WHAT IT TAKES TO SURVIVE .............................

In planning to spend hurricane season in the area most prone to getting them, makes a case for insane risk-taking, or a case of very careful planning, with all fingers and toes crossed ............... When the season ends, I'll tell you which one was us............... Nevertheless, it is the mangroves that will be the greatest means to our survival, and the wonderful "GOOGLE EARTH" program, the means whereby we did our planning............ Enlarge any of these photos below to see that darkened water surrounding the enclosed mangrove channels............... These plants are incredibly strong and completely salt resistant, getting their fresh water by sending extraordinary roots systems below the surface and absorbing water by osmosis ........



Mangroves have these tiny little yellow flowers that produce incredibly long pencil-like seeds that drop into the water and float away upright ................
Even underwater, the root system form a colony of life and shelter for a whole specialized aqua-culture .....................Small fish and crabs keep the water pretty messed up ......................



These aerial photographs look like abstract works of art but the channels in between the mangroves are mostly more than 6ft (2m) deep and perfect for securing strong lines to the stems .................



The brownish patches are mud and just at flood level, churned up by crabs ........... And the new mangrove seed on its way to somewhere else is about a foot (25cm) long, perfectly upright to protect itself from sun exposure, while the bottom half of the seed already has the impervious salt-water membrane coating ................



My Spanish is slowly improving, and I think this boat sign says " The Captain is the Boss" ...........Better do as you are told, and better shut up...............