Raoul the Crocodile

No, this image has not been edited. It is the real thing. We were laying on a rickety little dock at the edge of a fresh water lake near the Coba Ruins in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Underneath the dock stretched this 10-12 foot North American Crocodile. He was hiding from the heat of the noonday sun. We paid 10 pesos each (which is about 80 cents American) to a family that lived across the street and they let us out on the dock to see Raoul (that's his name) up close and personal. He was beautiful, although I am not sure how smart it was on our part to lay belly down and hang over the edge of the dock. They can jump, you know. Five to six feet straight up. The young Mayan girl who lived across the street brought a plastic bag with some kind of raw meat in it (I think it was chicken) She was about 12, dark hair, dark eyes and a happy smile. She dropped bits of meat into the water and the croc lazily caught them in his massive jaws. The little bits that were left over were quickly devoured by a swarm of small fish. We asked what they were.... "Piranha."

Anybody want to go swimming?

Comments

Beware of Falling Mangoes

There is a book I love called An Embarrassment of Mangoes . Its about a couple sailing in the Caribbean, meeting locals, and collecting recipes. It is nearly my favorite book of all time because this is what I want to do with my life...sail the Caribbean and collect people and recipes. Little did I dream one day I would own a Tiki Bar and B&B in Costa Rica, much less one gifted with mango trees. In fact, I do think I am going to need to post a WATCH FOR FALLING MANGOES sign above my door as the still green fruit is falling off the trees. I have no idea why. A local told me the tree sheds the unwanted-unfit fruit before it ripens. I am glad no-one has shed me. So I am waiting for the fruit to ripen and dreaming of ways to use it: mango-chili chutney, mango mohitos, mango ice-cream, mango topped burgers. I am dreaming quite actively actually, as it looks like soon I will be the proud owner of an embarrassment of mangoes!

Mexican Morning

The sea is calm this morning after days of raging. Its rhythm calms me a little. The sun is just rising and the palapas are turning gold. I love these mornings when the air is still and clean. Orange oriels sing and land on my yellow flowering vines looking for butterflies for breakfast. Today the plan is to go diving right out here in front of Pueblo Escondido where I live, if it be temporarily. Nothing here is set in stone. Not the wind nor the waves nor the condition of the reef under them. Endangered sea turtles struggle for survival. Maybe I will dance with one today. Just off shore the water is clear. I can see the limestone stretching out beneath the waves and disappearing into the vast blue where the sea floor quickly drops from 40-400 feet. I love it here. The tropical breezes, the infant fish that grow in the tide pools, the tiny ones with blank and yellow stripes and the ones that are half purple and half yellow. They have found a safe place in which to grow, ...

Magic in the Palm Groves

One of my favorite things about driving down the long road to Manuel Antonio is the palm groves. Rows and rows of palm trees, their trunks laden with ferns I would have given my right arm for when I lived in south Carolina, create a magical green world along the narrow highway. The trees bear bright red berries growing in huge bunches just where you think the coconuts might grow. The color, like cranberries at christmas time. But the best part is the old fashioned carts pulled by oxen and directed by real Costa Rican cowboys.

Where Wonder Meets Wander

Search This Blog