The biggest downside about staying at the hotel, and this part of the world generally, are the creepy crawlies.

Scorpians are the main problem and they are one of the most terrifyingly designed creatures on earth. They aren't deadly here (we've done the research and the Israeli scorpian holds that title), but they sting like a wasp and cause mild numbness. Someone here in Santa Cruz rolled onto one in bed, was stung repeatedly (7 times), and lay paralized for 1 hour unable to move...

So far, we have killed 4 in our room and had two dangling above our heads in bed. I carry out a nightly inspection and can only be described as completely paranoid. One also crawled onto my bare foot last night while having a drink on the deck! They are very difficult to kill and react to a whack with a thong like a light tap on the head. The above photo was taken after crushing this little beauty under our side table.