We've had a pretty good run of surf the last week after
Hurricane Erick moved out of the swell window.
La Saldita produced some really fun overhead waves last week and this
week. The larger swell this week saw
some fun rides and also made for a lot of work paddling with the current
ripping down the point. The dying swell
had more south in it than we've seen in previous swells which also made the
point a little soft at times, but when the right set waves came it still
produced a nice wall that worked all the way into the inside.
Due to some early morning chop the last couple of days we've
opted for other activities with the boys choosing the usual play time on the
beach coupled with trips to the skate park.
This morning after our surf check produced nothing but blown out
conditions our friend Pedro suggested a different activity for the
morning. "Let's go feed
Campeon" was the suggestion.
Campeon (champion in Spanish) is the name of the local crocodile in
Tronconces who makes his home in the mangroves on the south end of town.
As we left Saladita, we stopped at a chicken butcher who
obliged us with a bag full of frozen chicken scraps to entice Campeon. We then drove the short distance back to
Troncones to grab Jordan and Slater heading to the mangrove. We walked back into the densely forested area
where the exposed roots of the mangrove waterway produced a small opening. Then like the urban legend of Bloody Mary,
Pedro let out three loud shouts "CAMPEON! CAMPEON! CAMPEON!" trying
to summon him. Another round of loud
shouts for Campeon still didn't produce him.
I asked if I could try and gave two of the loudest shouts for Campeon I
could muster. Wondering if the champion
was more urban legend at this point also, Pedro let out three more summonsing
shouts. Right after this, the water
started to stir and like a National Geographic video Campeon's beady eyes broke
the surface of the water and started moving towards us.
He slowly pulled his 7+ foot body from the black water to
survey what we wanted. Pedro immediately
threw him several chunks of chicken at him which he quickly snapped up a mere
10-12 feet away from us. When we had
given him the bulk of what we had another smaller crock swam up beside him to
see what was going on and to cash in on the chicken lunch that was being thrown
to the champion. In hind sight, bringing
the kids on this alternate surf activity is certainly not going to win either
of us a Nobel Prize for parenting, but they got a pretty big kick out of
standing 12 feet away from Campeon and his buddy as they dined on the chicken. Going to the zoo after an experience like
this would be less than satisfying to say the least.
The Champion:
'The Champion' was totally giving you the eye.
ReplyDeleteWhere's picture 3: Dinner is served?!