Wednesday, August 15, 2012

CAMP JAKE :: Don't let the bedbugs bite!


CAMP JAKE / JULY 2012 :: We've been bitten by bedbugs; we've seen some mice, rats and lizards; dogs, goats, pigs and an occasional cow roam the streets and the gutters. But it's the scurrying critters that are the most memorable. They tend to cause the most spontaneous squeals from our group and cause fits of laughter later. 

There were multiple sized and colored lizards at every turn. Thankfully they eat mosquitos, harborers of malaria, so we welcomed them.

While taking night swims after the campers were in bed, a pair of bats would swoop down on the pool, startling counselors engaged in conversations about the day.



Following each of the torrential rains, we could hear the most horrific unidentifiable sounds, beginning softly, gaining volume to seemingly unreal decibels, creating quite a cacophony. About midway through the week, we found that a small species of frog was responsible. 



One morning, several counselors were chatting with Alen (one of the hotel managers) when he shrieked "Kill it!" and pointed to the ground. Walking across the pavement was a tarantula hawk wasp. An employee ran over, immediately stomped on the creature and swept it into the pond with his shoe. After the incident, Alen casually replied "You don't want to get stung by one of those. But they wont' kill you." 



Then there was the time that Shawn and Sonya met an ugly sand crab in the hallway right outside Sonya's door. With exposed toes in flip flops, Shawn courageously nudged him out of the hallway to the rocks.



Topping the list of creatures was a fist-sized tarantula! Some brave soul ousted the arachnid from the hallway it shared with the sand crab. Guess who began checking under their beds and in their bathrooms before retiring for sleep every night? That's right - the answer is EVERYONE! 

Thankfully, these creatures don't keep us from coming back to the wonderful kids we are there to serve. They just add colorful memories to our trips.

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