Venezuela. Los Llanos.

A Boa Constrictor bit me on the finger yesterday afternoon and I feel terrible. It hurts a lot and its really ugly.
We went for a drive after our siesta, and when we stopped, three locals and our guide went with big sticks looking for the Anacondas. The first one they found was only about a year old. We all took photos of it around each others necks, it was quite small and easy to handle.

Then they found another one. This was bigger and older, about 3 yrs old, and much much angrier.

Pedro, the guide was holding it and asked if anyone wanted to hold it. We all said no, kind of 'held one, held them all' feeling, but a few seconds later I went to scratch a mosquito bite on my leg and as I started to stand up he was putting it round my neck without telling me. I freaked out briefly, but let him put it there, and I held onto it. To hold a snake like this (its a Boa, which is the same family as an Anaconda apparently) you have to have a very tight grip just under its neck, so that you are restricting its head movements, and a firm grip at its tail end. Then they cant curl up. All good. Until when Pedro went to get the Boa off me. People tell me that he didn't hold the neck properly when he was taking it off me, it was able to move its Head and suddenly my middle finger of my left hand was in its mouth, and its teeth crunching through my nail and holding on so so so tight. For a good few minutes, I'm not exaggerating, he was holding onto me. Ive never screamed so much.
An Aussie guy was standing next to me and once he told me that it was not poisonous he calmed me down a little ( I didn't even know that!).
One of the french men came up with a big knife to kill the snake with but Pedro brushed him away and told everyone to look for sticks to wedge open its mouth with.

When it was off me the driver, two German girls and Maurice went back to the Jeep with me, dripping blood all the way. The others stayed and carried on playing with the snake. I am lucky that my brain shut off as soon as I felt the pain. I didn't know how it happened, didn't hear the terrific "Tom and Jerry" style crunch that it made, I don't remember them getting it off me, I just remember the pain. It makes me feel sick thinking about how much it hurt.
We had beer in the Jeep, and once the driver had cleaned me a little, I had a beer to calm my nerves, then when everyone came back, I was on show for them all ( I think I was in shock a little!).

All cleaned up and disinfected when we got back, a German girl, 2 Czech and I started and finished the Rum. Well deserved I think.

This morning 4 of us got into the van again and went back to the river where we went Piranha fishing. I was useless at it but Maurice did well and we had fun!. Then the others joined us, they had been horse riding, and so we swapped. I had great fun riding back and wish it lasted a little longer.
Boring Safari this afternoon, didn't see anything, apart from this bigger anaconda. Yeah thanks, really need to see this. I stayed in the van, very unimpressed and feeling sick.





Ive been eaten by a Boa Constrictor,
A Boa Constrictor.
Ive been eaten by a Boa Constrictor
And I dont like it one bit.
Oh no! its up to my toe.
Oh gee! its up to my knee.

OH FIDGIT! ITS EATEN MY DIGIT. (NICE ONE DAD!)
Oh heck! its up to my neck.
Oh iuu! hdy yfjjd isn aiolxxzzzzzzz