These fishing boats are called dhows and as far as I know they are all made by hand and are completely made of wood. They are used for fishing and taking us tourists around. On one of my excursions, I was supposed to go see the dhow makers, but we were running late and they had already gone home for the day.
Another excursion was a tour of the rainy jungle and pointed out the plants and trees, then on to the red monkeys. It was an overcast day and had just stopped raining. The monkeys stay in the trees during/after the rain but sometimes when it is dry, they will come down and you can get very close to them. They are really friendly but I only got to view them in the trees. Don't stand directly under them, they can pee and poop on you which I almost found out....This is the only place in the world I was told that Red Monkeys exist. Their backs have a rusty brown color to them but I don't think the photos could capture their color. I really liked the spikey hair-do on some of them and the babies are soooo cute.
The Mangrove Swamp is very interesting too. There are several different kinds of trees in this swamp and each tree has a different seed and it is very interesting how they germinate. But the one mangrove has the roots growing above ground and it does this it acquire more oxygen as well as to sturdy itself in the muddy swamp. The ground is black and crawling w/ little black crabs and frequently I would hear a loud pop, like a cork out of a wine bottle. This noise was caused by the crabs burrowing into their holes and exhaling in order to get another breath. That was the cool part.
The Sea Turtle Aquarium is sort of a turtle sanctuary. When the eggs are laid, they are most vulnerable to predators, so the eggs are taken here to hatch. Then the young turtles are raised for a few years until they are old enough and big enough to be released back into the ocean. Additionally, I was pleased to hear that fishermen are encouraged to bring the turtles that have been caught in their nets to this aquarium bc they are paid for when they do for each turtle. Also, these turtles can age up to 100 yrs or more if I remember correctly. The carnivorous turtles have a sharp point, beak like nose to dig into the meat. The vegetarian turtles have a more rounded face. Both of these turtles lived together in this pond, the water from the tide would rise and fall so the water level changes, but the water comes through the rocks, not by an inlet or open water way. There is no way for them to escape unless they are released. Also, lots of big fish are in this pond as well and they all live harmoniously together. Well, mostly. The carnivorous turtles are much more tempermental and moody, but there was only a couple of them, the rest were vegetarian turtles. Probably about 25 big turtles total in this pond. The baby ones are raised in shallow buckets.....
When I got to hold them, I couldn't believe how strong their little flippers are! The bigger one was flapping away and it actually hurt, so in order to calm them down, you have to rub the back of their neck and they settle down. FYI, one difference between a tortoise and a turtle, is that turtles cannot tuck their head back into their shell.....
I also included a couple of pictures of lizards. I did this bc the lizards and I had a relationship. At one of my accommodations, this huge lizard, almost as big as a rolling pin scared the bejesus out of me when I was walking down the path to dinner. I jumped and squealed like a little girl. Then is scampered off. For the next few days, I found out where each lizard lived and could expect to see them everytime I walked the path. And every time I would be fumbling w/ my camera to get their picture and every time I was just about ready to click the camera, those little brats would scurry down their holes! Dang it!! Finally, my last day and my last attempt, I got those little guys......
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