On Flashback Fridays I reflect back on some of my past travels and travel mishaps before I started this blog (follow at #FlashbackFri): A few years ago I traveled to Tena Ecuador to what would be my first ever encounter with the mighty Amazon Rainforest. Most of you who know me know that I love jungles. It all started with the Jungle Book as a toddler, then Tarzan at primary school, Indiana Jones at middle school, and then I started reading stories about El Dorado during my Spanish classes at high school. I was hooked. I was intrigued. I wanted to be an explorer!
When we embarked on our jungle trek I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Were there going to be jaguars, snakes or poisonous spiders that would attack me? It turned out that I would indeed be attacked. Not by snakes or jaguars, but by animals I least expected in the jungle – Vampire Bats. There was a point during our trek, where the only way forward was to climb up a small rock canyon. It was really narrow and quite dark and I couldn’t help but notice some weird chirping noises and a very penetrating smell - Chris was behind me so that ruled him out - so I climbed on until something flew straight in my face. And then another thing. And another 10. All of the sudden we were surrounded.
It turned out that we just awoke some sleeping vampire bats who were none too happy that we’d disturbed their sleep. Problem was that I was stuck between the two canyon walls we were climbing. In fact the only thing that was holding me up was my bum on one wall and my feet on the other wall. Shielding off attacking bats in that position was a bit of a challenge to say the least, but luckily the bats soon disappeared again. I had always thought that vampire bats live in Transylvania, but it turns out that they actually live in the Amazon - particularly in Tena Ecuador.
I was attacked by a warthog in Zimbabwe once! I tried to pat her baby and she went for me…
it looks like really great. you had great fun i think 🙂
@Carmen: OMG, a warthog? That is scary! They can cause serious harm I think.
@kayseri fizik tedavi ve rehabilitasyon: I certainly had (despite the bats)! Highly recommend it!
I’ve not experienced anything quite like Vampire Bats! I think that would freak me out. The only thing that has attacked me was a bird when I got to close to its nest!
Yikes! That’s scary! I heard about a woman who had a bat brush against her face and she died from rabies!!! You were lucky! I had a monkey bite me in Peru but it didn’t break the skin. Stay safe!!
Ha ha, birds can be quite nasty too when you come too close. Just think about geese. Evil things!
@Arianwen: OMG, really? That is scary! Glad I had my jabs. Monkey bites sound painful and nasty too though. They can transmit rabies too I think.
Lovely post. And definitely not a pleasant experience to be attacked by a bat. I was attacked by a monkey on Bali once, but I came away with little more than a few scratches and very dirty clothes.
Thanks Christopher! What is it with monkeys biting people all the time? I used to find them really cute, but now I am scared!
Oh goodness - scary! Glad you were ok
Thanks guys! I am glad I didn’t turn into a vampire. 😉
What a great post! All of these are so heartfelt. We all have our own experiences. It definitely teaches all the lessons we need to learn! and thanks God i haven’t encounter by any animal attack during my travelling.
Thanks Andrew! Yeah, you never know what kind of animal is lurking behind the bush these days. 🙂
That’s Fabulous Blog I’m glad that i drop by your page and found this very interesting. So lovely, What a special place it must be. I’ve truly not really experienced everything that can match Bats! I do believe that will freak everyone out and about.
Thanks very much Sadaf! Glad you dropped by! It was a bit freaky, but luckily I didn’t turn into a vampire.
Cool post. I was slapped by a monkey once..Hurt my pride more than my face.. LOL!
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Ah ha ha, that’s funny. Monkeys can be vicious actually. My friend got bitten once.