2/23/15 Wildlife in Placencia

Well...this is the reason I consider my trips "Bill's Excellent Adventure!" I asked my new landlady about reports I've read on crocodiles in the Placencia Lagoon. Now, you see this area is becoming quite a tourist area, and as you might expect, being in the tropics in Central America, there is going to be strange and wonderful creatures to behold.

Here is what she wrote to me...

"Yes, there are crocks in the canal and the lagoon but they are rarely seen, I have never seen one yet. I hear about them but would love to see one, not too close though! There are boa’s in the mangroves but there are no poisonous snakes on the Peninsula. There are scorpions and tarantulas, neither is too harmful, just give you a good sting. The tarantulas we do not kill, they are very docile and eat the scorpions which we do kill if we see them."

So, I would suppose if you have some romantic notion of watching sunsets or sunrises on a beach, or sitting on your dock at the edge of the canal, well, you might want to think twice and look thrice where you step or sit, especially while you get acclimated to the new surroundings! Thousands of people vacation these islands during the year and many live year round. If they were that problematic...

I have encountered both tarantulas (camp grounds near Jemez Pueblo, NM) and scorpions (white ones in the White Sands National Park in New Mexico) but BOA's and crocks will be a new experience!   

(P.S. reminder to self...travel the canal during day light hours! This is called situational awareness!)

Yes...it's going to be quite the adventure!