Living in a warm climate means bigger bugs. I don't see too many flying around (although people complain about mosquitoes), but cockroaches certainly exist. I found this guy lounging on the stairs leading up to our condo.
Fortunately, most properties (including ours) are sprayed for these critters several times throughout the year. Also, the only time I've seen a cockroach inside, it's been dead or on death's doorstep (or my doorstep, like in the photo). And they're almost always on their backs, like the one pictured. These don't bother me as much as the massive centipedes we had back home.
I'm not aware of any large, land-based predators on the island (other than some wild dogs). I've been told that there are no poisonous snakes on the island either, which is probably why I didn't freak out when I saw this on my way back from the pool one day:
I took the photo with my cell phone, which says a lot about my presence of mind (thank you very much). I also used my cell phone to call NS to check out our newly-found neighbor, but he just yawned.
I followed our slithery friend around the corner and watched him sneak into a hole in the wall, which is when I realized that he must live in the utility closet which I had been standing in just a couple days earlier in the dark. (!!!!!!) (I had a perfectly good reason for being in there - NS was using my small size to squeeze in there and reboot the internet router when he wouldn't fit.) No more of that Indiana Jones scene for me.
So that's it for the scary stuff. If you'd made it this far into the post, you'll be rewarded with a friendlier face. One morning as I was leaving for work, I heard a noise behind one of the cars in the parking lot, and I looked over to find a pelican waddling into clear view.
Again, I was armed only with a cell phone, so that's how I got these shots as he looked me right in the eye and kept approaching.
I'm told that birds like these are blown onto the island during a storm, and then another storm will carry them away again. I laugh just thinking about a whole flock of birds blowing around the Caribbean!
He got so close that I thought he was going to hop into my passenger seat and ride into work with me. Even when I pulled out of the driveway, I had to be careful not to hit him, as he wasn't eager to move out of the way.
Hopefully you've enjoyed seeing some of the wildlife, and I also hope that I haven't scared anyone away with the first two photos. Now if I can just get my hands on a good underwater camera, I'm pretty sure the post entitled "island natives.3" will be much more to your liking.
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