This place isn’t located in Sonora and doesn’t have to do anything with our recent trip, we actually went there a couple of month ago. But it was such a great place, so we felt talk about it. It’s only about 12 hours away from Ciudad Obregon!

Not many foreign people have visited the place - yet, at least that’s the feeling you get when you drive down the narrow roads to the little village San Blas. We’ve actually drove to it from an even smaller village about an hour away. While we drove down with our ‘guide’, who was an uncle of Estefania, he told us that this street used to be dangerous. Not long ago there were raids on it all the time, including car-napping, kidnapping, homicides and normal raping. Maybe he was still scared a bit and that’s why he didn’t leave us alone with a taxi, or he just wanted to spend some time with us. After over an hour driving down narrow and curvy roads in the middle of the jungle we finally arrived in San Blas. Estefania has been at the place before, but for me it was a total different experience, everywhere they sold fish, shrimps and candy.
La Tovara is just located a bit outside of San Blas, while driving to it we crossed a few rivers and each time we looked desperate to see a crocodile in it. Just a few meters in front of the entrance of La Tovara we actually saw some laying in the water and getting warmed up by the sun. A cold sweat went down in our necks… But then were we about to enter a reservoir where crocodiles just come out of every corner. Maybe it’s a bit paradox that some people who are scared of reptiles visit such a place.

Before you can make the trip you have to pay at a little office, it’s not expensive and totally worth every single Peso. You can choose between two different tours: One that takes you to the pool directly or one that will take you to the crocodile, pig and raccoon cages. If you ask me the second one is very amazing, well that means if you can overcome your fear of crocodiles. Next to the little office there are the boats, or nutshells. When I saw them I just said “Estefania those are our boats, won’t they flip over?” she insured me that nothing will happen and we entered the boats. You don’t drive the boat yourself; there is an ‘experienced’ boat driver that’ll take you through your tour.

In the start of the tour there weren’t any crocodiles, but lots and lots of little turtles and exotic looking birds. I’m guessing about 4 minutes in to the tour we encountered the first contact with a crocodile. Luckily it was just a small one, nothing that could get threaten our life!

We drove around curves and more curves and on every side was high grass and jungle like trees. So that we lost the orientation pretty quick, and I just thought “Don’t get lost, don’t get lost, boat don’t sick, don’t sick. I don’t want to fall into the water. Please oh no.”

All my fears got even stronger when the boats man stopped and said in Spanish something like’ Crocodile, crocodile!’. There was an about 3-4 meter long crocodile lying on a stone watching us, but he didn’t seem to be bothered from our sight, because he just kept on lying there.

A few more curves and some smaller crocodiles further, we came to the first end of the tour, where about half of the people got off. We then took off with a smaller group to the second part and even more exciting tour. Again we’ve saw a lot of crocodiles, birds and turtles, but then we arrived at the second part of the tour: the reservoir. In that place they grow crocodiles and keep some larger ones in cages.  Just one minute after we left the boats I got my second or third shock: A nasty looking snake was hanging on a fence, one that you don’t want to mess around with.

In this part of the tour we got an extra tour guide, which showed us all the different animals they held in the cages. Some of which didn’t look so safe anymore. Yes, you won’t believe me, but in one cage was a 4 meter long crocodile and there was a hole in the face. I’m guessing the very brave visitors put their fingers, foot and hands in it so they can touch the croc.  Next to the reptiles there were also some cute looking pigs. I don’t even want to think that they could become food someday, they just were so cute! While looking around we saw how a Mexican dude insults a croc, and it immediately snaps, luckily the fence was strong enough…

The tour took about half to an hour and was totally worth it. Then we got into a boot again drove back to the first stop - the pool. Calling it pool is probably wrong it’s more like a laguna. Located right next to the part where the crocodiles swim, actually it’s just separated by a single fence. Next to the laguna there is a little restaurant and a bathroom. The bathroom isn’t big but you can easily get changed inside, if you forgot to put on your bathing suit before. I for my part did it, while we waited for our ordered food.

They don’t have a too big selection of foods, but surely some good ones, if you enjoy fish. But when I got there again I’ll bring my own food though. Because the food I ordered were 3 fried fish. Till now it all sounds tasty no? That’s what I thought as well, but then when the food came I was pretty shocked to see that the fish still had eyes and everything else you expect not to find on your food on them. Estefania just told me, when she saw my shocked face, that here in Mexico the people want to have the face on the fish. For me that was enough, I wanted to be ‘Mexican’ so I tried to eat it anyway. Even though that’s one of the experiences I don’t need to make again.

After we both had finished eating our food and watched the fishes in the laguna and we decided that it was time to try and see how ‘cold’ the water was. While walking to the entrance of it, we saw two marines with big rifles and thought: ‘Good, they’ll shoot the crocs, if they try to enter the laguna, or will they shoot us if we leave the laguna…’. With that feeling we jumped into the laguna, the water was refreshing and it was kind of an adrenaline rush, even though there were many other people in it. But just the thought to swim in water with thousand of fishes and a just little fence between us and the crocodiles was enough for us not to stay in the water for long. All other people seemed to enjoy the water though, they jumped in from the side, swam to the fence and back and tried to chase the fishes.

