Bring your Camera Gear and Binoculars

It is assumed you have your own binoculars, as this is requisite to fully enjoy all BIM outings!

If you are also an avid bird and / or wildlife photographer, BIM offers select Bird Photography Expeditions with world renowned photographer, writer, lecturer and bird tour leader Greg R. Homel, throughout Mexico… and the world, for that matter.

Please inquire if you are interested in learning more about our bird and wildlife photography-oriented expeditions, or take a look at our website.

Our day trips—unless otherwise specified as bird photography-centric—are focused on birding specifically, and photography as an exciting sidebar.

It goes without saying that you will be glad to have a camera on this expedition, just for the scenic value alone. So bring your camera if you have one!

Regardless of the venue, all tour participants should consider themselves encouraged to bring their cameras and practice this enjoyable pastime during any excursion.

Recommended equipment should include digital cameras with telephoto lenses equal to the equivalent of at least 400 mm or greater (in 35 mm terms) for your bird photography efforts to be worthwhile in the first place. Bird photography tours aside, tripods are not recommended, since it’s reasonable to assume they may interfere with other participants’ freedom of mobility and our general logistics.

Most modern lenses and many of today’s cameras are equipped with motion countering technology, anyway, making a tripod unnecessary under the conditions we will be operating within.

Please don’t forget to bring extra batteries, chargers and memory cards specific to your camera brand, as well.

Lens tissue should also be considered requisite to keep your lenses clean or to wipe incidental water droplets off of their (and your binoculars’) objective elements, as environmental conditions are unpredictable in the often wild regions we will be visiting. If you do not have “lens cleaning tissues,” don’t fret—in a pinch normal, one ply, unscented, napkins or toilet paper will work just as well as expensive lens tissue.

Cloth and clothes will not work to clean your camera or binocular lenses, as they often absorb skin oils and grease and can smudge these on your optics, with predictable results.

Use paper to clean all lenses for best results and clear images.

*Please inquire about loaner binoculars if you or one of your party does not have binoculars but would like to partake in this excursion. We may have one or two available, free of charge, to lend you. Apologies in advance if the loan binoculars are already claimed or unavailable for this tour.

Recommended footwear for today’s excursion?

All-terrain shoes with ankle support are recommended for our trips into the Sierra San Juan Biosphere Reserve; tennis shoes are also acceptable—especially in the San Blas lowlands—if you do not have high-top all terrain footwear, but we highly recommend the former due to possibly rough, rutted, rocky or slippery surfaces, all of which are dependent on recent weather conditions, especially in the mountains.

What kind and Color of Clothes should I Wear?

Lightweight clothing—especially light weight slacks—displaying neutral or earth tone colors (no bright colors or whites please, as they may alert often shy birds—such as the skulky Rufous-necked Wood-Rail—to our presence from afar, preventing our close approach) are recommended.  Short sleeve shirts are fine, but if you have lightweight, long-sleeve tops, so much the better.

We also recommended you don a hat or cap with a visor or brim (again, no bright colors or whites), to avoid glare, water reflections and sunburn in the tropical, often quite hot climate we will be operating within at San Blas.

Except at our hotel or when swimming at the beaches, we discourage your wearing of shorts, skirts, bathing attire, or cutoff shirts that expose the mid-rift while on expedition.

*Please click on the button covering Insect Repellent for a detailed explanation about biting insects at San Blas.  Thank you for your understanding.  

Weather on this excursion—especially during the summer Monsoon season—is highly variable according to altitude. We will visit a diverse array of habitats and elevations on this excursion, ranging form Sea Level to as high as 2000 m / 6561’ at Rancho La Noria and surrounding peaks.

However, tropical weather is unpredictable at best, so be prepared for this contingency, knowing that at any time of year San Blas’ weather can turn surprisingly wicked, so please carry a light duty windbreaker and a fleece to provide comfort during a sudden downpour while on our boating excursions, and to provide warmth during the sometimes chilly early morning hours in the surrounding mountains, respectively.

