No Lifeguard on Duty: Swim at Your Own Risk

 On our way down the Pacific side of the country we stopped for lunch and a walk in a little town on the Rio Tarcoles. Unlike many bridges we crossed, this particular one was a popular viewing spot for a sizeable number of American crocodiles. Kathryn counted several dozen in the area, basking in the sun and generally drawing a crowd - the area is very popular for crocodile boat tours as well.

 Our guide told us that several years ago a fellow had gotten drunk in the bar near where we had lunch and decided to swim across the river in the middle of the night. Needless to say that plan did not work out well for him at all and he never saw the other side. I recommend the bridge, because these things are terrifying even at a distance.

 The majority of them looked quite fat and healthy, but there were a few interesting outliers with unfortunate defects. One was missing the front half of his top jaw, but didn't appear to be suffering for its absence, while this individual did NOT appear to be in a good way. His whole spine was very desiccated and you can see how shrunken all the tissues around his head have gotten, to the point that you could probably drink out of the divots in his skull.