Wednesday, June 10, 2009

bats about melaque


The year was 1971. The president was withdrawing ground troops from Vietnam, but the number of air sorties increased.


I had just entered flight training at Laredo, Texas, arriving in the fall.


Southern Texas in the fall has weather unknown to a boy from Oregon. Heat. Humidity. Muggy nights stretching to dawn.


I recall one evening walking back to my quarters from one of those easily-forgettable movies of the early 70s. The temperature was in the 80s. So was the humidity. I stood watching moths, cockroaches, and other unnaturally large insects fly in and out of a street lamp's light sphere. A schizophrenic's version of a snow globe.


Now and then, bats of various sizes would swoop through, as efficient as any shark grabbing a herring, and disappear into the night. As a pilot trainee, I almost envied the bats for their ease in finding and destroying their targets. Of course, for the bats, it was merely a trip to the dining hall.


Those memories popped up on my memory screen Tuesday evening. And I immediately knew why. The temperature. The humidity. The pause under the street lamp. And those marvelous bats.


I probably became reflective because on Tuesday I started thinking about plans for the second portion of my adventure in Mexico. I will be staying where I am until mid-December. But I need to start thinking about where I am going then, and where I will be staying.


Here is my blog plan for the next week.

  • I have been promising to publish photographs of the house where I am now living. I will do that.

  • I am going to take a look at the criteria that brought me to Melaque, and evaluate those factors.

  • I will show you some of the various rental options available in December.


As always, something more interesting may pop up, but that is my publication plan for the week.


Who knows, I may actually find where all of those bats hang out during the day. They certainly make my evenings interesting.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Steve,
I enjoyed reading your post today... Leaving Melaque before the high seasons seems rash to me.. but I don't know how structured your retirement plans are. Wherever you decide to live..I'm looking forward to reading about it.
Francisco

Tancho said...

Bats get a bad rap for some reason, must be the old Dracula movies. They are actually one of the most important animals around. I have made several bat houses and put them around the property to encourage more of them. They are welcomed everywhere except inside the house which they sometimes find themselves in.
I hope you start your rental search now, December is popular for snowbirds and the choices are less and the prices are higher.
You know a nice house overlooking a lake somewhere that is all move-in ready would be nice....hint..hint...
I know your methodical analytical mind will prevent you for doing anything "wild and crazy" but it's nice to think that you can.
How is Jiggs doing?

Chrissy y Keith said...

I love bats. They are the only mammal that fly and nurse their young.

Steve Cotton said...

Francisco -- If I can work out the conversation issue (and I know I can), it would be a shame to go through the punishment of the summer months and not enjoy my winter dessert.

Constantino -- So, you are saying I am bats if I do not start the seach now, eh? I agree.

Chrissy -- Not so. Just ask a naval aviator.

Islagringo said...

Give La Crucecita/Bahias de Huatulco some thought. Mountains to your back, Pacific to your front. Lots of rentals located on the cliffs. Beautiful area.

Rosas Clan in Tulum said...

What a great picture. I love bats now that I live here. In my younger years not so much. But having a young son I am starting to get used to all sorts of things I did not like before.

If you get a chance to go a some of the great cenotes in the Yucatan, it is such a beautiful site to see a huge swarm of bats use the force of eac hother to get up the cavern openeing.

Hope your plans turn out as great as you want them to.

Chrissy y Keith said...

smarty pants!

peachland said...

Steve when we stayed in Manzanillo and of course sat and watched the sunset the bats would shoot out the end of the roof tiles rapid fire fun to watch.

Holly said...

Great picture of the bats! Bats are good and we just put up a bat house recently to keep them from resting in our patio umbrella. We like them, but it creeps Jack out to have one sitting above our head napping.

I was tickled to see your desire to start planning something a new. Perhaps I'm off base, but I recognize the tendency to "need" to plan something when daily structure is a little loose.

Hugs to Jiggs!

GlorV1 said...

That's good to hear that you are staying "put" for a while longer. That will be good for Jiggy. Look forward to seeing pictures of the interior of where you call "home" now. I really liked those home pix yesterday. Beautiful and good price. Have a great Thursday Steve and you haven't mentioned Jiggs in a couple days, hope he is doing good. My hugs to Jiggs.

Frankly Ronda said...

Bats - something we have not seen!

Interested to hear about the archeological goals you outlined last year ...

Steve Cotton said...

Islandgringo -- More names for the list. Though, I suspect some of the same issues exist that are bothering me now. With even hotter summers.

Rosas Clan in Tulum -- My brother is a frequent Yucatan traveler. I should try to get him into another visit.

Chrissy -- Professional smarty pants, ma'am.

Peachland -- They appear to be everywhere in this part of the world.

Holly -- "Plan" may be the wrong verb. I just want to start thinking about where I will be in six months. On the other hand, "plan" may be the word. Buit not as formal as a periodic legal update.

Gloria -- Jiggs is doing well, but today'sh eat has sapped him. We are going back to the vet on Friday for a followup visit.

AMM -- I am certain you have bats in your part of the world. Watch street lights about an hour after sunset. You can't miss them. As for the archaeology visits, they will need to wait until Jiggs is up to traveling -- or ... .