Your personal English/Spanish speaking guide will meet you at your hotel lobby or wherever you are staying in the city of Veracruz or Boca del Rio. You will travel a few hours south to a small sandy seaside village where your group will board a boat for a ride on the ocean to explore a huge pirate cave, view tall rocky cliffs, and experience hundreds of sea birds found on an island off the coast. Lunch will be back on the beach at a local restaurant. Your journey will then continue down the Gulf of México coastline stopping at times to admire the panoramic views. Eventually, you will travel inland down a small two lane road which carries you through thick untouched tropical jungle. You may be able to smell the delightfully fresh oxygen-rich air created by the vast amount of plants and trees surrounding the road. Your destination will be the lakeside town of Catemaco located in the heart of the Los Tuxtlas Region. The evening is free to relax and enjoy. You will overnight in a comfortable local hotel in town.

After breakfast, it will be an exciting day of exploring the area adjacent to one of the largest lakes in all of México; Lake Catemaco. The 32 miles of shoreline is ringed by tropical dormant volcanic hills covered in jungle forest. Hidden in these tropical woods, you will discover beautiful waterfalls cascading its cool waters into refreshingly clear pools below. On a warm day, these pools are a natural haven for soaking your feet or immersing your whole body. Anyone for a swim? A picnic lunch is included. Finally, you will travel back to your hotel in Catemaco.

Only minutes away from the downtown area of Catemaco is the eco-nature reserve called, Nanciyaga. After breakfast, this will be your first stop where a local guide will lead you on a tour of this reserve where he/she will explain some of the history and folklore. Then you will embark on a lake boat ride. From out in the water, you will get a different perspective of this tropical World Biosphere Area. Along the way, you may spot howler and spider monkeys found on some of the small islands in the lake. Then you will return to Catemaco to check out of your hotel and have some lunch at one of the local restaurants. Next your guide will take you to see the awesome waterfall that was used in Mel Gibson’s movie, Apocalypto. Think of it as the “Niagara Falls” of Veracruz. Later, you will start your journey back to the city of Veracruz. On the way, your group will have the opportunity to see one of the original Olmec Colossal Stone Heads. It is still a mystery today as to how they carved and moved this multi-ton sculpture. Your guide will take you back to your hotel or wherever you are staying in the city of Veracruz or Boca del Rio.