Sunday, September 21, 2008
Swimming With the Stingrays!!
Pete and Paula took us out to see the stingrays! He bought a bunch of squid (bait) and we actually fed them! They very "domesticated" and "tame" because they were used to people coming there and feeding them, but if you weren't careful they'll suck your fingers off! (they do have teeth!)
It was pretty freaky at first - they swarm you and slide all around your legs and they feel so slimey! I learned that their stingers are actually at the base of their bodies up higher on their tails, not at the end of their tails. I always pictured them snapping their tails like a whip to sting you and that that's where their stingers are, but that's not how it is. They did tell us to watch out for the little baby ones b/c they're skiddish and don't know what's going on and if you step on one accidentally, they could sting you.
Most of the stingrays there that we saw were the mama ones. The daddies stay out in the deep water and then at night the mamas swim back out to sleep with them there.
Amazing creatures! Very beautiful and graceful and not as scary as I used to think...
The Sandbar
The "Sandbar" is a shallow area in the middle of the ocean where boats come to dock and it's shallow enough that you can stand/swim. Alot of the cruise ships bring people here so they can swim with the stingrays! Yes, those darks spots in the water are stingrays! (Stingray City is a similar place but deeper where you can scuba dive with them.)
The Critters!
Everywhere we went there were little lizards zipping here and there, and then there were the iguanas!! They were HUGE! We're talking kimodo dragons, huge! Hey Brent, remember when we went to Honduras and went on an iguana hunt, and then ATE them for dinner that night!?!?! Eeeek!
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