I already knew mosquitoes loved me, now I have another bug on the list that loves me too! More below.
Today was our only hike day for the whole trip. They call it the Border trail because we hike along the border between the area where people are allowed and the area where people aren't. It all feels like old style hiking tourism: we are just 4 hikers for 2 cooks/guides and 1 gunman/guide.
The chances to find a tiger are very very close to zero, the gunman is just here to shoot in the air if need be. It's funny how he carries a gun and... an umbrella!
After a short hour of hiking we stopped and were offered a breakfast. The cooks started a wood fire to warm up a pot for the tea. It looked like tourism in the 40's...
Thankfully a big Indian bison shows up. This has put under alert our gunman. He presses us away to a safe area. One of the guide tells us this bull has been a problem around. Charging?
But the real action is actually happening at our feet. Tens of leeches have been trying to crawl up from our shoes since we started. We were given socks/chaps and tobacco powder has been spread over our shoes and chaps. Still these blood suckers keep trying to climb up our pants. I grab some to see how it feels. They are very sticky and I could really feel them when they moved on my hands. I decided not to pay too much attention and kept watching the green lush forest around us. I didn't know then all the trouble I was getting into...
We continued our hike with a few stops every now and then. Our guides made those stops so they could stalk wildlife. Not that many animals actually, but we knew this was a hit or miss kind of hike, so we just kept moving. The drizzle rain became a bit heavier by noon. At 1pm we arrived at a little house under construction; a good shelter from the rain with a big trench all around to prevent elephants from approaching.
That's where I found the first blood stains on my pants. What the heck? Where did it come from? I unzipped the leg from the short to find a bloody spot. What????!!!! A leech has been sucking me while I was hiking and I didn't even notice?? I then free my shirt from my waist to inspect further. A big fat leech falls in front of me. I immediately smash it with my foot and there it is! My blood is staining the floor now! I don't have the backpack anymore and Muriel tells me I have two bloody spots on the back of my shirt too. Oh no! Two more leeches fall from my shirt... Then I find another one on my right arm, except this one is still sucking!! I hadn't felt anything and now after a meticulous count it comes to 6 bites in total. The little fun I had earlier watching them crawl on my hand is gone. These blood sucking beast are actually stealth champs! I will have to be more careful from now on.
Needless to say Muriel and the 2 French woman hiking with us are quite terrified looking at all the blood stains and now everybody is carefully checking all body parts. Everybody gets a leech here or there but I'm the only one with actual bloody marks. They all agree I am the best person to hike in this leech infested jungle. I attract the pest and the rest of the party enjoys ! Yeah yeah...oh! With that leech focus I almost forgot to tell you that yes we got to see a pack of wild elephants and monkeys too!
Today was our only hike day for the whole trip. They call it the Border trail because we hike along the border between the area where people are allowed and the area where people aren't. It all feels like old style hiking tourism: we are just 4 hikers for 2 cooks/guides and 1 gunman/guide.
The chances to find a tiger are very very close to zero, the gunman is just here to shoot in the air if need be. It's funny how he carries a gun and... an umbrella!
After a short hour of hiking we stopped and were offered a breakfast. The cooks started a wood fire to warm up a pot for the tea. It looked like tourism in the 40's...
Thankfully a big Indian bison shows up. This has put under alert our gunman. He presses us away to a safe area. One of the guide tells us this bull has been a problem around. Charging?
But the real action is actually happening at our feet. Tens of leeches have been trying to crawl up from our shoes since we started. We were given socks/chaps and tobacco powder has been spread over our shoes and chaps. Still these blood suckers keep trying to climb up our pants. I grab some to see how it feels. They are very sticky and I could really feel them when they moved on my hands. I decided not to pay too much attention and kept watching the green lush forest around us. I didn't know then all the trouble I was getting into...
We continued our hike with a few stops every now and then. Our guides made those stops so they could stalk wildlife. Not that many animals actually, but we knew this was a hit or miss kind of hike, so we just kept moving. The drizzle rain became a bit heavier by noon. At 1pm we arrived at a little house under construction; a good shelter from the rain with a big trench all around to prevent elephants from approaching.
That's where I found the first blood stains on my pants. What the heck? Where did it come from? I unzipped the leg from the short to find a bloody spot. What????!!!! A leech has been sucking me while I was hiking and I didn't even notice?? I then free my shirt from my waist to inspect further. A big fat leech falls in front of me. I immediately smash it with my foot and there it is! My blood is staining the floor now! I don't have the backpack anymore and Muriel tells me I have two bloody spots on the back of my shirt too. Oh no! Two more leeches fall from my shirt... Then I find another one on my right arm, except this one is still sucking!! I hadn't felt anything and now after a meticulous count it comes to 6 bites in total. The little fun I had earlier watching them crawl on my hand is gone. These blood sucking beast are actually stealth champs! I will have to be more careful from now on.
Needless to say Muriel and the 2 French woman hiking with us are quite terrified looking at all the blood stains and now everybody is carefully checking all body parts. Everybody gets a leech here or there but I'm the only one with actual bloody marks. They all agree I am the best person to hike in this leech infested jungle. I attract the pest and the rest of the party enjoys ! Yeah yeah...oh! With that leech focus I almost forgot to tell you that yes we got to see a pack of wild elephants and monkeys too!
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