A Seashell Fairy in Mexico

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  I fell in love with the views on the beach, this area is a bay, with mountains ringing the sea.  It was very different from other seaside trips I've taken, complete with a warning to watch for crocodiles swimming in the waves.

Really???  

I was fascinated by the idea, but never saw one, till we took a ride around the golf course we were staying at and found some in the little ponds near the ocean.

Everyone says that these guys are not as aggressive as the gators in Florida, and will leave you alone if you don't mess with them.  I was just fine with not poking the crocs and making them angry.  So, I really wasn't worried, and was actually hoping to see some swimming by in the ocean.  Especially since I wasn't splashing around in the water myself. The beach was a little rough for me to go out on my own, and my husband isn't a salt water fan. We strolled up the sand throughout the day, swam in the pool, and read books in the shade by the water, waded along the shore, but didn't swim out into it. 

I do adore playing in waves, but not enough to swim without a "buddy" to watch my back.  Funny, most of the people I travel with are not fans of jumping the waves, so I don't get to swim much on my trips. 

But I am happy as a clam, just staring at the water and watching the swells.  

Shells were few and far between in this Marina beach area.  I noticed when I was on Coronado Island, the Pacific offered up very few shells during my stay there too.  Maybe it is where I am looking?  Or the time of day?  

But I was able to find a handful, and look, just enough to make a fairy! And while there weren't many, there were just enough, and they were iridescent and quite nice.  I found these small white blooms in the sand and gave them to her to hold.

Every time I visit a shore, whether a lake, river, or sea, I try to leave a fairy behind as a thank you. I often wonder if they are found, and picture the smile on a little girl's face if she comes across one.  Usually I create them on my last day, so I never know what happens.  But a couple of times, I've made them earlier, and have checked back.  My last Siesta Key fairy held a jade heart that I'd brought, and I thought that treasure would be scavenged quickly, but it was still there two days later, and the fairy was also still complete.  This little fae, didn't fare as well.  Within hours, she was stepped on and gone, her bits and pieces scattered.

 When I make them, I know they are ephemeral, and not long for the world.  Sometimes we create art hoping it will last forever, but honestly, it is the creating itself that means so much.  The process brings joy to me.  As do the beaches I leave these on.  I make them as thank you to nature for the beauty i've enjoyed by the water.