I pa nic, jump out of bed and fling back the pink nylon sheets to reveal a 10-inch mubuya maculata , better known as a lizard to you and me. I shouldn't really be surprised. This is Fernando de Noronha, a group of 21 islets off the coast of north-east Brazil, with some of the strictest rules in the world to keep touris m numbers down to a bare minimum and wildlife flourishing to the full. There are animals everywhere. Hundreds of spinner dolphins play in the bays and stingrays greet you as you snorkel in the Atlantic.
Lizards dart everywhere.
At one point there are 10 in conference at my sandy feet, plus a local mouse. The islands are grand, green and mountainous with yellow sand fringes. This is a shock to me. I'm looking forward to the 16 untouched beaches. A band of male divers all with hairy wrists with watches the size of bricks and wearing matching black T-shirts are more fascinated by the underwater sea turtles, octopuses and jewfish and finding out about the 14 species of shark that inhabit the waters.