IGUANAS OF THE MARINA

I live on a boat in a marina. Under the boardwalk that borders the boat, ferry, and yacht moorings...live the iguanas.

This is a very busy place with the massive ferries that transport the tourists from the cruise ships to the tourist village at Belize City; big fishing boats for visitor big-game fishing, many yachts of all sizes. All of them, including the tour buses and vans come and go all day long with people for the beach or restaurant or museum. They all walk the boardwalks.

The iguanas are always there. Just under the greenery or flowering bushes, or close to the many drains that empty the parking from heavy rains. Each drain houses a large, alpha-iguana. The females and young ones have to take their chances under the heavy bushes that line the boardwalks. Most are quite bold and will not move until one is about six to eight feet away. If you approach slowly, they will move to safety slowly. When startled, they can move very fast. The biggest ones are about two feet from head to tail; muscular, with a wicked row of spikes running down their back. The oldest ones are quite craggy. They have the look of being very old. There are maybe five alphas and a communnity of about twelve+.

Also there are small, elegent chickens in the greenery and under the trees, maybe ten altogether. Now they occasionally lay eggs The chickens seem to ignore the iguanas, but there are never any eggs the next day. I think a lot of the boat people feed them table scraps and fruit.

Some tourists stop and take pictures, Once in a while a visitor is startled and we hear a yell or scream. The Iguana usually waddles off in disgust. There is a big rock beside the drive where one of the big ones suns himself in the morning. The buses stop and he poses for pictures until someone wants to get too close. Then he drops the four feet or so to the ground and dives into his hole.They don't like small children or dogs.

The sight of such ancient creatures living in the middle of a commercial-tourist facility with such calmness and assurance about their place in it all, is nice reminder that we don't have to control everything. The iguanas are part of my home...or I'm part of theirs.

The other place you see them are among the Mayan ruins and pyramids. I suppose they were there first...how many thousand of years ago?

Maybe we should take a lesson from the iguanas?
>>>iggy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tehran, IRAN, July 13, 2009

I first   worked in Iran back in 1974 on a movie project, later teaching in the National Theatre. I didn't leave until the revolution was well under way in November of 1978. I had a unique point of view being one of the very few Americans who worked inside the Shah's government. And during those years I never knew or communicated with any of my countrymen as they were inside their gated, Americanized communities. My friends and co-workers were from all parts of the city, both upper class, diplomats, artists, actors, and ordinary workers and craftsmen, plus all their families. The hospitality of all these Iranians was enormous and heartfelt.   There is so much concern and conflict about the current situation of 2009 that I am compelled to write about what I have seen. This is my own personal experience and memory. I hope my friends will not worry about me as much.     I remember, there was a line across the city; an east-west street named Shah-Reza (now named Enghelab) ...
Read more

A new year...

Greetings to all… So much time has passed, and I did not write. I take notes, I keep track of my root-home in Wyoming, my second home in Belize, my friends in California (a very old home), New York, Hawaii, and Canada (more homes of different decades!) With all of that time and experience in the background, I come to another point of view (cinematically speaking). I left the United States in 2004 and now see our world far beyond the "American Illusion." This is my second year living in Tehran, Iran; after several years in Belize, Central America photographing and painting about the Mayans; and half a year in Europe (especially Paris). Remember I lived in the Americanized version of Iran under the Shah some thirty years ago; and have returned to live in the Islamic Republic of Iran (and its ancient history) for a while. It is a question of overlaying memories, the past with the present. First of all, the Old America, the Good Old USA, where I grew up in small-town ...
Read more
Welcome to the Virtual Reality Time Machine Your Window to the World is what? Where do you get your information? How did you arrive at your beliefs?  If you are an American or British or perhaps Canadian, how do you react to something like:  " The country is simply busted. Its financial obligations are unpayable, its asset prices are illusions, and the great undertaking in Washington, New York is to preserve those illusions rather than face reality ." How do YOU recognize reality? Your eyes receive light, your ears sound, your skin touch, your tongue senses taste, and your nose inhales smell.  Think about it. From before your birth you were sensing and recording within your brain; billions upon billions of sensory elements whether you are awake or asleep. Somehow it all gets sorted out and now it all makes sense... but looking back it all was just light, sound, contact with your skin, things in your mouth, and in the air you breathe.  Now, in this highly sophisticated, techni...
Read more