I don't normally have a problem with insects, at least not the ones you find in the UK. In fact I would say I have quite a fondness for 'incy wincy spider' and 'the worm at the bottom of the garden' as well as of course 'the very hungry caterpillar'. But nothing in my childhood or previous experiences has prepared me for enormous Mexican wasps or fat hungry looking snakes found next to the tool box on our first day (which Rodrigo accidentally stroked the head of), or the army of huge ants that seem to follow me every time I step on one of their brothers. Really i'm not exaggerating, these are just a few of the animals we have encounted in the last 2 weeks, not only on the farm but in our hotel too.

We arrived nearly two weeks ago from Oaxaca on an exhausting 10 hour bus journey, went to our room to sleep and a cockroach the size of a small mouse fell from my head down my bra top. To say i screamed would be an understatement.

A few days ago when given the task of picking limes from a tree, one of us had to just watch the whole time due to a family of wasps who had built their home on the trunk... and we had been told not to disturb under any circumstance due to them having radar group attack mode if bothered. So I picked fruit while Rodrigo gave occasional practice drills of ¨Ruuuuuuun¨, which meant we had to get back to the shed and shut the door in 10 seconds. Even though we did achieve our target drill luckily the wasps were far too occupied to give a shit.

I guess this is what we should have expected in a tropical farm. It's also really hot here...i mean HOT HOT HOT… and not in a sexy way. I sweat just standing still under a fan. We work from 7am till 11am and have to stop then as it would be impossible to function after that.

Having said all this i really am enjoying being here and working outside. Picking and planting fruit is very wholesome and building new walls and an oven are satisfying when you see a result at the end. It's completely different from teaching and i'm enjoying the contrast but now i'm looking forward to working in a slightly cooler climate in San Cristobal in Chiapas which will hopefully mean less vicious ants and killer wasps and more friendly caterpillars… well we'll see!!