RIP Carlito

Geckos are a fairly regular part of living here in Panama. They often make their way into the home, and I have to say they're a delight: they're fun to watch, they make funny noises, they're really fast and sneaky but you never find them in your shoe (I'm looking at you, spiders), and they eat bugs. What's not to love?

Starting a few weeks ago, every night we would hear a gecko barking so loudly that it sounded like it was inside, but we never saw him, so we assumed he was right outside the door. I looked forward to hearing him every evening, but didn't think much else about him.

Then one day, Carlito moved in:

 

We saw him first on the wall above our bed, and gradually made his way around to the light on the ceiling, where he set up his dinner table. Carlito was tiny, just about an inch and a half long (when I first noticed him, I asked Brent if it was a gecko or a bug), so there's no way he was the one barking every night from just outside the door.

He came again the next night, at about the same time.

On the third night, he wandered away from the light toward the wall above the door -- right near where we hear the other one every night. And all of a sudden, there he was: the Big One, looking even bigger in relation to tiny Carlito. 

Turns out, he'd been living inside all along, right behind the thing that holds the curtain rod above the door.  He was super shy -- every time one of us moved, he'd dart back under cover -- which explains why we'd never met him before.

Brent and I sat still and watched, and slowly the Big One came back out. Carlito was on the ceiling, the Big One was on the wall, both of them near the corner. The Big One lifted his head up and looked at Carlito, and I got scared -- I was pretty sure the Big One was going to eat our Carlito.

Suddenly, Carlito ran like hell back to the middle of the ceiling (confirming my suspicions of what the Big One was up to). The Big One ducked behind the curtain rod again.

The next day, we went on our weekend trip to Boquete. And when we returned, Carlito didn't show up for dinner -- and he hasn't since. Brent can't face the truth, but I'm pretty sure the Big One ate Carlito. We still hear him barking every night from his home behind the curtain rod.

We're saving a spot at the dinner light for you, Carlito. Just in case.