Upon learning that I live in Mexico, most people's reaction is "Wow, it must be nice to have hot weather and go to the beach all the time"....well, that's not exactly how it is - Puebla, Mexico is at 7200 ft. above sea level, so hot temperatures are not common...in fact we usually have temps in the low 70's....and the nearest beach is 3 1/2 hours away in Veracruz.
 |
| Puebla, with Popocatepetl volcano in background |
One of the "downsides" of living in a tropical country are the inevitable "critters" that also reside there. Most of the time, I am ok with them, as long as they dwell on the outside of my casa! But then, there was that one day earlier this year....
I was headed up to my bedroom which is 7 steps up off of the foyer....as I started to ascend, I noticed a very large "creature", walking towards the doorway of my bedroom. It had very large "arms", and was putting one in front of the other, much like - a tarantula...that was my initial thought! I began to scream, even though I was home alone, and knew that no knight in shining armour would come to my rescue. I took another look as it got a bit closer, and it then appeared to be a reddish colour - a scorpion!! More screaming ensued!...I knew I needed to act quickly. I ran into the kitchen, opened the cabinet and grabbed a plastic Mardi Gras cup....half way back, I realized that "the thing" would probably just walk off with it, so I ran back for a large plastic bowl...by the time I returned "it" was just crawling in to a space between the stairs!...oh no!...Ok, must think - ran and got a can of Raid...I was determined that he was never coming out alive, so I unleashed an entire can into the crevice, where I could just see his body. At this point I am hyperventilating, grabbed my cell and called my husband who thought someone was attacking me....I calmed down enough to tell him he needed to come home a.s.a.p. and get this "thing". Then I grabbed the bench in the front hallway, slid it over to the stairs, and parked myself, Raid-can still in hand, and stared at the crevice - if that "thing" came back to life, I was not taking the chance he would scurry off!
Hubby comes home, finds me in a catatonic state staring at the crevice, and fashions a coat-hanger into a hook and starts digging in the hole... he extracts a hook-like leg - "yep", he says, "scorpion!" He then starts fishing around some more, and body parts are coming out, one by one...it's all quite horrifying, as you can imagine! He finally gets most of it out, and then we saw it - a hideous looking head!....what the heck? What is this thing? He is equally as horrifed as I am - I mean this thing is vile looking. He disposes of all the body-parts, pats me on the back, gives me a kiss and goes back to work where he tells the tale. "Oh, that!", they say, "That's a Cara de Nino!"....Well, we had never heard of the Cara de Nino, but the translation into English means Face of a Child....
I don't know about you, but I don't want to see any child with a face like that! And I really don't want to come across one in my house again! Apparently, they are nocturnal, so spotting him during the day was my lucky break - yay!!, and they normally aren't found inside the house - how did I get so lucky?
Mexico is a fascinating country with many interesting things to see and do, but, for those of you who think "oh you're so lucky, living in Mexico"....just picture the Cara de Nino!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting facts about Puebla, Mexico:
- 4th largest city in Mexico with a population of 1.5 milllion
- Puebla is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- It is surrounded on all 4 sides by mountains and volcanoes
- Puebla is the "birthplace" and reason for Cinco de Mayo - the Battle of Puebla was won on May 5, 1862, when the invading French troops were successfully fought off
- The largest pyramid in the world, by volume, is located in Puebla
