This is normality for me now

On my first full day here, I got some timely advice from Lisa. She said, to paraphrase; "you should write your blog as much as you can the first few days, as eveything will seem more exciting and you'll have much more to write about." I truly wish I could say she was wrong, but I suspect it to be true, if I'm honest! Not that I'd dare complain, I'm still in the country of my dreams, with wonderful people and culture, great weather and some none-too-shabby wildlife, but, dare I say it, it's becoming quite routine. It's starting to feel less like a trip, and more like normal, everyday life. Such is the inevitable cost of acclimatizing, that some of the adventure, excitement and wonder disappears from life.

Since my last post, we've had a tour group of 17 people come through for two days. Led by Rick Taylor (author of several books on birding in Arizona), and featuring yet more knowledgeable guides to sponge knowledge off of, this was a fun time. I do think I prefer smaller groups though, in general. There's more chance to get to know people intimately, whereas with 17 names to learn, 17 people to converse with, 17 people to point out birds too, it is inevitable that, with two days, you'll only begin to scratch the surface. They were absolutely lovely people, but I think I preferred the smaller, more intimate atmosphere of showing small groups of people around Rancho. However, we got out for plenty of good excursions, and I gorged myself on more stunning views of Sun Bittern and male Snowcap; the latter being the "signature species" of Rancho Naturalista, and the most beautiful hummingbird in the world to boot!

male Snowcap (from Wikimedia, my photos are never this good!)

In other exciting news, I can add another insect bite to the long list! Mosquito's and midges are inevitable, the Fire Ants were painful and I've suffered a myriad of other small but uncomfortable ant bites. Nothing though, absolutely nothing, compared to Army Ants.

For many a birder, the Army Ant is a harbinger of joy in the rainforest. This is because their swarms, sweeping through the rainforest and devouring everything in their path, will flush up insects from their hiding holes by the thousand. This, in turn, brings out many of the most elusive birds of the jungle, swooping down on anything lucky enough to escape the marauders below. For this birder though, the first Army Ant I saw was nothing but a bastard.

Coming back down one trail, it was still very slippery underfoot, and on one particularly steep bit of the path I slipped. No harm was done, as I put my left hand out to break my fall. But when I got back up, my middle finger was in absolutely excruciating pain. Imagine if someone had simultaneously nail-gunned your finger, and put it in an open flame. I looked up, wondering what the hell had happened, to see a large, orange-brown ant crawling around my hand. I was in shock enough that I managed to put a blocker on the pain until I'd carefully removed it from my finger. But not too much longer! Fire Ants were nasty, but this felt like pure agony. After a minute or so of howling and holding tears, I begun to think rationally, and remembered the insect-bite cream in the first aid pack in my bag. I was biting down on the other knuckle as I applied it, but gradually it began to alleviate the pain, and I sent a silent thanks to Mum for being sensible enough to buy it for me. Within five minutes, the only trace of the bite was a dull ache, the cream worked remarkably quickly. Within an hour or so I couldn't even feel it. But thank god I had the first-aid bag with me, on some occasions I've neglected to take it out, and that would have been an absolutely hellish walk back to Rancho otherwise!

An Army Ant Biouvac (basically they build a nest out of their own bodies), again courtesy of WikiMedia

So, I've been bittern by Fire Ants and Army Ants, nearly stepped on a Fer De Lance and a Boa Constrictor, and I currently have two bizarre red swellings on my right leg, which I can't even remember the cause of. A fairly typical jungle experience! Don't let any of this put you off visiting though. This is still one of the most wonderful experiences of my life, and at the end of the day all those moments, painful and frightening though they were at the time, become nothing more than amusing anecdotes and valuable experience. For this, I owe Rancho so much.

There's not much else of jungle life which I can amuse you all with for now, but in equally positive news I've almost completed by TEFL course! On any downtime I'm looking at the jobsites, and having to stifle the kind of giddy, manic laughter that overcomes me whenever I see the opportunity for a great adventure, much as in the almost archaic days just a few months ago when I first e-mailed Lisa about this opportunity. With any luck, I'll have plenty more travels to write home about over the coming months and years!

Sorry I haven't managed more brilliant stories, I'll try especially hard to find some interesting and exciting stories for the next blogpost. Maybe I'll get some Bullet Ants to bite me, that would be interesting! Though I'd probably be in too much pain to type.

All my fondest regards, Liam :)

and to sign off, the COOLEST insect in the world, the Lichen Praying Mantis