9

I found a shady spot in the pool and leaned against the wall. But then I heard some rustling in the bushes behind me, and all of a sudden I was face-to-face with something that looked like it came straight from Jurassic Park. I was out of there so fast, I actually SKIPPED across the water. SPLOOSH SPLASH SPLASH

I told the lifeguard there was some kind of DINOSAUR at the edge of the pool and he needed to clear everyone out of there before someone got HURT. But the lifeguard didn't even seem fazed. He said the giant lizard was just an GUANA, and they're all OVER the resort. Then he said that sometimes the iguanas even like to go for a dip in the pool. Well, that changed EVERYTHING for me. My feeling on giant lizards is that they should be in a ZOO, not mingling with us human beings. I was DONE with the pool, so I asked Mom if we could get some lunch.

She thought that was a good idea, and we found a place nearby that had an outdoor patio. But the outdoor thing ended up being a problem. First of all, there weren't just iguanas at this place. There were geckos, salamanders, and who- knows-WHAT-else peeking out of the bushes. It wasn't just LIZARDS, either. There were SLUGS, too, and we had to keep flicking them off the table with our utensils. The waiter poured us glasses of water from a pitcher, but Mom told us all not to drink it. She said our stomachs aren't used to the microbes in the water down here, so we needed to get BOTTLED water instead.

But Dad said he'd be FINE because he's traveled all over the place and his stomach could handle ANYTHING. I wasn't gonna risk it, though. I ordered a can of soda and poured it into a glass, and I got a burger and some fries, too. When our food came, a few birds landed in the trees around our table. At first I was OK with it, because when the birds flew in, the lizards ran back into the bushes.

Then a bird that looked like it had an injured leg or something started hopping around on the ground near our table. SQUAWK SQUAWK But it was all a big TRICK. The second we turned our heads to look at the bird on the ground, all the OTHER birds swooped in and went after our food.

We chased the birds off, but not before they got away with half our food. The only thing the birds DIDN'T touch was our drinks. It didn't matter, though. Some slugs were helping themselves to my soda, but luckily I noticed them before I took a sip. I thought this place was supposed to be PARADISE, but so far it was a NIGHTMARE. All I wanted to do was go back to the room and STAY there, but Mom said we were just getting started exploring the resort. Then Dad said he wanted to go back to the room, too. He said he wasn't feeling so hot and we could all probably use some rest after that flight.