The Iguanas - Final Chapter on the Yucatan

One thing you can always assume about animals is that they see you before you ever see them. And if you make any sudden moves, most of them tend to turn and run. For example, last year when we visited the LBJ Ranch, we saw an armadillo and, by the time I had raised the camera, he was on the run. All I ended up with was a blurred picture of his backside! One other thing you can assume is that, when you finally snap the photo, the creature has miraculously blended into the colours of their environment. It's like when you see a heron on the shoreline – you can always see the bird better with your own eye. The photograph always ends up looking like all you did as take a picture of the shoreline.

Iguanas are a bit different. Like other animals, they see you before you see them but they sure don’t seem too worried about running away. It seems to me they are WAY more interested in remaining in their sunny spot on a hot rock taking in the rays of the day. It's almost as if they are posing for the camera. It's not always easy to see them but Chuck was an ‘Ace’ at locating them. Chuck would say, "Hey! there's another one!". He'd point towards them and I'd scoot over, poise the camera, adjust the lens, check the light, see if they were looking at me (and they were) and still have lots of time to snap the photo!

This one (without a full tail) stopped on the sidewalk and stared at us for some time as we tried to get around him to get down to the pool at the hotel:


This guy lived at the ruins at San Gervasio. He was NOT afraid:


And I took a few photos at the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. It was hard to see them perched on the tops of the structures. I have to conclude this one thought the sun was at its best at that particular spot! And since the iguanas have probably lived around there for a thousand years, maybe they know what happened to the Mayans!


Today is March 2nd… only a few weeks left before we start to pack up and head home. It’s so hard to believe that five months have gone by. Over the past weekend, 100 rigs departed from our RV park. Half of the sites in the park are empty as of today. It seems many ‘Winter Texans’ choose to leave the island before ‘Spring Break’. As for us, right from the time we booked, we decided to stay through March. It CAN’T be worse than Daytona, right? We’re not sure how crazy it’ll be or if it will even be crazy. I promise to share what we see – good or bad.

I'm also hoping to give you an idea of what I see when I walk each morning on the beach and/or the boulevard. Mind you, I think my iguana sightings are over for this year!

Please stay tuned… m.