There is a particularly annoying form of flea present in the mountains of Colombia, and, I presume, elsewhere in the Andes. It jumps onto you from the surrounding brush and burrows just under the outer layer of your skin. None of my guidebooks make any mention of it.

I take my exercise walking to the Three Crosses here in Cali, and find myself the frequent host to this annoying parasite.

You’ll first notice such a flea by a small, red sore that won’t go away. The sore will look like a pimple you’ve scratched, red and small and exposed. After a couple of weeks to a month you’re going to be wondering what it is. Probably one of these mountain fleas.

Tea tree oil is effective. If you spread a dab of tea tree oil on the spot it will kill the flea and the bite will heal in a day or two.

More effective seems to be drowning your fleas. Go swimming for ten minutes. Be sure to submerse your entire body, including your head in the water for as long as you can. This will kill the fleas.

I used this technique to kill off my fleas last week, only to discover one living in my ear — there was just enough air trapped in my ear canal to keep it alive. So I stood in the shower holding my ear open for several minutes and that seemed to do the trick.