Animal Shelters
Xpu-ha has some areas of animal shelters (some what small but sufficient) - here are some of the inhabitants.
Crocodiles are native to the Yucattan Peninsula. Xpu-ha has four in
captivity. This is the alpha who has to be kept away from the other
(smaller) three. He's venting his mouth to cool his body temperature.
Here's one of his smaller brothers or sisters.
The turtles are very cute and rather active as turtles go. They'll poke
their heads out of the water and check you out, just like the guy in the
lower left. Xpu-ha has a number of turtles of several different types. They're
also found throughout the eco-preserve.
Xpu-ha has a rather large aviary - Here are some of its inhabitants.
I got to feed this one a peanut. He seemed very happy with it.
These ducks are hilarious. They can balance on the edge of fences - as in chain link fencing.
I don't know how they do it. The only picture I had came out too blurred, so you'll have to take
my word. It's quite a sight.
Just follow your nose! It always knows!
Xpu-ha also has a deer preserve. Here's a picture of a pregnant doe. Deer are endangered in
Mexico, as unlike in the USA where we killed all of their natural predators, Mexico is still rich
with predators. Also the Mexican does have a very short heat period - even as short as a few hours.
Hunting is illegal in Mexico at all times, but poaching persists.
Some of the scenery
Here's our rather uncomfortably hot tour guide showing a chickle tree. This is where chewing gum first came from. You slash at the bark, collect the sap, boil it, and you get a rather elastic, chewy material. It was brought to the USA, had some sugar and color added to it, and became Adam's Chicklets. It didn't gain popularity until in war time.
Here are some morning glories that I found along a path.
Xpu-ha has three bodies of water, an internal spring fed estuary, an inlet where
the estuary empties out to the ocean after filtering through several limestone layers,
and the Atlantic Ocean.
So what's so special about this picture? See the rocky level above the
submerged wooden deck? Guess how far down that is? It's about thirty to fifty
feet deep in different locations - no matter where you are, you can see straight to
the bottom. The water feeding into the estuary is limestone filtered. Aside from
the life in the water, it is literally pure enough to drink. The air temperature is
about 85F - it's gets a lot colder as you swim down. You would need a full diving suit
if you were to stay under for a prolonged period of time. There are a number of schools
of colorful fish in the estuary.
Here are some pics from the inlet. Here the salt water and fresh water mix. Here are
some fish ranging from a few inches to about a foot in size. They were all very
colorful and a beauty to see. I wish I had brought an underwater camera.
And that leaves us with the ocean.
The Resort
Here's a nice view off our patio, with suntan lotion freshly rubbed on the lense.
Dotty lounging out on the hammock.
The bungaloos nearing sunset
We love these little guys. The room service people make little
animals out of the towels. Here's Mr. Elephant.
..and his good friend the shower swan.
There was an impressive recreation of a Mayan ruin on the site as a water fountain of sorts:
There's nightly entertainment, of course - we caught one night of dancers.
Here's the main bar - note the middle layer is modeled after a snake. And yes, that's a
huge thatch roof above it.
The beauty of all inclusive = open bar.
open bar + honeymooners =
Here's a shell pattern in stone that was laid into the floor
of the room we were in. I thought it was a nice touch.
The Honeymooners
The exact moment that my soul re-entered my body.
This was on the first day, I did manage to get a tan.
Dotty doesn't tan much, so everywhere we went people thought
we had just arrived. hehe
