Things that go bump in the night

[This post happened on Monday night.]

The Dutch father of the family was concerned that I didn't have a proper tent and suggested a number of places I could retreat to if the rain got too bad. The covered balcony of an elaborate shed he rented to holiday makers, a family tent made of marquee material.

I thought I'd be fine and in any case wanted to test my shelter.

I didn't want the weight of a tent on the trip but did want a degree of independence from guest houses. My compromise was a gore-tex cover for my sleeping bag and an army-issue poncho which could be used as a tarpaulin to keep the worst of the weather off my face and equipment.

I tied one corner to a tree, another corner to an adjacent tree, about two feet (~65cm) from the ground and pegged the other two corners to the ground so that, viewed from the side, the tarp, the trees and the ground formed a triangle. I ran a piece of tensioned string down the length of the tarp to form a pitched roof which the rain would run off.
Providing shelter to me, my luggage, a kitten and a toad.

Underneath this, I had my equipment, sleeping bag and roll mat. My bike had to brave the elements, locked to a tree.

The set up was cosy and had the added advantage of affording a breeze across my face and a feeling that I was actually outside. I like tents but I can't help thinking it slightly defeats to object to tramp out into some unspoilt wilderness only to zip yourself into a canvas bag for the night.

So I lay under my tarpaulin listening to the thunder and the crickets and watching the flashes of lightening. A kitten came to visit but scampered away when I tried to pull an arm out of my bivi bag to make friends. I could see how the big, red, writhing Jabba-the-Hut I had become could give a kitten quite a fright. Later, I felt something warm sitting on my feet, which I imagined to be the kitten, or one of its siblings. I drifted off to sleep with the sound of crickets in my ears.

I woke in the night with the storm in full spate and a large toad on my head. I could hear the rain on my tarp, but I was dry. My head was on one side and I felt a weight on my crown, just above my right ear.

I moved my head slowly and the weight disappeared. I reached for my torch and saw a toad making a slow getaway. It froze in the beam of my torch with its shoulders hunched, its elbows out and apparently crawling on tip-toes. It looked like an attempt at stealth.

I listened to the rain for a while before nodding off again.

BC