“La Tovara is a fresh water spring. The water is crystal clear and perfect for swimming especially since they put up a fence to keep the crocodiles out. Swim at your own risk.” That is copied by the official page…

Those were the major parts of Las Tovara; I bet there are still parts we or I haven’t talked about. So you should consider of visiting - to see for yourself. This is definitely a place you want to visit, probably one of the best places in Mexico.

Just so that I don’t disappoint anyone this is just a reference for people, especially for people out of the European Union, which apply for a Mexican student visa. The visa is free - no application fees or any other costs besides the price you pay for making 4 pictures. It’s much easier than applying for an American visa - that’s for sure!

My nationality is German and it took about 2 weeks to apply and get it handed out to me. For other countries that might be different, I believe to have heard that for Russians or Chinese it takes longer up to 4 month.

You can acquire the visa at every embassy and consulate. But bear in mind, that you need to do it in the closest one to your home. If you live in ‘Hessen Germany’ Frankfurt am Main will be the place you want to go.

Now to my story and how I got my visa.

I had a bit of telephone contact with the embassy in Frankfurt, which was difficult because their working hours aren’t the friendliest ones (Monday till Friday from 9am - 1pm). While talking with them on the phone they’ve told me that I only can get a visa when I have a written letter from my university that says that I’m a fully accepted student. A letter that says that I’m a guest hearer wouldn’t be enough.

This was an important fact for me. Before the phone call I was still looking for a guest seat, that all changed after the call obviously. ‘How I found my university’ can you read in an earlier post of me.

To the other problems I had already came on top that the official website of the Mexican embassy in Germany was down, so that I wasn’t able to get the proper forms. Luckily I was able to get them faxed to me by a helpful employee for the embassy. The forms weren’t too complicated to fill out it basically just asked for normal and reasonable information:

“Will you visit the northern border of Mexico? Will you visit the southern border of Mexico? Where will land or enter the country? What are you intentions (student, worker, employee)? Have you ever had a visa before? Was your last visa accepted? ” The questions ‘where will you enter the country’ supposes that you bought a ticket before your apply for a visa. Or am I mistaken? I found that a bit weird, but OK.

What wondered me the most is that they didn’t want an address were I’ll be staying. On the paper it said further that I need to have a bank recipe that ensures that I’m having at least 500$ at a monthly basis - I guess they just want to make sure I don’t starve in Mexico or become a bum. All the paper work was filled out pretty quickly just took about 10 minutes. I think the hardest part of it all was just getting the proper papers from the embassy.

There I was, all happy and smiling, in the train to the embassy with all my papers:

• Appliance letter
• Passport
• Bank recipe
• 2 Photos

It took just 30 minutes for me to arrive in Frankfurt and luckily there was a train station next to the embassy. But it’s not like I found it immediately, oh no I searched for approximately 20 minutes till I saw that little sign saying: “Mexican Embassy”.

At least there weren’t too many people in the embassy, just an hectic Russian that was anxious to cut me in line. When it was my time to get to the counter the woman was very friendly and she accepted my papers - except my bank recipe. She told me that she would prefer a letter signed letter from my dad with something similar like that on it:

” With this letter I’m assuring that my son Thomas will be getting 500$ each month from me. Dad”

I just thought: “great I made the entire journey for nothing”. But at least they kept my papers and passport and promised that I just need to send them this letter and they proceed from there. The same day my dad faxed them the letter. So we called them again the next day but then they told me that this wasn’t enough they also wanted a copy from my dad’s passport. Another day was lost. Finally at the third day they seemed to be happy and said they process it now. This was the start of just waiting and hoping that everything will turn out good. There are all those myth that Mexicans are lazy and it usually takes them longer till they get something done, but not this time. After the 10^th working day has passed I’ve called them and asked whether they got my visa done and they said ‘yes, you can come and pick it up.’

Score! About 2 hours later I was at their office and standing in line for picking it up. I got all nervous because the person who wanted to hand me the visa out didn’t find it at first - I guess he mixed up my last name, well that happens to a lot of people. Once he found it he wanted me to put one finger print and a signature in a booklet - or my student visa. Yes, the Mexican visa is an extra booklet with lots and lots of pages where you can put lots and lots of information… Next to the booklet he also handed me my Passport back, they also put a new sticker in it, saying that I’m a having a visa. The employee also told me that I need to carry with those two items (visa and booklet) the entire time while traveling around Mexico.

That was it basically. Hopefully this will help someone someday.

Thomas

Ps.: The student visa allows you to leave the county and entering it again. Oh, and if anyone wants or needs the forms i’ll be happy to send them to you!