Survival! Eating Opuntia (prickly pear) cactus on Snake Island

After hiking several days and living mostly on coconuts, finding a fresh ripe prickly pear cactus fruit really makes my taste buds go wild!... Known as "tuna" in Spanish, Opuntia cactus are thought to have originated in Mexico and later spread throughout the Americas... The fruit of this particularly species is tangy and sweet with lots of dark red juice that will temporarily stain your skin... Opuntia fruit is a good source of vitamin-C and magnesium... When harvesting handle the fruit carefully to avoid getting the tiny spines in your skin as these will be an irritant for several hours, and then carefully remove these spines with a knife, rag or flame.