Samoan Gecko

Gecko on Samoa
My first confession is that I really like reptiles.  All reptiles.  Snakes and lizards fascinate me in particular though.  I grew up catching snakes but, living in Eastern Canada, never came across any lizards in any of my adventures.  After moving west to BC I started catching them, and their intrigue has continued to grow.
It started out with a western fence lizard, then a northern alligator lizard, and even a sagebrush lizard.  I have managed to photograph a half dozen other species which I never caught by hand but did through freezing light.  All of this was done along the west coast of North America, from Southern BC to Arizona.  So, when my wife and I had a chance to travel to other lands, you just had to know that I would keep an eye open for any of their distant relatives.
We have been on a cruise for 38 days, having hit Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Australia and New Zealand.  Each one was visited for only a short period of time, and the opportunity to capture these illusive creatures was limited at best.  Occasionally I managed to snag one on my own, but in Samoa I needed help.
We were on an excursion from the ship and enjoying the spice farm on a very rainy day.  My search for interesting creatures turned nothing up, probably because they were attempting to stay dry like the rest of us.  So, I turned to the local children.  I asked permission from one of the ladies from the farm if I could offer five dollars to the first child that could turn up a lizard.  Not much for me, but quite a lot for them.  She was OK with that, and the call went out.
I have never seen a group of kids disappear so fast.  In spite of the rain and wet they were all about, searching through, over, and under all kinds of stuff where a beast may hide.  After about ten minutes a crowd appeared around me - the elusive lizard had been captured.
It was nothing amazing in terms of colour or size; there were no outstanding features such as frills or spines, and it was very normal in behaviour.  But it was mine, temporarily anyways, and I used my position of power over it to capture a few images.  I actually have a good one of the boy who earned the money with it, but didn't want to post it because I don't have his permission.  So this is the one you get to see.  The best part about it though was the story, and its moment of fame for both the boy and a chance to represent its species in my blog.  
I just love reptiles!

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