This and That

First of all, please note that Larissa has added to the post covering day 4 of our trip to "Cabin Island and Beyond."
Things have slowed down here just a bit over the last couple of days, but we do have a few things to share that may be of interest.
Yesterday, as I made an attempt to enter the bathroom, I noticed something large scurry in front of me and around the corner. I called over to Larissa, not yet knowing what the creature was, "You are going to want to see this." She must have known by the tone of my voice that it probably wasn't actually something that she cared to see. This was demonstrated to me by her reluctance to come near me, and by her repeating the question "What is it?" over and over again while remaining at a distance. It turned out to be a big black spider. When it quit jumping around we took a photograph of it (the pen is for scale), then I captured it. Larissa, the good wife that she is, made me feel like a real man for my efforts.


We have noticed more cockroaches as of late. Two of them we found dying by the front door. We are hoping that this isn't an indicator of some kind of poisonous gas leaking into the apartment. Larissa thought they might just need a drink. So, the first one I put out in the rain, and the second in the sink, but to no avail.
We tried new snorkeling spots both yesterday and today. Today's was disappointing, but yesterdays is worth mentioning. The water was murky yesterday, so when we drifted more than 20 feet apart or so we were out of sight of one another. Early on in our exploration, I noticed numerous large figures moving in front of me. As I frantically considered the types of creatures that may kill or dismember me, I was able to distinguish the forms as eagle rays. As I was completely interested in what I was seeing, I had to find Larissa so that we could enjoy the sight together. So, I took a three second look, then popped my head up. She was fairly near me, but could'nt hear me as a yelled and yelled. By the time I could grab her and return to where I spotted the rays, they were gone. We were both frustrated. Near the end of our snorkel, I spotted something rare, a sea snake. It was about five or six feet long, and looked like a big fat snake you would see on land, but it was snaking through the water. So, I took my three second look, and went up to yell at Larissa. She was closer this time, but by the time I looked back down, the snake was gone. With all of the yelling I was doing, locals on shore were becoming concerned. I looked up, saw a bunch of people investigating our stuff on shore, and became convinced that they were considering stealing it. Turns out they thought someone was drowning or something. Also, as a matter of coincidence, two of the guys on shore turned out to be the same guys that accompanied us out to Cabin Island.
Not all of our entertainment is coming from the great outdoors. We have a little media player that we use to store and view our pictures. Before we left I loaded some movies and TV shows on it. Upon leaving, we had about enough shows/movies to watch about two per week. Well, we watched 2 1/2 just last night. Mostly we have been watching the TV show Lost, the first season. Larissa is particularly addicted, and tries to make plans to watch episodes well in advance. This way she can say "But Jaaaaasssooooon, you promised." I pretend not to want to watch anything in the interest of having some entertaiment left for the last couple of months of the trip. Fortunately we have audiobooks too, but I tend to fall asleep after a couple of chapters, nomatter the book. This frustrates Larissa to no end, as she has a much longer attention span when it comes to books.
We tried a new grocery store for the first time the other day. . . We tried a new grocery store for the LAST time yesterday. We thought we would get some taco shells. They were in the clearance isle since they were near their expiration date. When we were checking out, they came up at the nonsale price. After a short debate in my head over whether to make a stink over 70 cents, I decided "what the heck, I am on vacation, I've got plenty of time." So, I let the cashier know. Fifteen minutes later the supervisor was trying to figure out what to do. Finally, they refunded my credit card. Then I asked whether I could buy the tacos at the sale price. The Supervisor said that I could, but they had to do some paperwork, so I would have to come and pick them up later. WHAT??? Can't you just envision it? "Hello, my name is Jason Hamel, I have some tacos on hold here, may I pick them up?"
Being out in the sun so much, Larissa is getting really tan. I am getting tanner, but the process by which I tan is slower, and more complicated. First, I get red, when you touch me I turn white for a few seconds. Then, the pain sets in, just before some light peeling of skin occurs. After this, I come out with a tan, and a few new freckles. The other day Larissa was asked if she was from India. Worried that people may not readily identify us as a couple anymore, I joked with her saying that while she looks really pretty, she should put on some SPF 100 on or something. "What?" She said, "Just so that I can be ugly?" My interpretation of that comment was "Just so that I can be a cringeworthy pasty white just like you usually are?"
Tomorrow we are diving a couple of the spots around Peleliu. We will let you know how it goes.