Monkey Business

You gotta love 'em! Monkeys do the darnedest things! With their human like hands they can get into all kinds of mischief. The sign above makes me smile every time I see it because I have no doubt that if someone left their car unlocked and the keys in the ignition one of the monkeys could and would drive off in it! I complained one time to the owner of a lodge in Ecuador that the monkeys, (spider monkeys for the most part) were getting into my hut and rummaging through my belongings when I was out on the river or hiking...and I mean they were unzipping my bag! He asked me, "Do you have any cookies..candy... fruit...in your room? Well, yessss, I did...but... He threw his arms in the air in exasperation at my answer and ended the conversation abruptly with, "Then I can do nothing!"

The monkeys got in at night too as evidenced by what I would find in the morning, usually on my bed. It was more than a little disconcerting to feel a hairy tail brush against my face in the night. I got used to it though and even stopped screaming after a few nights. The owner of this lodge was very nice, despite his inability to give me a good nights rest, and he loved all the monkeys that would visit the lodge.

They are not pets, nor are they fed, and they are free to go anytime. This little capuchin seemed pretty used to people. At dinner each night, when he saw me heading to the dining area, he would jump on me, crawl under my shirt, and then pop his head out of the neck hole and stay there, peering around and sometimes snoozing....for hours. Cheeky monkey!

The Jungle Place in between Akumal and Tulum is a great place to visit when in Mexico. You can read about their monkey sanctuary here http://www.jungleplace.com/ . They are doing wonderful work there for sick and displaced spider monkeys in that area.

Here's a photo of one of my smaller friends at The Jungle Place when she was five years old wearing a monkey "bracelet" (Ixchel) and last year, barely seven years old, just after a thorough head inspection for insects by Luna and Maya. She's a monkey child!

Aren't we all?

I'll be away from a computer for a few weeks while I go a whale watching in the Dominican Republic. (Yes, you CAN get away from a computer!) Hopefully, I'll figure out how to post video when I return. Until then....stop monkeying around and start planning an adventure!

The Village of Tortuguero

The beachs of Tortuguero are isolated and uninhabited for long stretches of coastline. You can really get that Robinson Crusoe feel there. However, there is also a village by the name of Tortuguero, which can be translated Land of the Turtles, because of the green sea turtle migration there to lay their eggs each year. It is a small and quiet town, located between the sea and the canals, where cars do not exist. The only way to get there is by boat or small plane, and the planes aren't flying in right now while repairs are made to the airstrip. The population is around 700. The people who reside there use bicycles and their feet for getting from one side of town to the other...not that far. Below is a picture of the main street and a few of the houses. Doesn't everyone have a satellite now? The green structure is the town's administration building. There's a window air conditioner! Wow! Someone very important must work there!

If you are interested in independant travel, this website, http://www.tortuguerovillage.com/ is intended to increase awareness of the resources, locally owned micro-enterprises, and opportunities the actual town of Tortuguero can offer a visitor, student, or tourist. This is a project developed by the local governing body, with support by two Peace Corps Volunteers, and of course the entire community of Tortuguero. You can find out lots of information here to plan a visit on your own. If you would like to visit the town, canals, and park, but feel more comfortable with a bilingual guide, yet still avoid traveling with lots of people, which often makes you feel like you're in a herd and sticking out like a sore thumb, send me an email. We never travel with more than six participants!

If the Rubber Boot Fits...

With an annual rainfall of 160-200 inches or more, Costa Rica's rainforest trails would be impossible to hike without rubber boots. (In comparison, the annual rainfall in SC last year was 34 inches!) In fact, according to The National Meteorological Institute (IMN) Costa Rica’s 2008 rainfall is set to make history, accumulating more annual rainfall than it has seen in more than 60 years. This makes for a LOT of mud. In late August, considered one of the least rainy months in the Tortuguero area, I was walking along a trail, hopping from one solid looking spot to another, when I literally sank up to the top of my boots in the mud. I pulled and pulled, but I was stuck in there but good! Finally, I had no choice but to pull my feet out of the boots and leap out in my stocking feet into the brush off the trail. Hilarious when I think about it now...looking back at those boot tops just barely sticking out of the ground with no occupant inside them! The problem was the boots were too big and I couldn't get them unstuck without my feet slipping out. So, take your time and try on a few pair before you choose one to hike in.

The wet ground makes for viewing animal tracks easy though. Here's a very large Baird's tapir print. I must have just missed him! Looking at the size of the print it must have been close to 100 pounds or more. Just a youngster...most newborn tapirs weigh from 15-25 pounds. An adult Baird's tapir can tip the scales, weighing in at 700 pounds or more!

Trekking into the wetter, marshier areas also provides some great bird watching. I watched the bird in the picture below for a long time as it preened in the trees over a small flooded area. I was really quiet so as to not disturb, but he looks really ticked off! I believe it is a boat billed heron, but the bill and head are too blue. Can anyone help me identify it? Whatever the name, it was a magnificent bird!