119, 120, 121… ugh, there’s too many bites to count and they’re all very itchy. For the last week I look and itch like I have the chicken pox. Going to the Maho Bay Camps (www.maho.org) didn’t help because nature is protected in the national park and insects have feelings too; damn hippies. It’s built along the slope of the hill overlooking the bay with 114 individual tents and facilities connected by a maze of elevated wooden paths that wind through the trees totaling two miles long. It looks like someone wanted to live out their childhood fantasy of living in a tree house and they couldn’t stop after just one. The compound includes a ceramics workshops, pottery, recycled glass blowing, bath houses, restaurants, general store, beaches with water sports, hiking trails, painting, yoga, massage, and recycled paper making studios. Everything an eco-tourist or hippy could possibly want. I was worried they might get creative with granola, but we arrived on prime rib Friday followed by mussels steamed in a white wine and garlic sauce the next night and boy they were delish! Unfortunately while we were feasting at the outdoor pavilion watching the amazing sunsets, the insects were gorging on me like a Las Vegas buffet. 122, 123, 124…
Monday, May 08, 2006
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6 comments:
HA HA HA... sand flies?
HA HA HA... sand flies?
Steve, why didn't you mention your leech problem in this posting. It's not that embarassing to discuss... well, maybe it is for you. DEW
I don't joke about stuff like that since I started jumping into rivers and pools at the bottom of waterfalls down here. You just don't know what's in this stuff. Of course, I'm kind of a sissy, so I wait until I've seen someone else go in and not scream before I go in. I swam in a pool under a couple hundred foot waterfall today and there was guy pulling fresh water shrimp out for dinner. Huge suckers. There's even lobster size man-eaters, but that's a story for the main blog...
nope, not sand flies. was bitten by those in belize, along with sun flies, and those just become little red spots. these turn into red bubbles. incredibly itchy inflamed orbs of agony that last for about a week, if you don't scratch.
we've tried 3 types of repellants, deet and non, all minimally effective. what did work was sweating profusely with lotion on which creates a greasy film that the bugs get enveloped in as soon as they land. they get trapped on you like amber.
"we've tried 3 types of repellants, deet and non, all minimally effective. what did work was sweating profusely with lotion on which creates a greasy film that the bugs get enveloped in as soon as they land. they get trapped on you like amber."
Well at least you'll build up immunity to all kinds of diseases around the world. The human grease fly trap method is rather unique.
But if you want to really ward off the flies, there are a pair of magical toxic shorts... another trip, another time.
Seriously, try dryer sheets. Rub them on your skin, and then stuff a few in your shirt and waist pocket. Something in the dryer sheets makes biting insects unhappy. But I don't know... a Downey fresh Steve is unimaginable.
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