May 23, 2016

I’ve woken up with a sore throat but I’m hoping by the power of positive thinking it won’t get any worse.  We’re off bright and early to collect our tickets and catch our boat to the national park.  We’re hoping to see lots of wildlife today.

All is going well – we’re on the boat with about a dozen or so tourists, when, over the tannoy, a voice announces that we need to wait ten minutes for the school trip to arrive.  Picture St. Trinian’s but with Spanish children – a coach disgorges a crowd of screaming kids – our hearts sink – the chances of any wildlife watching today are zero.

At the first stopping point the only wild things are the massive clouds of hungry mosquitoes.  In spite of copious amounts of insect repellent we get bitten, mainly through our clothes.  Not a single bird or animal was spotted.  We reembarked and moved on upstream.  If you think of a cross between ‘The African Queen’ and Papillon on Devil’s Island, you will have a perfect image of where we were.  Next stop, the salt marshes- all birds swiftly departed, but a rampaging bullock did try to attack the screaming kids.  Having said all that, the actual boat trip was quite relaxing.

Back in the city we pack and set off once more on the bikes.  It is mid-afternoon and very hot, so we’re only aiming for a short run.  The positive thinking hasn’t worked, by now I have a red, runny nose and raging sore throat.  I have two hopes for tomorrow; the first is that I feel better and the second is that I don’t hear those words “I think I’ve caught your cold”.