.... this day, as the others, was just divine.  There is a reason why our bodies are red... and it’s a good reason at that.  It was the rainy season in Bahia during this trip, so we were always wet, soaked, soggy and pruned.  Our socks like mops and our boots smelly shells of rubber, nylon, leather and lace. 

On this day, we were to venture into the virgin original growth rain forest that is on Diego’s land.  It was going to be about a 6 hour hike.  So, we were going to get soaked.  And walking for 6 hours in wet clothing isn’t a time I would call jolly.  It actually becomes a burden with the extra weight.  So, the other option was to just not wear clothing. 

For me, a man who loves walking around naked, this posed no problem.  Yet, in the forest, there exists bugs.  Bugs that bite.  So, to remedy this problem, Diego walked over to a tree and started harvesting these little red fuzzy fruits that had little rubber like dull knobby spikes.  He opened one up, pulled it’s little black seeds out and started to smear them all over his body.  These little black seeds oozed a red pigmented juice that stained our skin red.  While it looked savage and fun, it also was a natural insect repellent.  So, for the next 15 minutes, we smeared these seeds all over our bodies, painting ourselves in bright red insect repellent.

Jason, our photographer, didn’t smear himself quite as liberally as myself, Diego and Bill.  And in the end, suffered...

http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/10/29/slideshow_071029_chocolate

more to come....