Cockroach on steroids!

November 27, 2011:  Sitting in my room in Cuiaba waiting for a group to form so that I can go to the Northern Pantanal at a group rate, not a private tour…I see a beast of a cockroach on steroids on the wall!  Running to my new bottle SBP insecticide…I didn’t have time to read the directions, cracking the childproof nozzle, spraying him as I was trying to shower him with love.  The beast was now on the move and seemed quite angry. With all of its legs pumping at full speed, he sprinted across the wall.  Following him as I prepared a shot when he was directly above me, I sprayed the son-of-a-snitch and there it went…the insecticide went right in my eye.  Not yet burning…I am figuring that I didn’t get enough in my eye to do and severe damage. 

The cockroach was still on the run as it was now vertical, showing me that cockroaches will live till the end of time because they can drink and even bathe in poison and be unfazed.  Now above me bed, I was concerned that he was going to drop or jump into my unopened arms.  I was committed to killing him.  Following him again with the now broken childproof nozzle, he continued to build speed.  Still unscathed by the heavy dousing, he got closer, closer, closer to my bed then - POOF!  He disappeared.  What the?!  I looked everywhere…through my sheets, under my bed, everywhere.  With my can of insecticide drawn…I could not find him.  It was as if he was Harry Houdini and magically disappeared.  Then, I saw a little hole after some extensive searching along the floor boards.  “No way” I thought.  Could he? 

The Great Heist!

November 25, 2011:  Getting on my last bus of the 17+ hour journey to Cuiaba from Bonito, I pulled out my Kindle to study some Spanish…but, I then I decided to get some sleep instead.  After putting my Kindle under my jacket so nobody could take it out of my hands when I slept, I prepared my area to sleep.

Checking the under the seats there was about a 1.5 inch gap between the foot rest and  the floor of the people behind me, to prevent any wandering hands from entering my backpack.  This was good since it meant that I didn’t have to sleep with my all my electronic equipment on my lap, assuring a better night sleep.  I still slide a shoulder strap around my leg, dropped down the other leg ramp on the empty seat next to me AND I put my leg down on the side of my leg ramp to block side entry. 

All of this is not done due to paranoia, but it is to counter what happened to other backpackers and to reduce the odds of it happening to me.  South America is a war zone between tourists and thieves…we are the pray and unfortunately can easily be identified.

What happened next is still not very clear but this is what I can remember.  In the middle of the night, I had an awaken dream that someone was hovering over me and put something on my skin to put me into a deeper sleep.  I was so tired I could barely open my eyes and was unable to focus.  Wanting to come out of this middle point between sleeping and being awake, I couldn’t.  My body felt like every part weighed an unbelievable amount.  I felt so exhausted that I just wanted to go to back sleep but was also trying to fight it feeling that I was being robbed.  Not able to fight it any longer I fell back into a deep sleep.

Waking up in the morning, there was a beautiful sunrise.  Writing off what happened last night as a strange dream; I pulled my backpack out from under my seat to grab my camera I noticed my pack was on an angle and not directly underneath me.  With my strap still around my leg I assumed that I picked up my leg during the night.  Seeing that my bag was unzipped and after further inspection, my camera case was open - wondering if I left it open last night and it slide out of my backpack onto the floor.  I began to look under the seats for a loose camera I didn’t see it anywhere. 

After my thorough investigation…I accepted that I was stealthfully robbed from the seat behind me which was now empty.  The thief must have tried to fit it between the 1.5 inch crack while in its case, but due to it not fitting, they opened it up in complete darkness and then pulled it out.  They also got their hands on my international adapter to charge my electronics. 

I could only falsely smile since there was a lot more they could have stolen such as my SLR camera, computer and other items, but fortunately they were too big to fit through the cracks.  I still have 2 more cameras, but it is inconvenient and frustrating that I gave them an opportunity to steal my good midsized camera.  I even sewed some attachment on my backpack which 97% of the time, I have it locked.  But the day I didn’t do it…it happens.  They were good at what they do so in a way they deserved it because I feel I am also good as for keeping my equipment secure.

As for my strange dream…I thought about it a little more.  Could I have been drugged?  If so, why wouldn’t they have taken everything, not just what Mr. Tweezer hands could pull from under my seat?  Thus, I have decided that my awaken dream as just that.  I feel stupid for what I had happen, but I am sure there will be other stupid moments in my life.

Putain!