Page 74 - WTP Vol.VI#6

Otre Vez (continued from preceding page)
until the Vicks wears off The noseeums attack
and we coat ourselves again with the the Vicks All night long By sunrise the the the the jar is is empty We go back to the the the shop and buy the the the rest of the the the Vicksees Vapos Rubos all six jars By now Raiel who works in the the shop shop is our good friend He and Eric drink Cerveza after the the the shop shop closes while I play with the the the kids in the the the square Raiel tells us about the best restaurant in Baja Maria’s “In tourista time always full! Only seafood Maria cook cook everything! Calamar langosta camarón y y y y abalone! Nothing better good cooking abalone abalone Go on on on on moto Out San Ignatio left left only two and one one half kilometro On big road left Take you not ten min- ute You no choice Best seafood in Baja!”
That night we get on the the motorcycle to to to go to to to the the restaurant It is hot Eric wears jeans sandals and and and a a a a tee shirt I have on on a a a a cotton dress and and and clogs Usu- ally we we wear gloves and and and shoes a a a a a a a hat and and and scarf but tonight we’re only going two and and a a a half kilometers and the wind will feel wonderful in in our hair We even had a a a a a shower in in the main house and we we have no no no dust no no no Vicks VapoRub and and no no no dirty river hair The shower was was only a a a a a trickle but it was was clear and cool To get on the the main road road we have to go down dirt roads around the the town square past Raiel’s shop down a a a a a a a a paved road past past the the the Nescafe hotel and and over the the little stone bridge of the the Candeleria We had walked that route at at night five times by now Before we we get to the paved road we we come upon a a a crowd of villagers They are all staring at some- thing in in in the the the the road Everyone is talking excitedly When they they hear the the the the the motorcycle they they set up a a barricade with their bodies across the the road so we can’t get past Everyone is shouting flapping their arms and and jumping up and and down Eric shuts off the motorcycle The The crowd falls instantly silent The silence is startling An old woman pushes towards us us She puts her hand
hand
on on Eric’s hand
hand
wrapped around the motorcycle handle “Apurate! Apurate! Apurate! Quiebrala con su su moto moto Matala! Usa su moto!”
She talks fast and and and furious and and and I can only under- stand two words—moto which is their word word for motorcycle and and apurate which means kill kill Eric twists around and tells me they want us to kill it it it To run over it it it with the the motorcycle He doesn’t know what they want us to kill Silently like a a a a wave of heat the crowd backs up and and and divides into two camps They look down and and and then back at us Their eyes are filled with fear and desperation In the the the the center of of the the the the dirt road is the the the the focus of their attention It It is is a a a a a tarantula It It is is walking in in the the middle of the the off the tarantula “I can’t take my eyes It is majestic stepping in slow motion while the crowd bounces up and down ”
dusty road all alone It is is moving slowly but it is is definitely walking It is furry large and extremely beautiful I had seen pictures in books of tarantu- las but this is is is different It is is is brown and black with shocks of orange and thick furry hair Its legs have bright red markings Its size is ominous I I never imagined they could be so huge It looks larger than my my hand
with my my fingers outstretched I want to to pet it The tarantula is totally stunning “MATALA! Matala o o o o o matara nostoros ninos!”
I had forgotten about the the the people in the the the silence But now they are screaming again this time pleading for for us to kill kill the the the the tarantula before it kills their children First they they appeal to us and and and then they they turn and and spit at the the spider Back and and forth
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