Creatures of Roatan

I had a staring contest with a green anole lizard today. 

It is native to Texas Gulf Coast area, but somehow the little guy was here in Roatan, Honduras. It has the ability to change colors, depending on the temperature and "mood". At one point in our staring contest, he turned from brown to bright green. I think he was intimidated by my intent stare. Or he was just being cheeky.

I woke up at 7 this morning. I brushed my teeth, grabbed my rain jacket and headed out to grab coffee. The coffee is good here. I just started drinking coffee. Good coffee is good. I decided I like coffee.

Anyway, as I was heading out, it started to pour. The first place I went to did not have to-go cups so I went to the next place and they had to-go cups. "Help yourself," the lady said. I sure did. "Coffee is free, by the way," she added. God bless people who give out free coffee. Today I am thankful for coffee and free coffee. 

We went diving again today. Diving is good here. Better than good coffee or free coffee. And today's diving was wonderful. My tank got stuck in one of the swimthroughs, but it was wonderful.

We saw beautiful creatures underwater. A big trumpetfish was the first that caught my eye, then there was a big porcupine puffer fish, a juvenile morray eel, and an adult morray eel. 

After diving, it was lunch and hanging out at one of the beachside cafes where the staring contest took place. I had Tropicana Smoothie, a concoction of delightful tropical fruits in one giant margarita glass.

Looking at the sea, the wooden docks and the beach, I saw a sight that warmed my heart. A young boy was teaching his puppy to swim. At first the pup was just watching his human from the beach, not wanting to go nearer. The boy came out of the water and carefully picked the dog up and took him into the water. The pup did not react. I guess he felt safe in the hands of the young human. The boy then let his pup go. Four little paws started to paddle. It did not take long until he understood how swimming worked and what he needed to do to get closer to its human. Once he was close enough to the boy the pup leaped and landed on the boy's right shoulder. The young boy laughed and they did everything all over again. 

God, I miss my dogs.