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| North Beach - Playa Norte L. Lock photo |
It’s May in paradise, and surprisingly, there is still a lot happening on the island, just at a slower pace.
The weather is consistently warm, with light winds and seldom any rain.
In a few days, the whale shark season officially opens,
allowing access to these beautiful forty-foot creatures as they leisurely swim
and feed.
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| Whale Shark, National Geographic |
Whale sharks are slow-moving filter feeders in the carpet shark family. They suck in a mix of
macro-algae, plankton, krill, crab larvae, and small squid, then expel the
water through their gills, trapping the food against their scale-like dentils.
They aren’t interested in eating the annoying
critters that thrash in the water around them, faces squashed into diving
masks, and words of awe bubbling to the ocean’s surface. When I swim with these leviathans, I lose my
obsessive fear of the ocean, if only for a little while. It’s amazing.
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| Sea Turtles mating at Punta Sur L.Lock |
Later in the month, the giant sea turtles congregate at
the southern tip of the island, enthusiastically mating. The lineups for the available females are long, as two, three, or four males anxiously paddle along behind waiting for their
turn. It’s a pretty
cumbersome business, with the smaller male piggybacking on the larger
female.
They both seem happy with the results because the process is repeated year after
year. A few weeks after fertilization, the females will come ashore at night and lay up to 180 eggs in a deep
nest laboriously dug with their flippers. If you are lucky enough, you can sit quietly
nearby and watch the females lay their eggs. Don’t touch or disturb them. Just
let the ladies do their difficult job, and then return to the safety of the
sea.
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| Details for May 2016 Fishing Tournament |
And for those of you
who like a bit more action, there is always deep-sea fishing, fishing
tournaments, and just plain fun fishing.
On May 20th, 21st, and 22nd is the
annual Torneo Internacional Pesca that features prizes like 350,000.00 pesos
for first place (About $20,000.00 USD). The second-place prize is a pick-up truck.
Third place, won by island friends of ours in
2013, is 100,000.00 pesos. Other prizes
include a boat and motorcycles. Judging
by the happy faces at the end of the day, everyone had a great time hanging out
with their buddies, drinking beer, and catching fish. Winning a prize is an added bonus.
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| Happy fishermen! |
Most of our Canadian and American friends have returned
to their northern homes. They are looking forward to catching up on family news or
gardening, golfing, and fishing.
We have
settled into a less hectic routine, fewer parties, more quiet evenings enjoying
a good book and a glass of wine on our ocean-side patio.
Ah, May, in paradise. Our favourite time of year.
Hasta Luego
Lynda, Lawrie, and Sparky
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| Boats racing to check in before the deadline |
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