Driving along the highway in Costa Rica to get from one city to another, the
driver pulled over and we were allowed to stretch for a bit by walking
on the bridge. You can imagine my surprise and shock (with a bit of
fear) when we looked over the rail and down below to see crocodiles! At
first, we didn't recognize them. You can see their coloring is a perfect
camouflage to the muddy, murky waters. They looked massive! Their
powerful tails looked to measure several feet, even from that height.
Looking down over the bridge, we were far away and safe enough. These
crocodiles never looked up at us. Still, I could imagine stepping on
them if I were down below by the water trying to take a picture. I
imagined stepping on one thinking it was a log or a rock, and then
noticing its mouth open as it bellowed. I thought of turning to run and
tripping to fall to the mud, my plans for photography of the river
ruined. My camera may have been ruined too. Thankfully, nothing like
that could happen on the bridge. It was a fleeting, but scary, thought
indeed. I never finished imagining if I would safely get away from the
crocodiles or get eaten. And what of my poor camera? And with that, it
was time to leave. My final destination awaited.
