Magical day in El Corchal, Solferino.

Ineke van Putte
Feb 24, 2016
3 min read

Around 8 o’clock in the morning we left from Cancun to the small town Solferino, located in the north of Quintana Roo, to visit a beautiful ecological reserve. Solferino is a small town very close to the beautiful island of Holbox.

After a long drive of 2,5 hours we arrived at the beautiful house of Mr. Pepe Quintal. Pepe welcomed us very kindly, and was immediately very enthusiastic. After a small talk, we went to the jungle with two trucks. We stopped at several places were Pepe gave us information about various trees and plants in the jungle. He showed us a tree that contains water. When you are dehydrated, and you have no water with you, you can cut off a branch and drink the water that it contains. The explanations about the different trees and plants was very interesting because every tree or plant is used for something else. Pepe told everything very enthusiastic and did not spare any effort to share his experiences with us.

We reached the end of the unpaved road and walked further to El Corchel. While walking through the jungle, he told us about all the trees and plants. For example, he told us about the Chechen and Chaca trees. The Chechen tree is poisonous and the chaca tree has healing properties. These two trees always grow next to each other. Moreover, in the jungle life many different mammals such as jaguars, deers, wild boars and monkeys. Unfortunately we have not seen them, but Pepe told us that they life here. They installed cameras in the jungle that prove that there are indeed jaguars and other animals in the jungle. It is very hard to see the jaguars in daylight, because they do not approach to the people.

After a walk through trees and slippery logs, we arrived at a small wooden pier with kayaks. We all got a kayak, and had to paddle through a partially flooded grassland. But then… we arrived at one of the most magical places I have ever seen in my life. It was like I was in a fairy tale. We paddled through El Corchal and saw all the beautiful unique cork trees, which surprised me by al their different forms. It is a peaceful place where you relax. Silence reigns in this space, broken only from time to time by the song of birds.

At a given moment we came to a point where we had to push all the cattails aside to gain passage to the adjacent lagoon. It was a beautiful place full of water lilies. This peaceful little nook is the home of turtles, small crocodiles, aquatic birds and many fishes.

We sailed back to the wooden pier, and went back to the house of Pepe were we got a very delicious lunch with chicken. It was a fantastic experience. The surrounding was so beautiful, peaceful and relaxing. Nothing compares to this!!

Please bring enough repellent, and wear loose clothing if you are considering to do this tour. There are lots of mosquitoes in the jungle. For more information, please contact Pepe Quintal. His email is: pepecorcho05@gmail.com and his phone number is 9981657105. The best way to contact him is via email, because the connection in Solferino is very bad.