Genesis 1:28 And God gave them his blessing and said to them, Be fertile and have increase, and make the earth full and be masters of it; be rulers over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing moving on the earth.
Masters of it, huh? over ALL the fish of the sea?! What of the armor-plated, carnivorous type?
We've been home for a few days now, and I am beginning to think life will be continue on at a predictable clip. Random electricity outages, escaping canines, and working in the yard as well as around the house. The electricity is off as I am even now beginning to write.
I sent some pictures earlier this week, and have yet to send perhaps the most exciting (not necessarily most positive, but perhaps the most positively inspiring) of them all. An explanation: we went to Navrongo, and we went to a small town a little ways north to place called Paga. In Paga, crocodiles are sacred. That is, if anyone kills a croc in Paga, they will pay with their own life. There are three ponds in Paga which have been marketed to tourists. We visited one of these, which I think to be the one owned by the chief of that area. The total visiting cost was about 17 USD after the 2-dollar camera fee had been waived. That bought us entry, and one small chicken. Why a chicken, you ask? All will be revealed....
We went around to see the pond. In other words, we went around the wall that separated us from the body of water teeming with crocodiles. I just want to make sure we are clear. We got out of the vehicle. We approached the pond. Then, we witnessed something unprecedented as we stood roughly 20 feet from the pond's edge; two crocodiles were copulating in the water. Unprecedented, for obvious reasons. Here we are, steeling ourselves to face a wild beast... anyway, so that happened first.
Now, for what happened next. Our guide had walked right up to the water with a live chick in his grasp. This was to called the crocodiles out of the water. On purpose. As we stood in something between fear and amazement and wonder, a third crocodile emerged from the pond and starts walking directly toward us. Suddenly my fight or flight responses became very one sided. Just as suddenly, a small boy (actually, young; no way he was more than 12) grabbed a thin tree limb, raised it in the air, and struck the animal directly on the snout! Unbelievable! Not only were we about to be rushed by a wild crocodile, that same beast had just been provoked by a human being. I started trying to figure out how I can protect my mom and run at the same time, or maybe muster my strength to wrestle the animal to the...ground...well, it seemed halfway plausible at the time. At any rate, we were not rushed by the croc, and the little boy was not eaten. The croc just laid down, much to my surprise and relief.
That happened once more, then we were dazzled by what came next, the prestige of the show before us.
That big male (crocodile, that is) had finished his vigors and so had deemed it time to make his grand appearance. There he was, coming out of the water in grandiose fashion, and coolly, as if deigning to let us behold his splendor. He strutted a few steps to reassure us that he was no robot, or otherwise coerced into showing up at the precise moment when he did. Then he lay down. One man, who seemed to be second guide, walked up behind and hoisted the tail. No violence ensued, no bloody massacre. Instead, the four-legged emcee picked himself up and tried his gait for a few more feet before resting again. Then the family friend who brought us to the place invited us one by one...to sit...on the crocodile's tail: Mom, Dad, cousin, and me.
So that was Sunday. What is there to say, really, after that? "Yes, yes I did sit on a crocodile." Enough said...almost. The electricity is on now. Okay, that is really all.
Masters of it, huh? over ALL the fish of the sea?! What of the armor-plated, carnivorous type?
We've been home for a few days now, and I am beginning to think life will be continue on at a predictable clip. Random electricity outages, escaping canines, and working in the yard as well as around the house. The electricity is off as I am even now beginning to write.
I sent some pictures earlier this week, and have yet to send perhaps the most exciting (not necessarily most positive, but perhaps the most positively inspiring) of them all. An explanation: we went to Navrongo, and we went to a small town a little ways north to place called Paga. In Paga, crocodiles are sacred. That is, if anyone kills a croc in Paga, they will pay with their own life. There are three ponds in Paga which have been marketed to tourists. We visited one of these, which I think to be the one owned by the chief of that area. The total visiting cost was about 17 USD after the 2-dollar camera fee had been waived. That bought us entry, and one small chicken. Why a chicken, you ask? All will be revealed....
We went around to see the pond. In other words, we went around the wall that separated us from the body of water teeming with crocodiles. I just want to make sure we are clear. We got out of the vehicle. We approached the pond. Then, we witnessed something unprecedented as we stood roughly 20 feet from the pond's edge; two crocodiles were copulating in the water. Unprecedented, for obvious reasons. Here we are, steeling ourselves to face a wild beast... anyway, so that happened first.
Now, for what happened next. Our guide had walked right up to the water with a live chick in his grasp. This was to called the crocodiles out of the water. On purpose. As we stood in something between fear and amazement and wonder, a third crocodile emerged from the pond and starts walking directly toward us. Suddenly my fight or flight responses became very one sided. Just as suddenly, a small boy (actually, young; no way he was more than 12) grabbed a thin tree limb, raised it in the air, and struck the animal directly on the snout! Unbelievable! Not only were we about to be rushed by a wild crocodile, that same beast had just been provoked by a human being. I started trying to figure out how I can protect my mom and run at the same time, or maybe muster my strength to wrestle the animal to the...ground...well, it seemed halfway plausible at the time. At any rate, we were not rushed by the croc, and the little boy was not eaten. The croc just laid down, much to my surprise and relief.
That happened once more, then we were dazzled by what came next, the prestige of the show before us.
That big male (crocodile, that is) had finished his vigors and so had deemed it time to make his grand appearance. There he was, coming out of the water in grandiose fashion, and coolly, as if deigning to let us behold his splendor. He strutted a few steps to reassure us that he was no robot, or otherwise coerced into showing up at the precise moment when he did. Then he lay down. One man, who seemed to be second guide, walked up behind and hoisted the tail. No violence ensued, no bloody massacre. Instead, the four-legged emcee picked himself up and tried his gait for a few more feet before resting again. Then the family friend who brought us to the place invited us one by one...to sit...on the crocodile's tail: Mom, Dad, cousin, and me.
So that was Sunday. What is there to say, really, after that? "Yes, yes I did sit on a crocodile." Enough said...almost. The electricity is on now. Okay, that is really all.
posted from Bloggeroid
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