Earlier this week I went on a guided rainforest night walk. Four of us and our guide walked for a few hours looking for all the night creatures large and small. We were not disappointed. Suffice it to say, if for some insane reason I had decided to go out walking by myself I would have been bitten by a spider, stung by a scorpion, stepped on a fer de lance, and been eaten alive by cane toads. Instead, I got to observe these animals safely from a distance and wonder at the sheer variety and adaptability of the rainforest animals. Most of the photos below were taken with my iPhone through the guide’s spotting scope.
I am a rule follower—always have been and always will be. The directions from the guide were to wear long pants, a long sleeved shirt, closed toed shoes, and to spray myself with bug spray. And of course, that is exactly what I did. When the van picked me up, I slid in next to two youngish women both of whom were wearing short shorts, sleeveless t-shirts, and open-toed shoes. I couldn’t help but open my mouth and put my foot in it. Usually I’m a little more circumspect when meeting people for the first time but I was so astounished that anyone could be so seemingly clueless. (I looked up synonyms for stupid.)
Me: “Wow, you followed directions.” Them, rightly defensive: “Well, we have bug spray on.” Realizing quickly that I sounded like an old fuddy-duddy woman and deciding not to respond with a list all the various things that bug spray might not protect them from, I replied instead with a, “Uhm.” Thankfully, we were not in the same group and I didn’t have to spent the entire two hours trying to make up for my boldness. (I looked up synonyms for rude.)
Take home message after a nighttime stroll in the rainforest: I am NEVER reaching out blindly and putting my hand on a rainforest tree again nor am I ever stepping off the beaten path. And I will always, always, always cover myself to the max! I can’t guarantee though that I will keep my thoughts to myself in the future. That just wouldn’t be me.
