Back to
beautiful Malawi after a long holiday means many things:
Lines
of ants marching
Spider
squishing
Skin
‘dewing’
Birds
singing
Music
blasting
Limbs
dancing
Lips
smiling…
And
green, oh, green all around!
Mind…
at ease? Anxious?
The
future a blank.
No!
Rather
a jumble.
Of
colours; lines.
Roads winding
off into a hundred different sunsets.
At the
crossroads, only questions.
Unfortunately,
being back in Malawi also means war… War
on bug life that is!
Arriving
smack dab in the middle of rainy season means a constant battle against the
clouds of mosquitos that seem to enjoy the scent of our living room, kitchen
and bedrooms, and I am ashamed to say that I have come to love the feeling of
power I get whilst wielding a can of Doom.
Say what you will about the environmental evils of canisters and insecticide
but for all of us living in Malawi, Doom is friend.
Unfortunately,
I think this infestation of mosquitos may be my payback for having recently
disturbed the delicate balance of nature that existed in my little house up to
this point…
Before
leaving Malawi on holiday, I had removed all my bags, and was just picking up
my purse, when out of the bathroom crawled Momma Baboon Spider.
I
thought about just locking the door and leaving her on bug patrol for the
weekend, but then I also didn’t want to give my housekeeper a fright come
Monday, so I bravely looked around me for a weapon. One garden shovel, one good squish, and that
was the end of the majestic Momma Baboon spider.
However
it would appear that she had already left us some offspring, as I discovered
upon my return.
Finally
crawling into my own bed after 6 weeks on the road, my sigh of relief quickly
turned to horror as I looked up and saw Baby Baboon spider clinging to my bed
net. The INSIDE of my bed net. Ever so slowly, I climbed out of bed and
moved towards the door, without taking my eye off Baby for a second.
“Ppppppp….. I may need reinforcements in here…”, I called
hesitantly, as Baby Baboon spider crawled higher.
What ensued was initially an attempt to capture
Baby and release her back into the wild outdoors, but she resisted capture and
therefore had to be exterminated. Though
not before she led us on a merry chase around my bedroom (under beds, behind
shelves and suitcases) wielding a variety of weapons (brooms, mops, plastic
lids, and flip flops) and not before she had resurrected herself after numerous
attempts at taking her life!
Ironically,
as much as Baby Baboon spider gave me a fright, I now lie in bed and pray for
her reincarnation, because surely she would not have bothered me anyways? Not with this feast of mosquitoes floating
around my room!
But
no… The lesson was learned too late….
And now I am at the mercy of this bloodthirsty mob, whose closest friend is
another sworn enemy of mine: Malaria.
The
latest trip to the market saw us investing in some heavy-duty bug battling
equipment: Value packs of Doom, Raid, Bleach and Mosquito Coils…. And this afternoon we begin the hunt round
the garden to find the source.
Wish us
luck!
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