It's bee season here in Mazatlan. Over the past couple years we have grown used to seeing the fruit and pastry carts bothered by bees. It's not unusual to see 15-20 bees hovering around them. I am allergic to bees and am grossed out by the little buggers crawling on everything so I stay away, but the Mazatlecans don't seem to find them a nuisance; they don't seem to notice them at all.
This year, the bees have been much, much worse. It started immediately after Tropical Storm Rick. I though at first I was seeing a lot of displaced bees, but I don't think that's it. We have had numerous bees in the house, causing Tasha to go on alert and issue her Bee Bark as a warning and chase them down. We have even been bothered by bees at the beach. And I'm not talking one or two stray bees that are attracted to the plate of limes.
The other day, we were going to the fruteria. I was walking with my head down, as is my custom, because if you don't keep an eye on the ground here, you are asking for an injury. The sidewalks are uneven and pocked with occasional holes and protruding pipes that are a sprained ankle or torn ligament waiting to happen. So I was totally shocked when I started to enter the fruteria and was faced with hundreds of bees. Seriously. Hundreds. And this place is really small.
There sat the proprietress, serenely talking on the phone in the middle of a cloud of bees. She saw my alarm and bade me come in, saying, "no pica." I stayed where I was. She said it again slower. I remained rooted to my spot in the sidewalk, so she started making stinging gestures with her fingers, then shaking her head, which was really unnecessary. I understood her perfectly. I just didn't believe her.
I finally made my rational mind override my animal instincts and went in. This sane, intelligent woman would not really be sitting in the middle of a bee swarm if it was dangerous, would she? I did my shopping quickly yet carefully and got the heck out of there.
I went home and Googled "stingless bees" and discovered that there are such things, so the fruteria lady is probably not crazy. The problem is that I can't tell the difference between the stingless and the stinging kind. They look the same to me.
Overcast 63 oF • 17 oC
When in doubt, send Chuck in first. Jajajaja.
I know what you mean though. When I see the swarm around the fruit. ADIOS AMIGOS. Better safe than sorry.
Hope you get over your cold soon.