Mi isla bonita

Armed with my trusty digital camera, I recently tried to capture some of the breathtaking beauty that abounds en mi isla.

The flamboyán, with its silk-soft García Lorca-green leaves and lipstick-red flowers is one or our very favorite sights.

I don't know the name for these next three flowers, but their vibrant colors also jumped out at the camera lens.

The early-afternoon-sun yellow canarias are another favorite of mine. I also captured two near relatives whose identity I don't know.

In the southwestern part of the island, this blue bird looking for his breakfast in the blue sea called my attention as did the ubiquitous lagartos, which are a fraction of the size of, but can easily pass for, Komodo Dragons.

The lagartijos, another ubiquitous species, are always up to something mischievous.

Another entertaining and happiness-inducing bird is the reinita, or little queen, with her black feathers and bright yellow chest and melodious chirping. This one uses my parents' bird bath as her own private pool.

You can't miss the bounty of mangoes or coconuts everywhere in the summer. Beware of parking underneath palm trees! And beware of walking on fallen, ripe mangoes!

Another constant sight on the island: rather homely pollos, or as my husband corrected: gallinas y gallos (because they're only pollos when they're ready to be served at the table) running away from passing cars on either side of the winding roads of mi isla bonita.