Snakes, Phobias, and Playa del Carmen!
Many people ask me what it's like living in Mexico, and although I generally only have great things to say about it, this popped up on my local news feed today, and I am absolutely terrified of snakes!
"Boa found coiled on bus tire in Playa del Carmen"
BY RIVIERA MAYA NEWS ON JUNE 26, 2018
You're not going to stop that bad boy from sitting beside you, simply by placing your briefcase on the vacant seat :)
Apparently, the bus driver noticed the snake coiled up on one of the tires, had everyone get off the bus, and called the fire department to have it cleared away. As I read the article, I wondered how often something like this actually happened here, and sure enough, there were other links at the end of the article.
"Cancun man finds sleeping boa under hood of car"
BY MIGUEL BRAVO, FREELANCE JOURNALIST ON JANUARY 31, 2018
Source
"The rescue team of firemen said that the snake was a beautiful female boa constrictor of 2 1/2 meters in length, a very common specimen in the jungles of Quintana Roo."
Ah, I don't know about "beautiful", but to each his own.
And this one: "Large sleeping boa rescued from busy Cancun roadway"
BY RIVIERA MAYA NEWS ON MARCH 11, 2018
Source
Just so you know, all three were relocated back to the jungle.
I know a fear of snakes is a common one; there's actually a name for the abnormal fear of snakes: Ophidiophobia. My fear stems from a little trick my father played on me when I was a kid. He was crouched down in the yard and told me to come and see the "cool thing" he'd found. I was young and of course trusted my dad, so I ran over to him, excited to see what he had. When I got about a couple feet away (less than 1 meter), he picked something up and threw it at me, laughing! Yes, it was a wriggling garter snake, flying towards my face!!! I turned and ran, and continued to run until my little lungs would no longer support my little flying feet...about a mile away haha.
I can laugh now about it, but at the time, I was traumatized. My dad however, has no recollection of the incident at all!
Years later, I was living in a town and a new shop was opening, some kind of biker t-shirt place, but they happened to have a huge boa snake on display out front. It was lounging in all its' 3+ feet/1 meter glory and I decided then and there, I was going to get over my fear of snakes. It took me no less than an hour, palms sweaty, stomach churning, but I finally got the nerve to "pet" the damned thing and much to my surprise, it felt dry! I had expected slimy and all-round icky from years of mental conditioning. I found the nerve to touch it a couple times, cockily thinking, "that's right, look at me touching this big thing", and just when I started to think I was over it all, the snake moved and I was outta there!!
So much for bravado, however today, I simply have a healthy "fear" of all snakes, which I think is pretty normal!
What about you? Fear of snakes too? or Do you have other fears or phobias ?
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Where in Mexico are you based? I lived there for a while a looooong time ago, in Oaxaca state and a bit in Guadalajara.
We're in Playa del Carmen, outside of Cancun.
That "long" ago, hey? haha
'99 and 2000. Loooooong time ago! :)
Never been to the Cancun area though!
haha it just seemed like it was turning to the year 2000 last week! Crazy how time really does fly by.
This area is absolutely beautiful; we love it!
No kidding, it's going to be 2020 soon!
Hm, we'll have to check it out soon! How is it in December? There's a small chance we may be in Mexico then :)
December hit and miss actually; it does tend to rain a lot, but often it rains and then quickly stops and the sun comes back out.
Thanks! Sounds like life here in Thailand ;)
Hi Lynn!
Well done for petting that big one.... wait, wrong post :D
I'm OK with snakes that i'm told are harmless, but wouldn't like to meet one in the jungle. A bit like spiders and frogs - most are OK but some can be lethal!
hahaha Asher, you dirty dog! I love it!! :)
Spiders and snakes I get, but frogs? That's funny to me, seeing as I grew up having them as pets or jumping contests with the ones my siblings found. Farm fun haha
Get that image of Daisy Duke out of your head ;)
:D
Yeah i think some are poisonous - maybe you have to lick them first!
hahaha that might have something to do with your calcification problem :)
haha :D
I've never licked a frog, i think?!
hahaha I can say the exact same thing with the exact same clarity! :)
In Townsville, I knew people that had licked a Cain toad to get high... Weirdos... So many better ways... haha...
🐸 I couldn't possibly say!
hahaha, I didn't think so. ;D
I'm a little more careful about what I put in my mouth @abh12345. Oh wait...different post! :)
ok. That is weird, although I've heard of it before, I just couldn't imagine trying it.
Me neither. Cain toads are ugly.. lol...
Hahaha, funny bugger!
Some toads and frogs are super poisonous and some people lick them just for fun, super hallucinogenic, trip balls until you die... Ok, maybe die is a bit dramatic, and I have don't zero research on the matter lol, but I am sure they can make you really sick.
😬
Some people will do anything to get high!
What the heck? Where do you live?! I'm not a big fan of snakes. I don't mind them eating mice out in the wild, but they should stay away from me. And no, I don't think that's an abnormal fear of them.
haha we are close to the jungle, actually this whole area used to be jungle not that many years ago. We saw a dead black panther (the animal not the activist:) on the highway a few months ago. Sad, it had been hit by a vehicle, but it gives you an idea of what is still living all around here.
