Well, the alligators are really crocodiles and I have never seen one in Cancun except in or near the lagoon. I am told there are gators in Mexico but thankfully I have not seen one. I have seen crocs outside of Cancun in habitats similar to where we see lots of gators in Florida. My nephew killed a 12 foot 7 inch gator and it is stuffed in his garage. I have seen over 100 in a single night cruising and drinking with my buds on the St Johns River NE of Orlando. And that is allowing for blurred beer vision.
My one and only experience was on the lagoon side and I still have nightmares about it. My sister and I were at Aqua World and we were waiting our turn to go on the Jungle Tour. Well it was hot hot hot and I was starting to get sick from all the gas fumes around there so we sat on the edge of the dock with our feet in the water and after about 5 minutes there was a lot of excitement. Well, right on the shoreline and next to the dock was a huge croc. Some people were scared to come down the dock because he was that close. All we could think of was if that thing would have grabbed our feet! :shock: I have a picture of it somewhere. EB
Steve Irwin, RIP, did a show from the lagoon in cancun! LOTS of crocs in the lagoon, espcially right on the banks near the hotel zone, but rarely seen! Word of advice, dont walk down to the lagoon at night to pee, a guy a few years ago got attacked while we were there! haha
big crocs several years ago my wife and I hired a private boat to take us on a tour. The guide took us back in the mangrove (?) swamps where he said the original springs for cancun were. We had to get very low in the boat to get through the overgrowth, but within a few minutes we were in a beautiful lagoon with the clearest water I have ever seen (next to Silver Glen Springs in the Ocala (FL) National Forest). I was ready to jump in and swim when the guide grabbed me and pointed to the shore. There were several very large crocs sunning, and I bet they were waiting for their next meal to jump into the water! Steve Jones
Yet another croc story - not Cancun My youth was spent in Ormond Beach, FL. My crazy brother used to water ski in the canals in and around Ormond Beachj - long straight man-made canals, no wake at all, great for skiing - but loaded with alligators. The skiing was good, but if you ever fell, it had to be an adrenaline rush as you waited for the boat to swing around and pick you up - never mind getting back on the skis, just grab the rope and let the boat pull you away from the possibility of being a main course on the alligator's lunch buffet! I would watch with great anticipation as the entire shoreline of alligators would hit the water with a big splash when he would fall off. Holy Moley! This brother is the same one who would take fishermen's bait out past the surf line for $5 - shark fishermen. He'd put the hunk of meat on the front of his surfboard, paddle out past the surf line, drop the bait, then catch a wave back for the next customer. I worry about his mental stability to this day! Steve
If you want, do a search for Alligator Bar. There should be a few posts about it. It's what we nicknamed the bar that use to be across the street from BBG. We use to go there after last call and keep drinking. Some nights, we'd tip the bus boy to run a hose over the edge of the doc to attract the crocs. Once they surfaced, we'd hang over the edge and pet them.
This is a great thread. You can get up close and personal, yet are safe, if you eat at Lorito Joe's, which is on the Enterntaiment Plus card so it's buy one entree, get one free. It overlooks the lagoon but you are a few feet above the water. There is always a crock or two nosing around and when the diners are all looking at the crock a waiter will toss a hunk of meat in the water. Quite entertaining. As to stephenj, as you well know, Ormond Beach borders Daytona Beach to the north. You have the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Intercoastal Waterway to the west of these cities. Further to the west there is the St. John's river where we put the boat in at Lake Monroe, and wander north until half the beer is gone, then we stop somewhere and eat, and then come back. On the way north it is not uncommon to see gators lying along the banks and stupid teenagers water skiing in the middle of the river. It is a miracle that they are not eaten. What is even more interesting is the trip back, which is after dark. We use these spotlights called Q Beams and aim them along the top of the water near the shore. We soon see red/orange gator eyes and I don't mean 2 eyes for 1 gator. We literally see 100's of eyes in a couple of hours, in the same waters where idiots were water skiing when the sun was out.
Crocs can't survive in the ocean, the water is too salty, they like the mixed brackish (icky, stinky, putrid, smelly) water of the lagoon...
Crocks Right on TJ. We had a couple of great meals at joe's last year. The 2 crocs were a bonus Jimmy
