09/07/2024
How I swam with crocodiles in Mexico & kept my legs...
(or, how to tell a story that captures your listeners)
I’m not a thrill seeker.
Well, I guess I did put my wife on the back of a scooter and hurtle through the Mexican jungle in the pitch black night at 70 km/hr in shorts and jandals.
But I’m not an adrenaline ju**ie.
And I don’t swim with crocodiles…normally.
We had the scooter, so of course we didn't take a taxi. We were late, hence the speed. We did remember bug spray and togs—essentials for a night swim in bioluminescence.
Bioluminescence is water that glows. When we saw tours in Puerto Escondido, we were all in.
One exhilarating scooter ride later, we were sitting on plastic chairs under a giant 'bioluminescence' sign. After waiting 30 minutes, we were led through mangroves, donned lifejackets, and boarded a boat
Finally, we were off making waves on the still water - no moon, only the light of a single torch flashing back and forth over the mangroves lining the side of the river. Strange.
The boat motored on. Our driver speaking in Spanish, explaining the bioluminescence, maybe other things - we don’t know, our Spanish was basic at best.
The engine cuts. Silence... SPLASH! Our skipper is overboard!
“I guess it’s time for the swim!” Ruth and I jumped in, as did 6 of the 9 passengers. “why aren’t they coming in?” we thought. Maybe they forgot their togs.
The water was warm and magical, a million bubbles of glowing plankton highlighted our every movement. We felt like superheroes!
After 30 minutes, apparently I was the last back on the boat. Weird. I could have sworn there was someone just behind me.
Back on land, they were selling souvenir key rings of turtles, crocodiles, and flamingos. That should have been our first clue. But none the wiser, we white-knuckled our way home on the scooter to collapse on the couch grinning at the awe-filled experience.
I decided to google the place we had just gone to, usually something I do before an experience. My stomach dropped.
The lagoon we just swam in was home to an estimated 500 crocodiles.
A woman was attacked, and lost a leg, on a similar boat tour only 2 years ago.
*OH S**T*. My jaw dropped and I showed Ruth what I’d just discovered. We couldn’t believe it - was that the presence I felt behind me as I climbed on the boat?
How were we allowed to swim there? Were we in danger? I shuddered at the thought.
Two weeks later we were on another boat, in another lagoon, seeing more crocodiles - but this time in the daylight, no swimming, and I only touched its tail. (!)
What crazy stories of luck and danger do you have? How do you integrate your life experiences into your podcast? Listeners love the human element - share something real!
