Taking Predictable Vacations Is Bad for Your Brain
Experiences that don’t fit neatly into our definition of “safe” are often the most surprising — and the most biologically satisfying.
Illustration: María Medem for Bloomberg
I should have been looking down at the steep, root-riddled path in front of me, but the jungle-framed views of the Pacific Ocean kept drawing my eyes to the horizon. At least until my young guide stopped me in my tracks. “Don’t make another move,” Miler Mosquera said. “He can kill.”
Instinctively, my body froze, my eyes scanning the trees for the source of danger. Finally, I spotted the coiled snake inches from my boots, camouflaged against the mud and ready to strike. “Juvenile bothrops asper,” Mosquera said calmly, steering me away gently by the elbow. “Very venomous. Very deadly.”