Rio Lagartos

I know, I have quite a soft spot for pelicans. And I find this image particularly charming for some reason.

On Sunday I took Frank and Ros to Rio Lagartos, for a boat ride and some bird watching. We got to see the flamingos, although from a considerable distance, and many other species.

It was a lovely afternoon spent by the sea...

This week...

...that rain never seems to stop... I can't wait for a bit of sun to get out, stretch my legs, and take some sunny pictures. It's even cold down here! And I miss the pelicans!

Flamencos... only that these ones do not sing or play the guitar

Flamingos are called "Flamencos" in Spanish. And flamencos are not only birds but also musicians who play "flamenco" style music. I miss Teo Sanchez's radio program in Radio Nacional de España RN3: "Duendeando - un programa para flamencos y pelicanos". So I came up with this picture today.

Public radio in Europe (being BBC or RNE) it's the best. I really miss that. At least now I can download the radio programs into my iPod... which rocks!

Check out this link for some awesome World Music podcasts: http://www.rtve.es/programas_radio3/musicas_del_mundo.php

You can tell that I used to work in the radio before starting with my "camera act"...

Coming back to the photo, Rio Lagartos and Celestun in the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula are two great places for bird watching. For a reasonable fee, local fishermen will give you a boat ride to the nearby manglar islands, where you can see the flamingos and other local species. If you're lucky. you may even see one of the rare fishing eagles that from time to time come to fish there. I went there with Bruce a couple of years ago.

I took this one with the Oly E500. These flamingos are very shy and very quick to fly away... quick reflexes are needed to photograph them.

Pelikan

As a little boy, I grew up surronded by "Pelikan" inks, pencils, pens, erasers... and thanks to those tools, pelicans held for me almost mythical status. It wasn't until I came to live in the Caribbean that I finally saw one in the flesh.

What can I say? I'll always have a soft spot for these birds. I took this picture with the little G7 in Puerto Morelos a few weeks back.

Caribbean Blue

I think that if I'd ever move to another place, this is what I'd miss the most... the blue skies and seas of the Caribbean...