Crocs And Bums By Michael

That's him. He is hard to see in a picture, but at
least I had my camera, unlike my encounter with
the Bum holding the Mexican.

I’ve heard and read stories for years about the crocodiles that populate the lagoons and marinas of the Pacific coast of Mexico. I’ve heard about them in Manzanillo (where they filmed the 1979 movie Ten starring Bo Derek) and later heard about them in San Blas and Puerto Vallarta.

A few times since we’ve been here, locals have made it a point to warn us about the cocodrilos when they see our girls lying on the docks or kneeling in the rocks at the water’s edge here in the marina, poking at sea anemones or trying to catch small crabs. Some of these folks have seemed genuinely alarmed to see us casually standing by with our children only a hairsbreadth away from being snapped up by sharp rows of teeth and drug below the surface as a snack.

The notion that they are in any danger seems exaggerated to me, even after my first sighting of a modest-sized specimen the other night. Windy was at the store and returned with a big smile on her face, “You guys want to see a crocodile?” I grabbed the camera before we hurried out. Swimming slowly just below the surface with his the top of his head and snout out of the water, and about 15 feet behind our boat, was a six- to seven-foot long crocodile.

And today I spotted my first Bum, and holding a small Mexican. My sister and I were at the Puerto Vallarta International Airport (a much, much smaller place than the name implies) when I noticed Pat Schulte standing next to me (and holding his daughter Ouest). I introduced myself just as his inlaws appeared down the corridor. His wife, Ali, is due any minute with their second child. We look forward to meeting them more formally and having them aboard Del Viento once both our families are more settled into our new lives.

--MR