Spain - Larry the Lunch Lizard

Having crept across the Spanish steppes well before dawn to reach the hide, it was good to include a few naps during the day. An hour or so after sunup, when all seemed quiet, I was gently slumbering when I heard a rasping sound. This was followed by a rustling and a crackling. Looking down at my feet, I saw a large, foot-long lizard, tongue flicking in and out, in the act of unpacking my lunch. I coughed to interrupt the raid, but the only response was a long, hard stare as Larry, my lunch lizard, kept investigating the bag. A flick of my wrist shooed him away and he slid, with a rasping sound of sandpaper skin meeting the base of the wooden door, into the sunshine. Ten minutes later he was squeezing back in the hide and continued to visit periodically during the morning. Comparing wildlife notes with others in the group, it seemed three of us had been visited by Larry and his mates during our lonesome, solo vigils in our hides .