monkey island

In this resort there are several tours. We chose the monkey island one and appeared at the desk at the appointed time. They took one look at us and said we would have a private tour. Yay. So we, a guide and a pilot got into a small tour boat and headed out. We rode past giant ships in the canal, first the Amsterdam cruise ship, then a car cargo ship. Our turn to cross the boat lane came and we picked up speed till we flew over the wakes and waves. I kept glancing at Shannon to make sure going this fast was ok with her, only to find her beaming at the boatride.

We turned off the canal to enter one of the many waterways winding between jungle islands. Our guide would point out howler monkeys and birds among the dense foliage. She also offered us ponchos for the beginning drizzle. Re refused – we are Seattleites. Off in the distance we could hear howler monkeys in the distance. Then we went to monkey island – so named for the white faced monkeys which are its only constant inhabitants. Our guide called them in their sounds and instantly several monkeys came to wonder at their visitors.

Shannon wanted me to take hundreds of pictures of the monkeys staring down at us, and I took dozens, but was distracted with putting ponchos over us in a futile defense against the coming rainstorm. I had seen the torrential rainstorm the day before and understood the power of the torrents. Do you have any idea how hard it is to put a thin plastic poncho on over wet clothes? It started pouring. After a few more animals, we headed back, skipping over the waves. Our ponchos snapped in the wind and we had to hold the hoods around our faces. The water ran off my poncho directly into my shoes. Large droplets stung our faces and ran down into our mouths. I doubt they had any real affect besides keeping my camera dry. None of the marina workers could believe we enjoyed this. But it is tropical rain; warm, soaking, completely satisfying.