Monkeying Around

Date of events depicted: 3 February – 4 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 2 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

“Have you seen my monkey?”

The young French couple Eden has accosted looks suitably startled and plenty perplexed.

“This place is a maze. How the heck am I supposed to find that monkey?”

Adjusting her photo backpack, Eden hurries along the path in search of the location where a few minutes prior she had spied a howler monkey snoozing in a tree. The air is steamy following a sudden brief tropical downpour and the sweat is making its way down her face in rivulets.

Miko would be able to find it. Where the heck is she when I need her? She has a sense of direction. I, on the other hand, have trouble finding my way out of a department store.

“Excuse me. Have you seen my monkey?”

So intent is she on finding her monkey that she doesn’t even stop to admire the huge iguana sunning itself or the collared araçaris flying overhead.

Eden halts and surveys the area. “I thought it was right here,” she mutters. She is on the verge of giving up and heading to the room – assuming she can find her way back – when she sees the howler foraging in the foliage.

It is amazing how much wildlife hangs out on the grounds of the lodge, so our intrepid heroines anticipate that they will see even more when they explore the canals of remote Tortuguero National Park by boat.

And so the next morning, Yumiko and Eden stand bleary-eyed on the dock. It is 5:45 – just before sunrise – and as they wait for their guide, they listen to the howling of monkeys, the squawks of parrots, and the song of olive-backed euphonias.

Their guide, Roberto, lives up to his reputation as the best in the area. He navigates the small boat skillfully and patiently through the waterways, pointing out caimans, herons, emerald basilisks, green iguanas, and spider monkeys.

But for our dynamic duo the highlight of the excursion is the unexpected (but much hoped for) sighting of great green macaw. Four of the beautiful endangered birds fly past noisily, leaving Yumiko and Eden agape and somewhat giddy.

Still on a high, they return to the lodge, where they are greeted by the spectacle of howlers mating. 

Yumiko and Eden say nothing. They simply stare.

Finally, Eden clears her throat. “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” she drawls. “That’s something I never reckoned we'd be seeing.”

Yumiko just groans.

© Eden Feuer