I'm with you...they can stay in the wild :)
I thought I had heard there was a lot of development going on down there.
That's sad about the panther, although I'll bet some locals sleep a little better at night as their cats and dogs aren't in as much danger now.
We both started vacationing here over 20 years ago, and there was always the main street (5th Ave) and the cross streets went from 0 st. (the beach), up to 8th. Now it goes well beyond 100 and that's just this little corner of it all.
That's kinda the way of things right now, isn't it? Tear down the forest and put up condos. Everyone needs to have a vacation home.
"How does a man live in two houses? Easy, half in each. It's simple math."
-themanwithnoname
(Ok, some of my new sayings are dumber than others. Ha ha)
hahaha @themanwithnoname, I thought you were going to say something like, "the wife in one and me in the other". But of course, that doesn't refer to you, so that wouldn't have worked either.
What's dumb is everyone seems to think they need more and more. No one really "needs" a vacation home. That's what hotels are for. There! Make that one a quote 😎
How's this one?
"When I was growing up, I liked girls but never wanted to live with one. I decided that the best solution would be to live in adjacent houses with a tunnel underneath so you could go visit without going out in the cold."
-themanwithnoname
OR
"They say it's a waste to have a vacation home because you can just stay in hotels. That means hotels are like my other house. Since they're my house, I always buy a lot of stuff and just leave it in the hotel rooms when I leave. At least I don't have to pay for a storage unit for all of it."
-themanwithquestionablequotes
Oh, no! I'm afraid of snakes. I fear them so much that this fear just paralyzes me and at their sight I can not move and ready to faint. It doesn't even matter what size it is - even if it is an ordinary little snake. I don't know what's gonna happen to me to stop being afraid of them and change my attitude.
I used to be exactly like that @madlenfox, but then I got the courage to finally touch that one and it all changed for me. I guess the fact that it was a "safe" environment for me to do so; I knew it would be ok. It wasn't easy though, that I will tell you!!
When they know to call the fire department and not the police...this comes up more than you would like to know haha
We found this guy lying innocently in the grass on a recent walk. He was stretched out in a straight line catching the sun. I reached out and touched the end of his tail...the rattle actually. In one terrifyingly swift movement, he coiled, hissed loudly and violently rattled his tail. Scared the bejesus out of me. It restored my healthy respect for snakes. btw I have a fear of heights that seems to get worse as I get older :(
What on earth possessed you to touch it!! At least you went for the tail haha My problem(?) is that I never see them lying "innocently" :)
And heights! That I understand too. I think the older we get, the more our mortality seems real maybe? Or you're just a chicken haha
When you are young you are invincible...life gradually teaches you otherwise haha
haha so true!
I love snakes, and really want a pet one but @shai-hulud is not as keen, not because he doesn't like them, just because they aren't great pets for dogs or toddlers lol... I only want a Stimpson Python, they are tiny and I can call him Stimpy. <3
I am not as keen on the poisonous ones but if we stay away from them, they tend to stay away from us, we go hiking regularly and see snakes. We always have a stick if its the season for them and whack it on the ground in front of us as we walk, they feel the vibrations and disappear before we have time to see them.
When we were down south once though, in a relatively short period of time we saw heaps of tiger snakes and steered well clear of them, Those ones aren't all that afraid of us and will attack if feel threatened.
It's funny how dads can completely forget these things, and they can traumatise us. I am also very sad that he had to use a snake, cause they are pretty cool, and you have missed out on loving an awesome creature.
Me, I hate enclosed spaces...
Aww Stimpy. That's cute, but I still wouldn't want one haha Probably not the best pet to get right now lol @shai-hulud is right about that one!
The stick idea when hiking is a good one. I'll have to remember that here because there is still plenty of jungle in our 'back yard'. You guys have plenty of creepy crawlies there though, don't you? :)
You're right about 'dads forgetting' things like that. My dad laughed when I told him about it years and years later. You say that like you have a "dad forgetting" story yourself :)
Haha many but they arent around to reminisce with as they all passed. The bio one and two step dads.. My mum had a hard run.
We do have loads of creepy crawlies and drop bears if you ask @shai-hulud. Lol...
I remember you saying that before about your mom. That's so hard!
So @shai-hulud is the scaredy cat? 😂
Haha no, he just likes scaring naive backpackers and tourists lol.
haha now I again have a much cooler version of him in my head 😎
Haha, he would love that, hes pretty chilled. But I must say that babys can test anyones patience. Lol.
I guess sometimes parents don't mean bad but it has a big impact on their children. I think this is confirming that your dad doesn't have any recollection of the incident. I'm glad now you have a healthy fear :)
I like all creatures on this earth BUT if I can I try to avoid contact with snakes, spiders and sharks :)
I'm also a bit claustrophobic. I went to Florence last week and I booked a ticket to Duomo but then I read some reviews about how narrow and steep the staircase was and I chickened out and didn't go there at the end. I actually even got stomach ache just from thinking about it. Our mind is so strong that we can cause pain just by overthinking :)
Anyway, thank you for sharing this article. It is good to talk about the fear as I am sure everybody has some :)
That's a great way to put it; I completely agree!
