Sun and shade at the pool

They weren't kidding when they said you won't be able to stay in the sun after 11:00 a.m. So, sitting in the shade by the pool, sipping a caipirinha, a local potion made of lime juice and cachaca -- not listed in order of potency! -- I tried to relax.

Hotel guests are always interesting and this batch seemed more so than usual. There were a lot of couples of the male variety and from a cross-section of the globe -- Americans, Italians, Swedes.

Well, I don't know if it was the sun or the alcohol or the pills or a combination of all three, but I began to feel very strange. With camera in hand, I took to photographing my surroundings. So far so good, you say? Yes, but do read on. A couple of cats lurking around the pool were likely candidates. To my amazement, when I aimed my camera at them, they stood perfectly still staring back at me as if hypnotized. The parrots and other birds in the aviary behaved weirdly too. When I approached the huge birdcage, the previously quiet inhabitants began to screech wildly and kept it up until I left.