Fauna

They are on T-shirts, pottery, and all manner of art work, but mostly they are crawling around the grounds of the Decameron Complex. They are harmless and in a perverted sort of way, quite beautiful. There is an Iguana viewing station by the tennis courts and every day the kitchen staff of one of the restaurants throws out leftover fruit for them to feed on. They show up by the dozens. The rest of the time they are hidden in the various trees around the property. The one above was directly over my head one day as I lay by the pool reading a book. Shortly after I took this photo, he crawled out to the end of a limb, chasing a female, when suddenly there was a rain of terror only inches from my lounge. Iguana poop is scary stuff. It splatters down out of the tree in what I can best describe as Seagull times ten. As I was gloating about the near miss, a bird did what the Iguana could not do. It plastered my knee with whitewash. I jumped into the pool, swam to the far end, and got out, not swimming again that day.

The feeding station.

The staff use air cannons to scare these prolific birds away from the outdoor restaurants as they fly right in and steal sugar packets and other delights right from the customers plates. They have a raucous call and remind me of our Blackbirds.

One of the delights of walking the beach is observing the grace and marvelous flying skills of the ungainly Pelicans. They usually fly in groups of three or more and almost always skim the tops of the breakers, riding the pressure ridge of the rising wave. They skim the water with inches to spare and when they spot a meal, they suddenly take a forward plunge into the water and come up with a fish that is sometimes obvious in the pouch beneath their long, rugged beak.  

The Egrets are not as common but are as interesting to watch. They go after the little Hermit Crabs that scurry across the sand as the tide recedes.

Not sure what these are called but they resemble a Snipe or a Sandpiper. Some have straight beaks and others are longer and curved. They scurry in and out of the surf, always knowing exactly how far the wave will wash up onto the sandy beach.

These Frigate Birds are the most graceful fliers you will ever see. I have watched them until they are out of sight and never once do they flap their wings. They are masters at reading the convection currents. When they do feed, they drop from the sky like a rocket and make a tremendous splash when they hit the water. They probably kill their prey on impact.

This young lad was offering rides on his burro. Or maybe you could just get your photo taken while sitting on it.

I spotted this strange thing in the sand on the beach one day. It appears to be a northern foot revelling in the warmth. It could be a female of the species due to the colouration of the appendage.

Horseback riding on the beach is now prohibited, and well it should be. The gauchos were not always diligent about picking up after their steeds. Here we see a lone pony having a break in a quiet spot behind the hotel. Tomorrow we will go to the beach.