Day 2 - Lots of Creatures Are Out Before Daylight

Jetlag hit us hard today. The kids were up at 3am and I got up with them fairly willingly since I was awake too. We read in the room for a while because who knows what kind of wildlife is up at that time of night, and to go to the “living room” or kitchen means to be outside. Jim and I are both scaredy cats when it comes to bugs, so we must really love this place to subject ourselves to the many larger than imaginable flying, crawling, and slithering creatures around here. There are beetles bigger than your thumb that seem to like the kitchen. Ketut didn’t even flinch when the one that was perched on the wall took flight toward her and then changed direction to maneuver out the door. That actually game me some comfort knowing that it seemed to intentionally avoid her and got out the door without running into anything unlike the crazy-ass cicadas that we had a couple of years ago. I admit I even flinch if a butterfly gets too close but I’m actually staying fairly composed when the bee looking things as big as butterflies buzz by. Ants are pretty much everywhere too but we just brush them away and keep on eating. Geckos sing to us at dawn and dusk, eating mosquitoes and who knows what to their heart’s content.

Today Charlie is obsessed with catching a gecko. They are everywhere but they are fast! We asked Ketut and Made if they know how to catch one. Ketut said it is very difficult and they hiss and bite at you if you actually do. Yikes! Made said if you catch them by the head or neck, then they won’t bite, but if you grab their tail, it will probably break off. Let’s just let them eat the bugs and live in harmony with us. By the time we took a swim post-breakfast, it was later than we’d hoped when we set out for a walk to town to get sarongs. It was HOT and HUMID and the kids serenaded us with whines and complaints until we stopped for drinks. We eventually made it to the market and did a little shopping. We trekked all the way back home for a refreshing dip in the pool before family nap time in an attempt to be able to stay awake until a normal bedtime. BIG mistake! It was impossible to wake up so we had to drag the kids out of bed and sit them in chairs where they proceeded to flop over and continue sleeping. We told Sophie that it was time to get Eliot from school so she needed to get her snow boots on, and she stumbled around on the porch still asleep looking for her boots until she realized we were kidding and flopped back on the bed and went back to sleep. Ok, that wasn’t nice but it was funny. Eventually we got everyone awake and we took a taxi to dinner. The kids fell asleep during dinner again, this time at a restaurant. They woke up enough to walk down the hill to the house. We played a quick game of LCR and then they went to bed around 9:30. Maybe they’ll make it until sunrise tomorrow…