In Utah, it was renegade cows. On St John in the U.S. Virgin Islands? Wild donkeys on the patio gave room service a new twist. There were wild chickens in Bermuda. And on Vieques in Puerto Rico, at times the small island had the feel of a petting zoo with a menagerie of animals wandering about at will.
Running the roads of Vieques took sharp eyes and a little bit of nerve. Thick foliage gave the narrow roads a corridor-like feel at times. And we quickly learned that rustling noises to either side could portend the appearance of a chicken, or more likely, a whole flock of wildly speckled fowl. It was equally possible that the chicken noises would reveal instead wild dogs or horses. And so our morning run was undertaken with a greater degree of focus, defensive agility, and with our leg brakes at the ready.
Horses and chickens were harder to read than the seemingly well fed and sociable stray dogs, but the tethered horses in the schoolyards did look like a better ride than the typical yellow bus.
In the end, our best response (beyond some impressive vertical leaps) was to run to a beach. Come to think of it, not such a bad strategy at all…
*Most of these photos are lower quality images taken with my cell phone and are not “click-able” to a larger image this time.
Updated from November 29, 2010.
“Tracking Turtles” (underwater video from Isla de Vieques)
The first picture is really good.
Great photos and post, Heather. I love hearing about your family adventures. How great you are able to experience such sights together!
I had a bear huff at me a few days ago, like a low growl three times. I cut my nature walk short!
Happy Holidays.
Hugs, JJ