Insects, some other Small Things, and Mass in a Barrio

One of the things that is very obvious about living in a hot climate is that you get a real sense of things being very alive.  Plants grow quickly, there are always noises, and, of course, where would we be without the insects.

The publicity that I looked at on the internet before I came here told me that Panama doesn't have

mosquitoes.  The Pamanians tell me that that isn't true but, I have to say, there has been no big evidence of them so far - which is great!!!  There are, however, a huge variety of other insects - crawling and flying - to be seen.  I have been bitten only twice since I came and am not entirely sure by what although I suspect that at least once it was an ant.  As a matter of fact, I woke up this morning with an ant in my hair (ok,ok - on my head!!!).  Unusually, it seemed to be on its own which probably means that I brought it in with me on my clothing.

Ants are all over the place but, and this surprises me greatly, there are very few in the kitchen area.  Another surprising thing is that there is no sign of cockroaches.  In my experience of South America you are never too far away from a cockroach, especially not where there is anything to do with food.  However, I have not found any around the kitchen or dining room here.  This is a credit to the way in which the place is cleaned.

Around the Patio there is quite variety of butterflies of many shapes and colours.  There are also many dragon flies which are very pretty.  Of course, as I write this, it is already night time (since about 6.30) and the insects have been replaced by bats which are constantly whizzing about the place.

I did try to photograph the insects and butterflies but the ones were too small and the others too fast for me to achieve any success.  The picture on this post is of what I take to be a centipede or milipede.  It is about the length of my little finger which, I suppose, would, make it a little over 2 inches (around 4cm) long.  I know from experience that a bite from these little animals is a sore thing but, thankfully, is not terribly common so long as you keep your house clean and tidy.

This morning I was asked to say Mass in one of the Barrios (neighbourhoods) around here.  I went to Santa Librada, the church of Cristo Transfigurado for Mass at 7am.  Approximately 375-450 people gathered in a surprisingly large church that had lots of fans for ventilation.  Mass is held early to avoid the worst of the heat.  People here really do dress up for Mass here and, even though it would seem to be an early that is not very wealthy, everyone was turned out in their Sunday best.  People were very attentive during Mass and there is lots of participation.  The Barrio has its own permanent Deacon who assisted although he asked me to preach so that the people would hear a new voice.  After Mass there was a blessing of animals - pets mostly - to mark the feast of St. Francis, and then I was given breakfast: Flour fritters, a maize pancake with some meat in it, some cheese, some sausage in a spicy sauce, and coffee - all very tasty and certainly too much.

Behind the church, since 5am there was a group of ladies cooking over a wood burning stove making Caldo de Pata (a soup made from the hooves of cows and vegetables which, even though it doesn't sound it, is delicious).  This is made to sell to people at Mass to raise funds for different parish services.  There were also people selling cakes and second hand clothes.  One of the priests from the seminary came with me.  He was to say the next Mass and, while I waited for him I heard confessions - at least 20, all teenagers who decided they wanted to go to confession without being hounded in to it - not an experience I have had any time recently in Ireland.

Tonight I have to give a talk about the liturgy and the readings that they will find this week to the seminarians and then it is off to bed - hopefully by 10pm because tomorrow is a 5am rise and I have to teach.
As always, comments welcome
N