Disclaimer

So...

Yesterday the Centro de Salud came around to fumigate. They sprayed next door and other areas on our road, but they didn't come here. We were lying in the hammocks on the front terrace, expecting them to call out, but for some reason they didn't come to our gate. Which means our property is a safe haven for nature's children.

I think the fumigation next door stirred up some critters. This morning there was a HUGE scorpion lying dead by the front door. Not sure which cat killed it, none of them show any signs of having been stung. Miguel saw Smokey playing with it (it was already dead), and later, as I was sweeping it up, Luna swatted at it. Yuck, scorpions are just ugly and those big ones are the ugliest. Luckily they are not dangerous, their sting feels like a bee sting (according to Miguel - I've never been stung although I have had one on me in the middle of the night (a story for another time)).

Having cats inside and out is very handy, because they take care of any invaders. We have Smokey, Minina, and Maya protecting the indoors, Luna protecting the back terrace, and Cappuchina protecting the front terraces. Loco used to stomp on insects too, but now he is older and he isn't interested in anything other than iguanas.

I'm thinking about putting this disclaimer on our website:

Stay with us at your own risk. We are not responsible for the distasteful and spooky things you may witness. We cannot guarantee that our dog will not lick his private parts in front of you. We cannot guarantee that Luna will not pop open your screen door and let in mosquitoes (although we will do our best to confine her on the back terrace during the night). We cannot guarantee that stray cats won't yowl, that neighborhood dogs won't bark, that roosters won't crow - in fact, we can guarantee that those things will happen. We are not responsible for spiders that jump, scorpions that crawl, ants that swarm any microscopic piece of anything sweet you may have left on the counter. We cannot help it if those huge flying cockroaches enter your room as you open the screen door to go out on the terrace - but don't worry, they are plant roaches - also known as Palmetto bugs (a nice way of saying HUGE roaches). We hope the big blue crabs don't climb the plants and clunk around on the terrace outside your room. And if you see a small gecko prowling up along your ceiling, just relax - it's there to help with tiny insect control. Yes, it makes a big noise for a tiny thing, but don't worry - it won't hurt you.

To give you some comfort, we promise to thoroughly clean your room and surrounding terraces every day. We will scoop the dead bugs out of the pool. We will wash the bird poop off the deck. We will sweep up the gecko droppings. We will bath the dog, especially if he rolls in something really nasty out in the jungle. We will do our best to keep you protected from the animal and insect world. But this is the tropics...Nature happens.