Amazonian "Street" Food

Beetle larva -- it's what's for lunch.

See that white thing in the picture above? Wedged into the crevices of the open tree nut? The thing that looks like it's pulsating when you stare at it long enough, even though you know you're looking at a still image?

That's a beetle grub; one that grew fat feeding on that tree nut. I don't know what type of beetle; I don't know what type of tree nut.

The grub is edible. Or so our Amazon guides assured me.

Since I'm still alive, over a month after eating two of the things, I guess they weren't lying.

Yes. You read that correctly. I wasn't satisfied with just eating one live beetle grub. I ate two.

The first time I partook of said jungle consumable, I was so freaked out about having something squirming around in my mouth, I realised the only way I was going to get the larva down was to swallow it whole. So that's what I did -- right through the protestations of Matteo, our guide, who was gesticulating wildly and screaming at me to chew it. All I heard was something about needing to kill it lest it gnawed its way out through my stomach wall. Visions of a fully-formed mutant Amazonian beetle bursting out through my chest a la Aliens suddenly filled my head. I think I turned green.

After he picked himself up off the ground, and stopped laughing, Matteo said that I was most likely fine, but that real Amazonians chewed their grubs before swallowing them.

I couldn't let such a shot to my masculinity go unchallenged. I needed to eat another freaking grub. Properly this time.

I got my chance two days later, when I joined up for another morning jungle trek, just before heading back to Manaus that afternoon.

See That Shit-Eating Grin On That Guy's Face? That's the Smile of Someone Who Knows, That By Going Out Into the Jungle Again, He Will Reclaim His Manhood.

We found another grub. I chewed it this time. The bug burst like a berry. A nutty, palmy, insect-tasting berry.

There are two Amazonian guides, three Scotswomen, another Canadian, and a Spaniard who can attest to the fact that I ate that second larva like a real Amazonian. In fact, I have the e-mail addresses of all these people, should anybody want third-party confirmation.

1. Assessing My Pre-Lunch Snack.

2. In It Goes.

3. Me Thinking That There Are a Lot Better-Tasting Berries Out There.

 (Thanks to Jen for taking these photos.)

Related Entries:
1. The Amazon Jungle
2. South American Street Food