South American Explorer

While volunteering in Costa Rica, Beth Abrahams found out – among other things – why spider monkeys love toilet paper!

 

“You basically cannot get away from the monkeys; they like to get in bed with you at night, play with your sheets and then cuddle”

 

This was the warning imparted to me by the reserve director, and while the trio of free roaming spider monkeys actually couldn’t get through the chicken wire encasing the walls of my cabin; their arms were long enough to steal any and everything  on the beds close to the walls, or on my person.

 

One afternoon, while mindlessly walking too close to the screens, I lost a banana I was carefully peeling to a spider monkey!

 

I arrived at the Fundacion Sanctuario Silvestre de Osa on a Monday, late morning after crossing the Gulfo Dulce in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. I had volunteered to work at the reserve for a week before continuing on to Drake Bay and Corcovado Park, both also located on the peninsula. The director, who met me on the beach, asked me to sit a moment and chat before heading for my cabin.

 

The instant my rear met the chair seat a spider monkey hurled herself  onto my lap and proceeded to check each and every pocket in my photographer’s vest. It was obvious that I was being tested for a reaction by both human and primate. Laughing soundly, I appeared to pass and was permitted to proceed to my cabin in the knowledge that anything of value must be locked in my duffel. In the next four days I was careful never to have anything on my person that might interest Winky, Sweetie or Popi. I was not aware that might also include shower soap or shampoo.

 

As my outdoor shower consisted merely of water trickling out of a piece of bamboo wedged between rocks, it was difficult to protect toiletries, clothing, and towels from the marauding trio while balancing on the moss covered rocks.

 

It appears that monkeys, as much as human children, like to play with bubbles, especially those covering the torso of an unsuspecting victim.

 

Hair pulling is part of the game, and so I was forced to develop a lightning fast system of wetting down, soaping up and washing off all before any of the three realized I was missing from the communal area by the beach.

 

Toilet tissue was coveted as the outdoor bathroom was a hangout for at least one primate at any given time, ready to attack the unsuspecting. I fell victim one morning before going on a hike. I soon learned why the paper was kept in a plastic lidded bin. Seated comfortably on the throne, with a wad of paper in my hand, one ubiquitous arm reached down from above for the paper, the other lunged for my walking stick, all while I tried to maintain my balance and sense of decorum.

 

Monkey: 1 point for paper capture, Beth: 1 point for protection of walking stick.

 

There was one endearing and quiet moment I shared with Sweetie that far made up for the torment I often endured. I skulked to my cabin one afternoon in the hope of reading in a chair on the porch without losing my book and glasses to my mischievous companions. I was spotted, as usual, and although deprived of a literary respite, enjoyed the tender and careful ministrations of this monkey true to her name.

 

First she checked out all of my bites and bruises, then focused on my hair for salt deposits. Finally she settled in my lap, threw her arms around my neck, wrapped her legs around my waist and hugged as hard as she could all the while gurgling and cooing in my ear. I melted and forgave her and her compatriots for all their mischievousness of the past days, relishing this moment that I knew I would never have the pleasure of ever experiencing again.

 

About my trip:

 

How did I get there? I flew from New York to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, and then took alocal flight on NatureAir to Puerto Jimenez. The fights run daily and hourly from 6am through to 3:30pm.

 

When did I go? I traveled the beginning of December, which is the end of the rainy season, but just before the dry, busier, and more costly, high season begins. The rainy season runs from May through November and is a bit of a misnomer as, although it does rain, often daily, it is only for short periods of time.

 

Where is it? The reserve is located across from the Osa peninsula, adjacent to the Piedras Blancas National Park. It is a thirty-minute boat ride across the Gulfo Dulce from Puerto Jimenez.

 

Why would you go? Because you can have the opportunity to meet two remarkable people, who have dedicated their lives to the animals in their care.

Their mission statement is that they are a ‘non-profit organization providing professional care and rehabilitation to orphaned, injured, and displaced animals indiginuous to the southern zone of Costa Rica’. Not to mention unique face-to-face time with these incredible animals.

 

Beth Abrahams is a travel photographer who supplies photos to magazines as well as travel companies for their brochures has, at the request of her clients, recently added travel writing to her portfolio. She is now happily reliving and sharing many of her adventures in South and Central America.

 

Have you volunteered for a great organization? Why not share your experiences with us? Contact us for more details, magazine@saexplorers.org