Warning. This post contains photos of monkeys. Super cute ones at that. Consider yourself warned.
Nate and I weren’t super adventurous travelers in Costa Rica. Weak, I know. We were more into getting a little R&R on this vacation. We did go on a half day “Jungle River Cruise.” It was a totally good use of our time.
The excursion included an hour bus ride. The tour guide filled us in on some local Costa Rican info. Home prices, flooding, festivals. The good stuff.
We stopped and had a photo op at this tree. Some type of fig tree. I’m bad at paying attention…unless there were monkeys involved. (The tour guide obviously needs to improve his photo taking skills…or crocodiles got our feet. I’ll let you decide.)
Across from the giant tree was a sugar cane field. This is what most of the hour long bus ride looked like. I didn’t complain!
We then boarded a covered boat on the Tempisque river.
A good blogger would have a picture of the boat. A good blogger wouldn’t rely on her husband to take photos. A good blogger’s husband, however, should keep her blog posts in mind. So just envision a small covered boat, mkay? We were told to keep all body parts in the boat. The river was supposedly full of crocodiles. I was picturing them circling the boat. That never happened but I wasn’t really into proving points that day so I kept all body parts well within safe limits.
The blogger’s husband did get some great animal shots though so we’ll forgive him for the lack of boat photo, mkay? I don’t remember the names of any of the following other than bird or iguana or crocodile. I really only paid attention to the monkey talk.
I’m still not sure this crocodile was real. I think it was a prop. Again, I wasn’t into proving points that day so I let it be and played along. (Crocodiles open their mouths like this to let heat escape. I did listen…a little.)
And now what you have all been waiting for…..monkeys!!
We saw two types of monkeys while in Costa Rica. The first type was the Howler monkey. They are big ol’ lazy monkeys that hang out in one spot and protect their territory. They have the coolest howl.
The second type of monkey we saw were the White-faced Capuchin monkeys. The tour guide whistled as we floated down the river and before long, monkeys were on our boat. Hanging out. Wanting banana.
Nate is smarter than I am. He was a little startled at a wild animal crawling all over him. He thought at one point the monkey’s tail was trying to choke him. An assassin monkey.
We were instructed to only give them tiny amounts of banana. The monkeys obviously know the tour boats and know there is food involved. The people of Costa Rica, obviously, don’t want the monkeys to become reliant on tourists for their food. Once the banana was gone, the monkeys were gone.
After seeing this picture, I should have maybe been a little more cautious but I’m totally living on the wild side lately.
They stack on top of one another to appear bigger to predators. Look at my knowledge. I’ll be writing for National Geographic in no time.
Who wants to see another picture of me and a cute monkey? I thought so.
Any other monkey fans out there? Totally worth the risk of rabies vaccinations, right? Right?
Warning. This post contains photos of monkeys. Super cute ones at that. Consider yourself warned.
Nate and I weren’t super adventurous travelers in Costa Rica. Weak, I know. We were more into getting a little R&R on this vacation. We did go on a half day “Jungle River Cruise.” It was a totally good use of our time.
The excursion included an hour bus ride. The tour guide filled us in on some local Costa Rican info. Home prices, flooding, festivals. The good stuff.
We stopped and had a photo op at this tree. Some type of fig tree. I’m bad at paying attention…unless there were monkeys involved. (The tour guide obviously needs to improve his photo taking skills…or crocodiles got our feet. I’ll let you decide.)
Across from the giant tree was a sugar cane field. This is what most of the hour long bus ride looked like. I didn’t complain!
We then boarded a covered boat on the Tempisque river.
A good blogger would have a picture of the boat. A good blogger wouldn’t rely on her husband to take photos. A good blogger’s husband, however, should keep her blog posts in mind. So just envision a small covered boat, mkay? We were told to keep all body parts in the boat. The river was supposedly full of crocodiles. I was picturing them circling the boat. That never happened but I wasn’t really into proving points that day so I kept all body parts well within safe limits.
The blogger’s husband did get some great animal shots though so we’ll forgive him for the lack of boat photo, mkay? I don’t remember the names of any of the following other than bird or iguana or crocodile. I really only paid attention to the monkey talk.
I’m still not sure this crocodile was real. I think it was a prop. Again, I wasn’t into proving points that day so I let it be and played along. (Crocodiles open their mouths like this to let heat escape. I did listen…a little.)
And now what you have all been waiting for…..monkeys!!
We saw two types of monkeys while in Costa Rica. The first type was the Howler monkey. They are big ol’ lazy monkeys that hang out in one spot and protect their territory. They have the coolest howl.
The second type of monkey we saw were the White-faced Capuchin monkeys. The tour guide whistled as we floated down the river and before long, monkeys were on our boat. Hanging out. Wanting banana.
