Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Jurassic House

In the classic movie The In-Laws (the original) when the future parents-in-law meet for the first time, Peter Falk tells stories of his travels to remote places and says one place had tse tse flys as big as eagles that he watched carry small children away. Horrible. Tragic. It was funny...when I thought it wasn't true.


Well, the mosquitoes here aren't anything special. But generally speaking, the rest of the bug life here is Jurassic. I wish I had a better picture of the spider, which I think is a kind of tarantula. Right before I almost stepped on it, when its legs were extended, it was bigger than my palm. We saw that pretty early on, but we haven't seen anything that big since, unfortunately. We've got tons of spiders, most big by Colorado standards, so I asked our landlord if there are any poisonous spiders here to worry about. "No, los arañas son tranquilo" (nope, nothing to worry about). Then I mentioned the giant spider that I wondered might have been a tarantula. "Oh, sí. Ten cuidado con los tarantulas. Son muy peligrosos" (but as long as you're asking specifically, the tarantulas will kill you). Cleared that right up.

I'll post more as I come across them and if I can hop off the chair and stop shrieking like a little girl when I see the giant centipede again.







Best to compare to the drain, rather than my hand.

Throw that on a hook and see what you catch

Good for people, too!

Escargot

3 comments:

  1. Actual it's pretty cool nothing to gross like roaches.

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  2. Have a question for you maybe would make a good blog post? My wife and I will be visiting for a week to Cuenca and Quito in May and we are trying to figure out what clothes to pack. We want to travel light but we also want to be comfortable when we travel what would you suggest for Clothing, jackets, shoes, etc?
    Thanks,
    Tyson

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  3. Both towns get fairly cool at night and, if the sun is out, quite warm during the day. Ecuadorians don't wear shorts or sandals (except at the beach), and since you won't probably want either at night, you might do as the Ecuadorians do. So pants and comfortable walking shoes it is. I (the guy) get by with a shell jacket at night, and Di (the chick) usually goes for something a bit warmer. You should always be prepared for rain, so we never leave the house w/o collapsible umbrellas and light rain jackets. I think for a week you can get by with traveling light (carry-ons) and comfortable.

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