I actually did that staircase in the Duomo several years ago when I took a group of art students there for Spring Break. I too am a bit claustrophobic and had to keep stopping because I felt so hot and dizzy. It was so narrow that you couldn't comfortably have two people side by side in it...hence the problems with some going up and some going down haha The fresh air at the top was glorious, as was the view I must say, but going down wasn't much better!
You probably made a wise choice! :)
So then it's really good that I didn't go. I would panic and probably faint :D
I went to the tower of Palazzo Vecchio so I could enjoy spectaculars views already and this also added to my decision not to go to Duomo. Normally I try to overcome my fears but this was really too much :)
You've got to know when a thing has you beat and just respect it :)
I fell in love with Florence, everything about it was beautiful!
I think a healthy fear of snakes is a good thing, but more important, it reminded me of this song from Jim Stafford, kind of funny what things bring back music from our more youthful days, or just our bygone days.
i just read a post from @enforcer48 about his spotify and his profiling taylor swift, and that reminded me of the bangles and the Go Go's. Usually it is Sundays that has music playing through my head but today it has begun. I think I need to listen to some annie lennox now.
edit: I don't have her album loaded so settled on Mike and the Mechanics and Silent Running.
@bashadow!!! I just played this through and sang the entire thing, even though I haven't heard it in years and years! Even better, Brian doesn't know the song, so I had to sing it to him again haha
Music is as good as smells/scents for bringing back memories!! I've got a few running through my head with this song. Thanks so much :)
You'll have to play "Wildwood Weed" for him. ;-}
Will do! He's tired of hearing this one on repeat haha
Here's one of my memories for you: my father played the accordian and used to play this on it haha Imagine that one!
They really are silky smooth to the touch not that I touch them too often very pretty to look at, but much like you I have great respect for snakes @lynncoyle1
I sometimes think it is a lack of knowledge that holds one at bay, freezes you up when we see them.
I think you are so right @joanstewart; it's ignorance that causes most fear now that I think about that a little bit!
Thanks for stopping by; hope you are well :)
Enjoying a beautiful winter weather, for me this is the best time of the year @lynncoyle1 (you sounding so much better in your content, more relaxed, hope it stays like that for you)
We humans are actually silly, normally a snake is visible to us whereas spiders are not, thinking over the past couple of weeks, experienced some crazy spider bites (never had them before) don't even know which ones are up to their tricks at the moment, you don't see them so you don't fear them.....
Thank you @joanstewart, I am feeling so much better!
I have a friend here who had what she thought was a huge pimple on her forehead, only to find out later that it was an infection from a spider bite. She had taken a bus and slept on the seat and figured out that's where it had probably happened. It just wasn't going away so she finally saw a doctor about it!
haha how's that for "you don't see them"? :)
You hit the nail on the head @lynncoyle1 I have had 3 or 4 nasty bites this year, never been bitten before.
Mosquitoes love my blood, but spiders never before.
That's weird about the spiders @joanstewart ! I wonder why now?
I can't say that I'm a fan of snakes, but I don't think I'm that afraid of them either. I don't see the need to pet them, but I would pick one up (non-poisonous) if needed to keep it away from others.
That said, I don't think there's anything wrong with keeping your distance from them. It's a perfectly safe thing to do.
Three snake sightings that you found over the last six months is fairly significant, but if you personally haven't seen any during the course of your stay there, I'd say it doesn't happen often enough to be concerned, especially when two of them were up in the Cancun area.
Couldn't resist adding this clip from the first Indiana Jones movie, since you and Indy have something in common. :)
hahaha I may have cut my losses and jumped out of that plane :)
I can't say that I'm the least bit concerned about the snakes, it just seemed to be a not-so-gentle reminder how the jungle really is my back yard here!
Yeah, interesting how that works. Civilization and man can beat back nature but somehow, it always finds a way to at least remind us that it's still there and could probably take charge at any time. We have a lot of people living on or around volcanoes who have come to see that, along with others in the way of earthquakes and hurricanes.
I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with the moral, though, since I do believe man is meant to be here, too, and find a way to use the land and so forth. We just need not be surprised if what we try to tame decides it would rather not be tamed. :)
I think the world needs a healthier respect for Mother Nature and what she's capable of, and quit thinking in terms of "controlling" nature as opposed to living in harmony with it :)
Maybe that's where you were going with it :)
Every year you here about the floods and the fires and the mudslides and yet people keep building and living in those areas. Earthquake and hurricane zones are more hit and miss, but it only takes one big one and it's all over. So, I don't know. I haven't lived much of anywhere else other than Oregon, California and Utah, and so I don't know what the rest of the interior of the United States is like year round, but some places have tornadoes, which I wouldn't want to live through either.
I guess you can find something to fear just about anywhere @glenalbrethsen, but there are some areas worse than others. I used to live in an area that had new developments on hillsides, not tiny hills, more like mountains. There was also a lot of rain and I used to think it was only a matter of time before things simply slid down the hill!