So there I was, riding down a jungle road outside of Chachopoyas in North Peru at about 8.30 am. It's cold but sunny, and the road is right on the bank of a brown, swollen river, which is raging on.
I am thinking about the long day of small mountain roads ahead.
Whoa. There's a tarantula in the middle of the road!
No one around, u-turn and park up.
Approach the T, feeling confident as I 'know' they aren't poisonous, and anyway I still have my gloves and helmet etc on ...
Crouch down to look. Cool, she is big, about the size of my gloved palm. Jet black and hairy. Not pleased with my attentions, she rears onto hind legs and looks mean.
So I try and pick her up.
She jumps at my hand, and on reflex I pull back and stand up, but there is now no tarantula to be seen on the road!
I freak out, windmilling 2 full circles and jumping up and down in case she is on me. Where else could she be?
I look down, and there she is, black spider on the upper left arm of my black jacket, looking at me just 12 short inches from my face ...
Jeerraaawww! Get off! I flick her off and onto the grass a few feet away, where she crouches, ready for the next round.
Not me, I am so freaked out. Besides, I can't hang around here too long I have a date with a 100 mile mountain road which unbeknownst to me is going to finish what Ms Tarantula started: scaring the wits out of me!
