a pigeon story

A couple of days ago I promised you a pigeon story.

Well, here it is.

Amanda and I got set loose alone in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Everybody else had gone back to the boat for lunch.

We were free as a couple of birds.

We decided to do a little shopping and sight-seeing around town.

I love the architecture, the courtyards full of trees and flowers, the vibrant colors, and the friendly people.

She had never visited San Juan before.

On our way back to board the ship,

We decided to stop by one of the courtyards to feed the birds.

A man was conveniently selling zip lock bags full of bird food.

Amanda shelled out five dollars for the treats.

I waded into the sea of birds to be the one to hand them out.

Of course, I am the one who will forge ahead into a sea of birds.

If you look closely you can see a pigeon on my left shoulder.

At first I thought, "How cute is that!"

"These pigeons must be tame from so much food from the tourists."

Little did I know.

When I opened the bag of food they swarmed all over me.

Notice I now have one on my head, 

another one on my left arm, 

and one more coming in for a landing. 

You can see the food in my hands. 

I hadn't even gotten the bag open yet.

It was the one on my head that troubled me the most.

No, actually it was the fact that they are filthy and germ-ridden that gave me pause.

Amanda started laughing hysterically and I freaked out. 

I threw the food and the bag down to the ground so that the pigeons would stop attacking me. 

Then I got out of that courtyard as fast as I could.

I could feel the talons of those birds on my body all afternoon. 

 I couldn't get to the shower fast enough.

The moral of this story is...

Don't feed the pigeons in a strange town.

They will attack you!

They don't like you!

They just want the food!