Day 3 of Camping

So Thursday was our first full day at Cabo Pulmo, which is Mexico's only Marine Park (as in reserve). We were supposed to go out snorkeling within the reserve, but once we drove up to the tour station we found out they had us booked for the wrong day. So we snorkeled just off our campsite instead. It was a rock reef with tons of fish-goatfish, queen parrotfish, a trumpetfish, trunkfish among the coolest fish.

We also had women come from CONANP, Mexico's park service, and the President of Amigos Para Cabo Pulmo, all to talk about the park. Cabo Pulmo was a really interesting park because it was basically started by one extended fishing family, the Cortez's, who realized what the reef held and decided that it needed protection. They started by restricting their own actions in the area and then enlisted the help of Mexico's national parks service to create it. It's now in danger because there's a large development group planning a massive resort just 2 km north of the reserve. It'll have over 2,000 houses just for the workers. They are creating a 400 boat marina (which they're carving out of the coastline!), and a golf course with grass watered from the wells...in a desert! Judi, the president of Amigos para Cabo Pulmo was telling us how people keep saying how this resort will bring good things like electricity and paved roads, and how people living in Cabo Pulmo don't want that, not at that cost. They'd much rather keep living the way they're living.