Predator or Parasite

Not a particularly pleasant post, this.

A quote from one of my favourite books - "Do you remember how to tell the difference between a predator and a parasite? Yes, whether you admire them or they disgust you." Definitely not a predator then.

I've had a bite on my toe which I first noticed a few days after coming back from Venezuela. Didn't really think anything of it, as at the time, I had somewhere upwards of 50 others all over my feet and lower legs, all of which were itchy. However, this one started to grow, and didn't go away. It had also started to bleed after being knocked by my shoe this week.

Then last night, a lump slightly smaller than a pea fell off when I took my sock off. That was fairly horrible. I've had something living in my toe for a month.

Apparently, in the Kukenan River there are some nasty little things called niguas. They're harmless, but very irritating. Carlucho had some "emergency surgery" at Angel Falls on a couple he'd picked up - I didn't pay much attention to that either, as I didn't appear to have any signs of them then! They bite on and lay eggs in the wound, the eggs hatch a few weeks later and the cycle continues.

I'll have to keep an eye on it in case there were any eggs left behind. I've smeared the area with tea tree oil and deet for now, and will have to get some other bits and pieces that will kill anything else like that off.

Who'd live in the tropics?!