A New Terror

Warning:  If you have a sensitive stomach, refrain from reading this until you are done eating.

This morning started off beautifully: bright sun, birds chirping, another day off of school.  What could possibly go wrong?

While cooking myself breakfast (yes, I have actually started cooking for myself on occasion), I noticed a dead bat on the small balcony by my kitchen table.  I rarely ever go out there and prefer to use my spacious patio instead, so I have no idea how long the bat had been there.  Since dead things don't bother me all that much, I decided to wait until after I had eaten to pick the poor thing up.  

Minding my own business and simply enjoying a crossword puzzle, I looked down to see an army of maggots, that's right: I said maggots, intruding beneath the patio door.  Are you kidding me?!  Obviously, the delicious aroma of my breakfast had tempted them to risk their lives.  

Sweeping up the surprisingly fast, carcass-loving worms with a paper towel, I threw them and the bat in a plastic bag and sent them down the chute to the unsuspecting porteros.  

The odd and rather troublesome issue is that the bat had not one maggot on it.  Ummmm....where did they all come from?  The only other thing on the balcony is a large, potted plant.  I have no idea what is in that pot, but the balcony still reeked an hour later as I was continually catching and throwing the maggots down to the street below.  Do you know what scrambled eggs look like after dealing with a situation like this?

The worst part: I was gone for several hours after this whole ordeal and came home to an open balcony door (obviously the maggots' doing).  Now I'm just dreading being eaten alive by these devious creatures tonight in my bed. 

Isla Pirata

Yesterday morning, a group of us took a tourist boat out to Isla Pirata of the Rosario Islands.  About sixty dollars and an hour and a half later, we reached crystal waters and a small island with a few cabins and a lounging area.  

The day started out cloudy and stayed that way the entire time, which was both good and bad.  The great news is it never became unbearably hot, but the views would've been much better had the sun been sparkling on the water (not to mention my body would've been a lovely bronze).  

We swam and laid out for a few hours.  Plus, they fed us a huge lunch of fried fish, patacones, coconut rice, fruit and cole slaw.  All in all, it was a very relaxing way to spend a day, and we were able to see another part of Colombia.  

The boat ride home was shorter but quite a bit choppier for the first half hour or so.  Becky and I were able to hide behind another couple, though, and escape getting drenched.  

Diving and the Cosmic Run

Last Saturday was an eventful day.  It started off with a diving competition and ended with the Cosmic Run.  

There were divers from all the world to compete.  The poor guys had to jump into the nasty sea water where a bunch of sewage is pumped and boats pass through.  Not pleasant.  The ceremony started at two, but the competition took another hour to begin.  Elizabeth and I had walked from my place to el Centro and stood baking in the sun waiting to watch the mostly naked guys perform their tricks.  There was a festive atmosphere with food and souvenir vendors all over the place.  After staying for one round, we headed home to get ready for the run.    

These people decided shade was better than sun and leaned against the port-a-potties the whole time.

There is no way you could pay me enough to jump from this height.

That's right: one can barely see the Speedo that's apparently covering this guy.  

The COJOWA Foundation sponsored the Cosmic Run to raise money for needy kids.  During the last month at school, there have been weekly announcements, assemblies, etc. to get the students excited.  After getting it approved by the higher-ups, I offered my kids a homework pass for participating and another one if any of them could beat me in the 10k.  Unfortunately, the sponsors didn't go through with their end of the deal, so most of the kids only ran a 5k, being told they were not allowed to run the other.  Almost all of my ninety students were there.  

Even though it was dusk when I once again started my twenty-five-minute walk to el Centro, I was literally dripping when I arrived.  Thank goodness I had drunk a whole lot of water throughout the day.  A couple students found me while waiting for the race to begin and decided to just time themselves with their phones instead of worrying about the chips.  

The 10k started first, and the students were immediately way ahead of me.  I ran the first half rather slowly to warm up but picked up my speed after completing the first loop.  Unfortunately, they had just released the 5k contestants, so for five minutes, I was dodging around large family groups that crossed the entire narrow street.  Luckily, passing my students and having them try to keep up with me (dreamers) kept my pace faster than it would normally have been.  

Around this time, the mugginess finally broke as a light rain fell for the next hour.  This made the streets a bit slipperier, so I was unable to sprint the last dash, but I still made my best time yet: 50:01.  And, no, none of the kids beat me, although I did give an extra homework pass to those who did the full 10k.  

Obviously, I don't have the selfie pout down yet.

After the race, I socialized with the kids and their parents and then headed to dinner with a group of teachers that were not nearly as disgusting as I was since they walked the 5k.  They were kind enough to let my nasty self join them, though.  

Buggin' It

Some nights ago, I was getting ready for bed and happened to notice something dropping off the shower ceiling behind me.  Filled with dread, I turned around to see what it was; lo and behold, there was a very alive, giant roach (with perfectly working wings) climbing up the walls.  Not again.

Not wanting the beautiful thing to die in the hands of the poison that still taints my apartment, I did what any person would do: catch and release.  Although it took me a few tries, and I had to stand on a chair to get him, we eventually came to an understanding, and he calmly walked into my trap.

This is my lunch Tupperware for school.

Of course, I couldn't have Roach in my apartment again, so I took him a few floors down and released him on the stairs, wishing him luck on surviving.  Unfortunately, there was a mishap as I was trying to get him out of the Tupperware, and his leg came off in the process.  My only consolation is that roaches seem to live through just about anything, so I am sure my new friend would be okay with one less leg.

Notice the leg hanging from the top tab.

Speaking of roaches, do you remember back in November when I posted about a roach being stuck in the broken molding of my bathroom?  Well, the piece still has not been fixed, and the roach is still there, looking lovelier than ever.  Now, the humidity here is rather high, and mold grows quickly.  Why, then, has the roach not decomposed?  It is utterly fascinating to me.  (Click on the pictures to enlarge; you will still see leg hairs.)

Now

Before

Finally, a few days later, I woke up in the morning to see that Bella had smashed the life out of this giant cricket...right in my living room.  The ants were already going to town on the poor thing's body.  

I can't wait to see what pops up next!