Tarantula spider

Some tarantula spiders live up high in the rooftops of houses and in trees. Others live underground. The attached image is of an immature one that was living under the roof tiles of the front porch at the reception center of the Bosque. Needless to say, it got a lot of attention and everyone got pictures. I think I'm accurate in saying that all rural homes have tarantulas up in the ceilings, some the seize of a dinner plates. They aren't aggressive to mankind, unless put in an awkward situation. The most common confrontation with other members of the household is at night when they involuntarily fall into someone's hammock or bed. I remember this happened to a friend, who was sleeping in the old roundhouse at the Bosque. Luckily, he woke up with the fall of the tarantula and was able to get it out of his hammock right away. My photographer friend, Alfonso, wasn't so lucky. I'm not sure how our hairy friend got into the bed but Alfonso rolled over on it in his sleep and got a nasty bit, plus jabs from all those poisonous hairs. The unromantic interlude between the two required several visits to a doctor. I wanted to ask Alfonso if he reacted to the episode by doing the tarantella dance, but didn't have the courage.