There can also be a marked difference between daylight and nighttime temperatures, so be sure to carry a windbreaker and a fleece on any of our nocturnal Northern Potoo / American Crocodile excursions to La Tovera Springs.  It’s better to have a windbreaker and not need it, than to need it and not have it, if you catch our drift!

Sun Protection?

YES. San Blas is famous for its clear skies and sunny conditions. This is the “tropical sun” however, so those unaccustomed, beware! We will be exposed to direct sunlight while on our boating excursions, in particular.

For these reasons we recommended using sun screen with a minimum Sun Protection Factor of 30 (preferably 50 SPF or higher) on your face and other exposed skin to avoiding sunburns, especially in the coastal and marine environments we will be visiting by foot, vehicle or watercraft, or all of the above.

Insect Repellent?

YES. San Blas is as famous for it’s Jejenes or “no-see-ums,” as it is for its great birding, but mosquitos are not too much of a problem during the dry season (November-May).

Insect repellents containing DEET will vastly improve your outdoor comfort on this expedition.

Biting insects can seem almost absent on most of our regional expeditions, and for most of the daylight hours, but can appear unexpectedly, so be prepared by arming yourself with both knowledge and technology.

At San Blas, when its infamous biting insects do make their appearances, you’ll know it right away. They have a cultural significance here, and are likely part of the reason San Blas was never despoiled by mass tourism and towering resort hotels. And besides, as mentioned, they are easily repelled using modern insect repellents containing DEET. In a way, we can be thankful for their presence, and the birds who depend on them as food certainly are!

They are most likely to be active during the humid, still, early morning and especially during late crepuscular hours, when it’s cloudy or overcast. This is a time when birders are likely to be outdoors, as well… so come prepared!

Surprisingly, they can even get you while standing in the shade at mid-day here, or while enjoying seafood and refreshments in the shade of any of the covered, palapa-style beachside restaurants that abound at Bahia Matanchén, for instance.

They do not seem to like direct sunshine, and retreat into the shadows for the same reasons you do. So again, be ready for this contingency.

This is why Birding in Mexico discourages you from wearing short pants or skirts during our San Blas outings.

Interestingly, and perhaps counterintuitively, biting insects are not much of a nuisance on our boating trips through the mangroves of the Rios San Cristobal or La Tovara, at San Blas, even at night. Perhaps they are not adapted to expect their “meals” (i.e., YOU!) to arrive via watercraft on the otherwise barren liquid surfaces of area rivers….

To be sure to avoid being bitten by black flies (i.e., “Jejenes” or “No-See-Ums”) or Mosquitoes, we recommended that you carry repellent with DEET as its active ingredient wherever you go on expedition, applying it liberally on an impromptu basis to counter these blood suckers, while spraying your pant cuffs and socks for chiggers before every outing, regardless of the season.

You’ll be glad you did, especially during the wet season (June-October)!

Where chiggers are concerned (as chiggers like and are spread by livestock and livestock may be present at any of the interior destinations we will be visiting from the lowlands to the mountains), you may not even realize you’ve been bitten until 12-24 hours after exposure if you do not preempt by spraying your socks, shoes and pant cuffs; and by then it’s too late and the itching can be formidable.

Thankfully, it’s easy to avoid chigger bites by applying repellents containing DEET, and spraying them liberally, as mentioned, onto your pant cuffs, socks and shoes before every outing, regardless of the season.

We recommend a repellent that is sprayable via a non-aerosol propellent, since the pump style repellents may leak inside your daypack, potentially ruining your food, camera gear, or other often expensive equipment carried. Roll-on-style repellents do not efficiently cover your skin’s surface, nor your pant cuffs or socks, so you are discouraged from using them in favor of a propelled spray.

Bring your Camera Gear

If you are an avid bird and / or wildlife photographer, Birding in Mexico offers select Bird Photography Expeditions with world renowned photographer, writer, lecturer and bird tour leader Greg R. Homel throughout Mexico… and the world, for that matter.

Please inquire if you are interested in learning more about our bird and wildlife photography-oriented expeditions.

Our day trips—unless otherwise specified as bird photography-centric—are focused on birding specifically, and photography as an exciting sidebar.

Regardless of the venue, all tour participants should consider themselves welcome, or even encouraged, to bring their cameras to practice this enjoyable pastime during any excursion.

