under 200. There is a larger population of iguanas. Supposedly 2,000 iguanas (mouseover)

Little Cayman, British West Indies
Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Dear Kim:

We arrived in Little Cayman today so Laurel could do her diving thing. After a flight on a big plane from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, allegedly the busiest airport in the world, we took Cayman Airways Express from Grand Cayman.

The 19 seat plane is so tiny, you are only allowed 55 pounds for your luggage and another 15 for carry on. You land on a grass strip, across from the Post Office, the Fire Station and the Hungry Iguana Bar and Restaurant.

What a beautiful place this is. The population—at least of people who live here—is under 200. There is a larger population of iguanas. Supposedly 2,000 iguanas live on the island. Can you imagine?

(Kim: How is it that we think of "population" as lots of people? We use words like crowded when we have a bunch of noisy people in a smoke filled room. And then, what does "live" mean? Does it mean "love and work?" Does it mean "giving and taking"? Is their "intimacy" among these prehistoric inhabitants?)

Prioritizing nature as we need to do more often. And how wonderful that the proportion of the iguanas to humans is ten to one.

The iguanas range from tiny, just a few inches in length, to as much as four feet long. To see them is beyond thrilling. It is to reconnect with our prehistoric past.

Later,

Joan

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