West Chester Dish

I woke to the sound of tropical birds singing and a light morning breeze that blew the lace curtain at my bedside. I could tell right away it was going to be a really good day.

I didn’t bother showering (I figured bats or snakes didn’t care what I smelled like) and I gathered my items for the day’s adventure. Sneakers, socks, water bottle, swimsuit and towel. P.P. and I headed for breakfast. It just so happened that the tour met at the same restaurant we booked it at. We were the first ones there and we dined on fry jacks (mmmm), eggs, fruit and coffee. The perfect breakfast for a big day.

A big guy came around the restaurant and gathered money from all of the tour-goers. Then he distributed lunches. Our bags were filled with fresh pineapple slices, watermelon chunks,foil-wrapped sandwiches, a cookie, banana chips (oh yeah!) and an orange.

We jumped in the van and headed off to the caves. About 15 minutes into the drive up the mountain he pulled off of the side of the road.

“Okay, this is the lovely village of Teakettle. We are going to stop here for a little bit and take a break while we see if something is wrong with the van.”

Turned out the gas tank was a little “too low” for the liking of our guide so we waited until a baby blue van pulled up to replace our low hanging tank mobile.

We rode another half an hour with full bladders and high nerves over rocky terrain toward our destination. A quick stop at the ranger’s station to use the restroom and we were soon instructed to take our helmets and lunches through a trail through the jungle.

We hiked through rivers with water up to our thighs and got a taste of jungle life. Literally.

Our guide, Carlos, was amazing and gave us samples of various plants in the rain forest for us to taste. Then he told us about their origin and their medicinal purposes. We tried plants that treated Malaria, saw cocoa plants, avocado plants (not in season- bummer) and tasted nuts that were like mini coconuts and are used to make cooking oil. Last but not least we ate termites!

Carlos stuck his finger into a termite home and dozens of little bugs tried to flee on his fingertips. They had no chance of getting away before he popped them in his mouth and declared, “they taste just like carrots!”

After the initial shock wore off I reached out to try some for myself. I mean, I like carrots.

And he was totally right. Yum.

The Final Dish: Me smiling big to P.P. after the hike. “Hey, do I have any termites in my teeth?”