My wife and I vacationed at El Nido, Palawan, the Philippines three decades ago. The staff dropped us off on a "desert island" with a picnic basket. After a stretch on the sunny beach, the shaded jungle looked inviting and we ventured in. Big mistake!

Within minutes, every mosquito with half a kilometer (it seemed) had come to feast on us. We dashed out of the jungle, our arms flailing, and plunged into the sea. Upon surfacing, we saw that we had provided uproarious entertainment for several the local fishermen who had witnessed our rout from the jungle.