La Boquilla mangrove canoe tour

Behind the beach at La Boquilla, a fishing village on Cartagena's northern edge, the Ciénaga de la Virgen spreads out as a huge coastal lagoon fringed with red, black and white mangrove. Fishermen from the village take small wooden canoes into it straight from the sand, and once you are inside the noise of the beach and the street drops away. The channels narrow into tunnels of roots and branches low enough that the guide has to duck, and he talks as he goes about the crabs, molluscs and small fish living around the roots.

Most trips push on to the open water of the Laguna de Juan Angola for birds: cattle egrets, scarlet ibis and roseate spoonbills. They last two to four hours, depending on the one you pick. Some start just after dawn and go out with the fishermen to set nets, ending with a fish sancocho in the village. Others add a cast-net demonstration and a lunch of fried fish, coconut rice and plantain, or let you plant mangrove seedlings. Tide levels decide how far in the canoes can get. Bring a hat and sunscreen, and leave the speaker at home.