Thursday, 11 October 2012

Gorgeous gecko

One of the delights of a place like Crete is the range of small creatures that share the living space with humans. Of course, some of them are not so delightful, as I discovered when I got bitten by a scorpion a few years ago. But I guess they've all got their thing to do and I did unwittingly get in its way. Anyway, the lizard family are particularly intriguing, and I was thrilled to see a small gecko in the kitchen last night.


This gorgeous gecko was scuttling along the worktop behind the electric hob and it may have been quite young because its movement was awkward and jerky, almost lumbering - but in a fast way. It would hop a few steps then stop and raise its head as if to sniff the air and get a grip on its surroundings. Fortunately it hung around long enough for me to get a couple of photos.



When I lived in Kalymnos, I would write in a hut in the garden and feel that I was privileged to enter the home of the geckos. They would run across the ceiling, lurk in corners, fight, mate, chatter (yes, a sort of deep chirruping) and one even lost its sucker footing and fell on to my desk on one occasion.

I love their markings and the almost translucent quality of their bodies. Also, their presence seems to bring a nice energy - and of course they eat the bugs. And if the geckos could eat every mosquito in Greece, that would not be one too many as far as I'm concerned, as I sit here trying not to scratch the lumpy bite on the back of my neck....

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