Life on the Riviera - The wildlife

#1 If you think the sea is great, so blue and sweet. You wrong.
No, this apparently calm and safe sea is full of creatures only waiting for you to pass by so they can pinch, bite or sting you. Particularly, sting you. A friend got sting by a jelly fish. Let me tell you, it's not pretty, her skin's falling off, I won't beat around the bushes: it looks like she's got leprosy. The Angels' bay they call it. Funny people they are...



#2 If you think you're more clever than mosquitoes. You're wrong.
The little blood suckers can smell you over 30m away. You can try to spray or cream your body, wear full clothing, put a nuclear field around your flat; the tiny bastards will always find a hole which gets from wherever they are to your veins. My legs and arms are covered with their bites and I can't stop scratching them. I try but I can't. So I look like a junkie running out of "good needle spots".


#3 If you think cicadas are lovely. You're wrong.

The male cicada, (tree cricket or cigales as we call them here) have tymbales on their abdomen which allow them to create a loud sound. The purpose being to attract female's attention (isn't it always?). A bit like these guys listening to loud music in their BMW coupé...Turns out cigales are as annoying as them. At the beginning, you think the sound is cute but then it drives you nuts. It can be up to 120dB and all day long you can hear it. Alllll daaaaayyyy loooonnnngggg. They even wake you up in the morning. Seriously!