat you to delicious homegrown oysters and smoked fish. Isabel is an island you will never forget!

Fumaroles and pumas

Ceboruco Volcano is conveniently located along the toll road leading from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta. It is 2,280 meters high and you can easily get to the top via an excellent antenna-maintenance road. The volcano last erupted in 1875 and has at least seven craters, all of which are great fun to explore. Among Ceboruco’s many attractions are picturesque green meadows that abruptly butt up against high walls of chunky black basalt. Trees on this mountain top are festooned with lichen, orchids, bromeliads and Spanish moss.

Camp up at the top near a blowing fumarole and the next morning you may discover that you were visited by a puma in the dead of night. 

Magic River

El Manto is a one-of-a-kind water park located on the eastern edge of Nayarit, 115 kilometers from Guadalajara in Jalisco.

Here is born a stream of crystal clear, room-temperature water which then flows through a narrow, gorgeously colored canyon, past three small waterfalls.

As a boy, Don Salvador Quintero, owner of El Manto, would blissfully float down this river on an inner tube, dreaming that someday he would transform it into the best water park in the world.

One day, as an adult, he shared his dream with the owner of the land, who then and there sold it to him for 300 pesos.

Don Salvador immediately began constructing the sturdy stairway that now takes visitors from the surface down to the canyon floor.

Everyone who comes to El Manto falls in love with it and they arrive by the busload.

In time, villas and a camping area were built for those who would like to spend the night at this charming hideaway. And today it has two restaurants.

You can have this unique water park all to yourself if you come on a weekday when kids are in school. 

Santa María del Oro

A 40-minute drive from Tepic, this crater lake, whose water transitions from deep blue to emerald green, deserves to rank among the most picturesque and serene crater lakes in the world, but only a lucky few have even heard of it.

Here you can camp or rent a cabin cheaply and then kayak around the lake, which is two kilometers long. 

Once said to be bottomless, Santa Maria Del Oro is now known to be 60 meters deep, with warm currents continuously rising to the surface. After touring the lake, enjoy the crater’s famous chicharrón de pescado, small bits of mojarra fried in batter, to be munched, of course, under a thatched roof at the water’s edge.

Visit Santa Maria Del Oro and you may cry out like French documentary maker Christophe Delestre: “Mon Dieu! Here I am floating in a crater lake in Mexico, surrounded by a volcano’s walls … incroyable!”

Other outdoor attractions in Nayarit

There are plenty of other attractive sites in Nayarit. For example, you can take an early-morning panga (small boat) ride through the mangroves of San Blas and see huge numbers of water birds while hobnobbing with crocodiles. South of San Blas, there is the wild and still natural Turtle Beach, where you can camp for free and help release turtles in the evening. 

Looking for petroglyphs? There’s a trail at Altavista, near Chacala, that functions as a unique rock-art gallery, ending at an exotic pool called La Pila del Rey, surrounded by hexagonal columns of basalt.

And, of course, Nayarit is famous for its many Wixárika (Huichol) villages. Yes, some of them do accept visitors, especially those alongside Aguamilpa Dam.

To see everything in Nayarit, be prepared to dedicate several lifetimes!

John Pint has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 years and is the author of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors in Western Mexico.” More of his writing can be found on his website.

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