Nate is smarter than I am. He was a little startled at a wild animal crawling all over him. He thought at one point the monkey’s tail was trying to choke him. An assassin monkey.
We were instructed to only give them tiny amounts of banana. The monkeys obviously know the tour boats and know there is food involved. The people of Costa Rica, obviously, don’t want the monkeys to become reliant on tourists for their food. Once the banana was gone, the monkeys were gone.
After seeing this picture, I should have maybe been a little more cautious but I’m totally living on the wild side lately.
They stack on top of one another to appear bigger to predators. Look at my knowledge. I’ll be writing for National Geographic in no time.
Who wants to see another picture of me and a cute monkey? I thought so.
Any other monkey fans out there? Totally worth the risk of rabies vaccinations, right? Right?
I don't know what is more cute...you or the monkey. Looks like you guys had a great time. Love the pictures.
ReplyDeletewe did one of those mangrove tours and fed the monkeys, too! i put out my hand with no food in it and the monkey pried it open.... when he saw no food he slapped my hand and made an angry sound.... then i fed him. ;) it was pretty cute!
ReplyDeleteYou are seriously SO CUTE!! :-) I think I would have been really freaked out by the monkeys - you look so cool, calm, and collected. I love this post with all the animals! Fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteDid you sneak any monkeys back? They look nice when they're getting bananas.
ReplyDeleteLove that picture! He seems really cute...until he opens his mouth...yikes...no wonder Nate looked a little afraid in those pictures, I think I would had been too. Seems like you guys had a blast in CR.
ReplyDeleteCute! & That is a great picture of you with the monkey. Nate took some awesome pictures, so I forgive him for forgetting to get one of the boat. :)
ReplyDeleteHaha that little monkey with you is adorable. The top stacked monkey make me think of an old man yelling at the kids to get off his lawn haha. Is that weird?
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, FOR CUTE! I'm kind of in love with monkeys. I love that they were so willing to come and hang out. You brought one home, right? I'm pretty sure Ike wants a monkey-friend.
ReplyDeleteLove the animal pictures, especially that owl! Those monkeys.....so adorable.
ReplyDeleteWow, those monkeys are adorable. I saw some of the same kind in a zoo in Mexico, where they had the saddest little expressions on their faces and would reach their arms full length out of the cages, begging for food. They were adorable there, but man, it looks awesome to see the wild ones like that too!
ReplyDeleteOh those monkeys are so cute! Also, I'm very impressed by the close up of the iguana...he looks so regal!
ReplyDeleteThat monkey on your shoulder is the BEST pic! He looks like he's about to start talking to you. I would have been scared of the water predators getting a Capuchin snack though.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, that is so cool! What a super cool tour. Those are pretty stinkin cute, even there mean face was kinda cute.
ReplyDeleteLMAO at an assassin monkey. I have to tell you, because I'm a snot, a coworker's wife got bit by a monkey on a European cruise (I think they were in Greece at the time, if I remember). She ended up having this horrible reaction and it was a nightmare because the vaccine was MIA or something. Anyhoo, she's alive, so it could have been worse.
ReplyDeleteAnd it does look like fun to see them!
LOVE the monkey pics!! Looks like you had a blast, I love the birds, too :) I'm a bird nerd!
ReplyDeleteThe monkey pictures were soooo cute...EXCEPT for the one where they are displaying their chompers! That pic freaked me out!!!
ReplyDeleteThis post just raised Costa Rica on my must go to list. The trip looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteI definitely prefer the photos of the monkey hanging on your shoulder than the photo where they look like serial killer monkeys.
ReplyDeleteomg, monkeys! MONKEYS!! I need a monkey!!!
ReplyDeletehaha it's like the jungle cruise in Disneyworld only not made of plastic. How cool to have monkeys climb on you! At least, I think it's cool. I might have been worried about them pooping on me or something.
ReplyDeleteSo awesome! I'm so jealous! I would absolutely LOVE to see real life monkeys up close like that! The closest I've come to that is in Disney World, but it's all plastic...
ReplyDeletemonkeys!! ahhhh! they are SO cute! also, how adorable is that fat frog? love it!
ReplyDeletewe went on a wild baboon hunt in kenya while i was there. i wasn't thinking about rabies or them attacking...just getting a sweet picture (which didn't happen since they were freaked out by white people). your pictures are WAY cooler. and cuter. :)
ReplyDeleteWhy did you not bring one back!?!? Ike would look so cute with a monkey on his back!
ReplyDeleteOMG they are so cute! I prob would have been a little skittish around them- but you look so cool & collected!
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome photos and the monkeys are adorable! The one that posed with you had the sweetest face. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos! I adore seeing the wildlife. :) My husband always takes millions of photos of bugs, lizards, etc, on trips.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Guatemala a few times and one time we stayed in a forest that was completely full of howler monkeys. I'll never forget how loud and eerily they sounded at night!