Where San Blas is concerned—this is an overnight excursion during which there will be many opportunities to photograph birds and wildlife, including possibly large American Crocodiles.

Recommended equipment should include digital cameras with telephoto lenses equal to the equivalent of at least 400 mm or greater for your bird photography efforts to be worthwhile in the first place. Tripods are not recommended on excursion, since it’s reasonable to assume they may interfere with other participants’ freedom of mobility—especially on boats—and our logistics.

Most modern lenses and many cameras are equipped with motion countering technology, anyway, making a tripod unnecessary under the conditions we will be operating within.

Please don’t forget to bring extra batteries and memory cards specific to your camera brand, as well.

Lens tissue should also be considered requisite to keep your lenses clean or to wipe incidental water or sea spray off of their (and your binoculars’) objective elements, as environmental conditions are unpredictable in the often wild regions we will be visiting, by land, river and sea. If you do not have “lens cleaning tissues,” don’t fret—in a pinch normal, one ply napkins or toilet paper will work just as well as expensive lens tissue sold by photography outfits.

What is this Expedition’s Level of Physical Difficulty?

Visitors to San Blas will generally encounter easily negotiable roadside birding and foot paths (some with ruts, rocky stretches or muddy conditions, depending on recent weather) in the lowlands, grading to more moderately challenging walks in the highlands… where you may also notice the effects of altitude, as at Cerro’s Alto, San Juan, and at Rancho La Noria, in the Sierra San Juan Biosphere Reserve.

You may also be required to board floating watercraft (we have able bodied staff to assist you), and may have to wade in shallow water between the shoreline and your boat on occasion and during unexpected “expedition stops,” though this scenario is unusual.

Nonetheless, you should be prepared for this contingency with good cheer and a spirit of adventure.

We will provide free of charge, motion sickness options for our offshore excursions, though this is not necessary on any of our mangrove-ecosystem boating excursions along the Rios San Cristobal or to La Tovera, nor is it necessary at Laguna de Zoquipan.

Walking conditions here range from EASY to MODERATE throughout the excursion.

There is 2000 m / 6561’ potential altitudinal gain on this excursion—depending on whether you choose from our 1-3 night options—and you should be prepared for this, though our vehicle will be doing most of the “climbing” for you as we access altitudinally stratified birding habitats within the mountains, especially the highlands of the Sierra San Juan Biosphere Reserve.

San Blas and surrounding birding areas are not wheelchair accessible.

If possible, we tend to adjust our walking pace to match the physical capabilities of each group.

In the event that two leaders will accompany your group (which is not guaranteed), it is possible that we will split the group to accommodated clients of varying athletic capabilities.

If you have specific concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us in advance of your trip and we will do our best to provide you with accurate information pertinent to your specific needs, while advising you whether or not you would gain commensurately from the excursion you are contemplating.

What is Included on my Tour?

• All Birding in Mexico excursions include one or more specialized, Government-certified (applicable to Alejandro Martinez, a Mexican Citizen, or other Mexican guides), bilingual guide(s)
• Your guide(s) will carry their own private binoculars at all times during the tour, and where productive, a high quality spotting scope, as well
• Complimentary Birding in Mexico checklists specific to the region will be handed out at your pickup point and an excellent regional field guide authored by Greg R. Homel will be offered for sale
• Breakfast-snacks are included
• Throughout this tour, all meals, lodging, ground and water-borne transportation, entrance fees, complimentary snacks, fruit, purified water, and soft drinks are provided with pleasure
• Private ground transportation with pickup and drop-off between Puerto Vallarta and San Blas is also included
• For your safety and wellbeing a First aid kit is carried on all Birding in Mexico excursions
• If you are not a Mexican Citizen, please carry a valid copy of or your actual Passport (or Passport Card) on all Birding in Mexico excursions, since occasional government or military  “Puestos” (road checks) may be encountered and require this.
• Mexican Citizens should have valid government-issued identification with them, as well
• Also it is wise to bring sufficient cash and your ATM card (please know your PIN), to cover unexpected expenses in the event of an emergency