Sometimes things happen that just give you a creepy feeling and set your imagination running wild. I’m a daily lap swimmer, most mornings around 8 you will find me at the “Alberca Olympica”, Zihuatanejo’s Olympic size community pool. Usually there are 3-4 lap swimmers, always the “pool dude” who has a student or two he is working with. And occasionally high school swimmers arrive for training. This morning I arrived at the pool about 15 minutes later than usual and no one was there. No “pool dude” no swimmers, I didn’t even see any of the usual maintenance people. It was empty. So I decided to use the “pool dude”s lane as it is the only one that the sun hits and is a tad bit warmer. Since they covered the pool the water in the morning is cold. I figured I’d swim in that lane until the “pool dude arrived and he would then run me off. He has a charming way of getting my attention. He just shouts hey, hey until I look up and points to another area of the pool and I dutifully move, never sure if I’m complying with what he has requested as I don’t understand his rapid fire Spanish. So I swam a few laps, and no one came, I swam a few more laps and no one came. Now I’m a pretty fair swimmer, I usually swim for 45 minutes but even though I had my music going on my swim I pod, Creedence Clearwater couldn’t keep my mind off the “what if”s” What if I got a bad cramp, what if I had a heart attack no one was there to help. Since my first swim lesson at 5 years old I’ve been taught you never swim alone, and here I was 70 some years later in an Olympic size pool swimming all by myself. Then the imagination came to play, why was no one there, did someone plant deadly fish in the pool, is the water toxic on and on like that until I said enough and cut my swim short. The only person I saw there, was as I was leaving, the friendly maintenance man. He was just arriving and joked that maybe everyone was still on holiday. I was very disappointed in myself for cutting my swim short as my “Sharkfest Swim” is just a week and half away and I need to be in good shape for it but I also need to be safe.
After a trip through the Mercado to get fruit and vegies I get back to our apartment, fixed breakfast and as we sit down to eat our attention was directed to the movie theater rooftop.
A very large dark bird had landed. Obviously we are easily entertained as our breakfast got cold as we kept trying to decide what he was and why he was there. Thankfully we have a camera with a telephoto lens and the ability to zoom in once the picture is on the computer so we could decide with certainty that it was a vulture breakfasting on a dead pigeon. It surprised me that several other pigeons calmly stayed around while one of there own was being devoured, but then I believe Vultures aren’t hunters but scavengers.
They are like crows, part of the “waste-management” of the animal world and do provide a useful service. Creepy, but useful! Signing off KO
Zihuathyme 