Importance of Getting Vaccines: Case of the Super Mosquito

The case of the super mosquito comes from the small country of Guyana.  After living in South America for a year I couldn't miss the opportunity of visiting the often overlooked countries of The Guiana's.  I honestly didn't know what to expect or exactly what to see until I got to the country.  One of the most unique things they have to offer besides unspoiled wildlife in the Amazon Jungle was the Kaieteur Falls. 

In what seems like a completely remote location where no guard rails exist, the Kaieteur Falls are very reminiscent of the Iguazu Falls in Argentina.  The color of the flow of water at Kaieteur is exactly like the like the water at the Devil's Throat at Iguazu.  Before visiting they told us about the encounters we would have with wildlife as well as the mosquitoes.

On the same tour we had the privilege of visiting the Orinduik Falls where we would find the friendly mosquito on steroids called the Kaboura Fly.  Not only does this insect look like a mosquito that has been working out at a gym for most of its life, it also leaves a nasty welt that is roughly two or three times bigger than the small bump a mosquito leaves.

I was given exclusive footage of a welt that was earned weeks before we arrived to our gracious host at the hotel that I was staying at, the El Dorado Inn.  The Kaboura fly also has a great habit of laying eggs inside of your skin which I'm sure we all want to experience!  Since I was updated before my trip to the Kaieteur Falls I made sure to put on plenty of bug spray all over my skin before we arrived. 

Luckily, we landed at a time when it was sunny and there weren't too many flies out at the falls.  Speaking to the many mosquitoes that have bitten by uncle over the years they advised me that he has some of the sweetest blood on the planet.  That's one of the reasons that I love traveling with my uncle, mosquitoes tend to prefer his skin to mine.

Since his blood is so sweet the Kaboura flies decided to bite my uncle through his t-shirt.  Not once or twice, he was bitten three separate times by the Kaboura flies.  If you ever thought there was a time that you needed to have your vaccines imagine being bitten by this random fly that happens to leave eggs inside of your skin.  My uncle didn't feel well at all that night and he happened to get all of his vaccines just before we arrived in Guyana.

After some research on the internet and speaking to locals we found out that the Kaboura flies don't carry any diseases.  So in this case a vaccination or medication wouldn't help, but just imagine if they did carry disease and you didn't have your vaccines/meds to prevent that disease?  It's very important to take care of your health while you are traveling and learning how to protect yourself when medicine or vaccines can't is a must.  Don't forget your bug repellent- the Kaboura flies will find you.  Just ask my uncle!

About the Author:
Marcello Arrambide is a day trader and travel blogger that is currently traveling around the world.  He spent over 3 weeks exploring The Guianas while traveling to every country in South America.  You can find out more about Marcello by visiting his travel blog: WanderingTrader.com.  He is currently living in Nairobi, Kenya exploring all of Eastern Africa.