Cucarachas

I finally researched the history of  "La Cucaracha," a song to which we all know the tune.  It's been on my mind for quite some time because whenever I spy a cockroach -- say when I open the silverware drawer and watch one climb over every fork and spoon or when I discover yet another new species (did you know they come in stripes?) or walk into a room and duck my head for fear that one will fall on me as it scurries from the light -- this song runs through my head.

I've been telling myself that whoever first wrote the lyrics did so out of self-preservation.  If one lives with roaches, surely finding a way to make light of the situation would help.  The internet didn't shed any light about the origin of the song, so I'm going to stick to my belief that someone, somewhere lived in a country/place/house filled with roaches and had to invent a way to live harmoniously with the disgusting little creatures :). 

We don't have any pictures of roaches -- the little suckers are too darn fast -- but we do have some of the other amazing bugs we've encountered here.  "Bichos" are on steroids here, that's for sure.  I'll get pictures posted soon so everyone can see their sizes, colors, etc.  It's really quite fascinating! 

Time to find the bug spray so I can go to bed . . .

P.S.  While typing this, my mind was thinking in Spanish most of the time.  So cool!  Maybe I'll do a post just in Spanish soon. 

Eating "grillos" (crickets -- are black and red and HUGE here) at
a church potluck.

I wish there were some way to show just how
big this spider is.

A close up of just how large the crickets are.  Wow!

Awesome leafcutters.  More about these cool guys in a previous post.