We all came on this trip knowing the dangers. Lets face it, when we think of expidetions the first thing that comes to mind is giant cats riping flesh from pasty white explorers. But my experiences with the native fauna the last few days are proof positve that we have worse worries than death cats.
The first suprise came this morning when we found out that a cocoa plantaition tour group leader was the victim of snakebite. Granted, this is not uncommon in this part of the world, but it just so happened that it was the leader of the group directly after us, we walked right by them on our way out. No news on the guide other than that he was taken to the hospital.
The rest of the day was spent dodging attacks from our insect friends. Our fair professor was the victim of a bullet ant bite. Normally the bite feels akin to being shot, but the bite is apparently no worse than a wasp sting. The locals also confirm this, as one we talked to has been stung seven times, but seems not to be very bothered about it.
I also seem to have been attacked by a large botfly. They are very persistant and are intent on laying eggs under the skin so that the maggots can feed on your flesh. Usually they can be found in areas with monkeys, their main host. Blaugh. No worries though, I got it off before it could pierce the skin, I think...
So if you ever come down here, remember its not the cats you have to worry about, its the snakes and bugs. As a quick side note, as long as you dont eat the arrow frongs, aka poison dart frogs, they are not fatally toxic, you can even handel them.
So the next
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