Ixtapa sketches 2

On Dec 11, we borrowed bicycles and a guide.  Ixtapa has a very nice bike path, known as the ciclopista, that is about 8.5 kilometers long.  It starts in downtown Ixtapa and dips down into the forest reserve, and ends up at the pier at Playa Linda.
Along the way, we stopped to help that turtle cross the road, and watched a roseate spoonbill feeding in the swamp while another one took flight.  Near the marina, we stopped at the Zona de Cocodrillas.  It's a natural crocodile habitat that has simply been fenced off so the crocs don't wander out into traffic and frighten children and tourists.  They are small, as crocs go, only about five feet long from snout to tail and they looked pretty indolent and sleepy.  But those teeth are long and the eyes are prehistoric and predatory.  We also saw lots of those white egrets and iguanas.  The ride was long and hot but lots of fun.  Round trip was nearly 20 kilometers, including the sidetrips.
When we got back to the hotel, we saw that during the morning they had planted pointsettias amongst all the palm ferns and pothos in the lobby and grounds.  It looked lovely.