Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - With all the unseasonable rain we experienced last week, unexpected company came down the swollen rivers to join the rest of the holiday visitors here in Puerto Vallarta.

Last Friday, security personnel found a crocodile sunning himself on the beach beside the Marina Vallarta golf course. He apparently followed the river down into the bay and decided to hang out for awhile!

After being discovered, the croc returned to the water once for a short swim, but then returned to the beach to continue his "vacation." As he approached the beach the second time he was seen opening his jaws very wide as though he was going to eat some large animal. However, with no animals in sight, some of the tourists who had gathered to watch from a distance figured he was either taking a big lazy yawn or trying to order up some guacamole and a margarita!

After waiting for almost an hour for the crocodile to return to the sea on his own, the Puerto Vallarta fire department was called in. Within minutes the bomberos arrived.

They first held the crocodile just enough to administer a sedative. Fire department personnel then tied the animal's mouth as well as the front and rear legs, before wrapping his body in a blanket. After the crocodile was calm, many tourists came to pet the crocodile and to take photographs.

Once a larger fire department vehicle arrived, some local residents helped the bomberos lift the crocodile over the sea wall behind the golf course and load it onto the fire truck. The bomberos then took it to the Boca de Tomates Wildlife Estuary just north of Puerto Vallarta International airport. Whew!

Warning signs appear all around the Banderas bay condos and resorts as well as the Marina malecon warning that crocodiles, called cocodrilos in Spanish, may come on shore to warm themselves. Any wild animal that feels threatened may attack and therefor should be avoided. Based upon this occurrence the warnings should be carefully observed.