iguanamountain blog

TROPICAL HEAVEN?

Aside from the sun, what are some things you might need to protect yourself from during the summer and why? Or winter where you live?

I live in Belize. We have tropical sun. It can turn white skin into a brilliant shade of rosy red in about twenty minutes. I witness all the cruise ship passengers who visit our beach. Ouch! such pain. I respect that sun and crave it, but only for about 15 minutes on a side. And out on the ocean the time is even less because of the reflection off the water. I am very brown and maintain that.

The sun gives Vitamin D which is essential to health and immune system. There are a lot of studies that show sunscreen to be very dangerous. Better to teach the young ones that limited time is absolutely necessary to have healthy skin later in life. The only protection I use is coconut oil.

Now living on and beside the ocean, we have LOTS of insects. The tiny invisible ones are Sand Fleas. I think they are all mouth. Their bite stings, itches and leaves a little red spot that lasts for several days. They especially like untanned white skin. Yum! They are so small they can fit through regular window screen. The trade winds keep them away, blowing them back into the mangrove swamps. But when the wind dies, watch out.

We cleared the sailboat of roaches. Big cockroaches! However, on land they are a plague in older houses.

Now in the sailboat, which is old and the interior is built with wood. Wood is the essential food for termites. They are very clever, leaving the outer layer and varnish or paint untouched. Huge colonies excavate the insides of most woods except teak. Over time they can destroy just about anything. Several times a year they push out the new ones to mate and go find some new wood to start a new colony. Termites are attracted to bright light. We have a bright LED over the sink which is full of soapy water. Most of them fly into that and die. It is a constant battle.

Then there are the Doctor Flies. Bigger than a house fly, but smaller than a horse fly. They are black and metallic orange in color. They are some kind of advanced warrior-stalker that only hunts the blood of humans. When they strike the initial touch is the bite. It burns, stings, itches, swells up. Ugh! An itching zone 8 to 10 inches around the bite for most of a day. The bite effect lasts a week or more leaving a scar that heals slowly. They don’t buzz around like stupid flies. They stalk, wait, hide and then strike! But they are arrogant and bold. Often they come an land on my computer screen. Of if you are holding a phone or tablet, they come behind you hand where you can’t see them until it’s too late. They are seasonal, so at least not all year like the sand fleas.

Bug spray, poison powder, flyswatters, extra clothes (long sleeves & pants) It’s a war zone sometimes. But when the wind is right, the 30 minutes in the sun is tropical heaven! That part of the world really belongs to the insects and we’re visitors and a food source. Mexico controls tourist areas with daily (before dawn) mist-sprayers that move through the streets and beaches. I don’t know which is worse.

Happy in Belize...>>>iggy