Have you even imagined being crouched in the same place for hours on end, exposed to mosquito bites, night after night, day after day, enduring hot and cold to get a good image of a tapir or of exotic birds? This is the type of discomfort that nature photographers have to put up with in order to capture the images we enjoy in books, magazines and the documentaries we watch on television.
I remember it as if it were yesterday; the first time I saw and swam with a whale shark was in the incredible Sea of Cortés. It was a young and very friendly male.
The crocodile is one of the most ancient animals on the planet. To get an idea of how long it has existed, when the dinosaurs appeared for the first time, crocodiles had already been around for 80 or 90 million years. So, together with turtles, the oldest animals on the planet, with more than 140 million years of existence, they have lived among many species, some of which have already become extinct.
When the first rays of spring sunshine began to light up the Isla de Sacrificios, my dear friend and diving companion Manuel “Dorado” Victoria and I were enjoying a tasty Veracruz-style breakfast in a well-known restaurant on the sea front. Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs and beans, and of course a famous milky coffee with sweet bread and golden breadsticks.
The jaguar or yaguar (Phantera onca) originates from the Guaraní vocabulary and has two meanings: “he who kills in one pounce” or “the body of a dog”. It is a carnivorous mammal that belongs to the family of big cats found on the American continent.
When my alarm went off at 4:30 in the morning, I was already on my feet and ready for this new adverture. In less than 5 minutes, my brother Angel and I had warmed up my old truck, which we had already loaded the day before with everything necessary to explore underground rivers.
Bird watching is one of most the relaxing activities that puts us in direct contact with nature, perhaps for their beauty or maybe just for their ability to ride the air currents and awake a feeling of freedom within us.
Water is definitely my element; I feel at ease in the sea, rivers and cenotes but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good adventure on land and above all, learning about the mysteries guarded by the jungles and mountains. On this occasion, we bring you the adventure my friend Armado Gasse and I experienced in the cave of the hanging serpents.
Marine turtles are without a doubt one of the oldest creatures in the world with more than 200 million years’ history. Many species have disappeared over the passage of time, but they have survived at least two large extinctions, including the extinction of the dinosaurs more than 60 million years ago.
This journey, although planned in advance, started like many others, in a rush, but also full of happiness and optimism. So on October 22, I found myself on the plane traveling to the other side of the world.