It has been a great experience this week, living with local Amazonian people and sharing their difficulties. As everywhere, people here are very happy although they have very little. There are kids everywhere smiling and laughing, although I have not seen a single toy. We help the schools by buying them either books or pencils or other stuff they need.
The animals are starting to know me. Today, I fed our songo songo monkey (titi roja), and when I entered its cage for the first time by myself, he came right up to sit on my shoulder and wouldn’t go anywhere while I gave him a banana and scratched him. He is gorgeous, more fur than anything else and a very pretty face. The koatie girl pushed her back against the cage, asking me to pat her, and also she obviously enjoyed my attention to her. When we later went to the new reserve to feed the other animals, I had a marvelous experience with the capuchin monkeys. I had not been in that cage before and knew there is quite a crazy and strong alpha male in there that had bitten people before. So I was a bit hesitant, giving the alpha a piece of sugar cane before I entered. One other monkey jumped right onto my neck when I got in, harassing me with cuddles or whatever it was. It didn’t take long for the alpha to also jump on my neck, and I was stuck with two capuchins scratching and biting my head, pulling my hair, rubbing their sent onto me, and I believe one of them even peed on me! Apparently that is their way of making you part of their family, and all the gestures have been very friendly and not aggressive at all, so I let them do whatever they thought was necessary to befriend me as relaxed as I could. It was lovely indeed!
Back at where we are living, we have 7 new-born puppies right now that have only been 2 days old when I got here. I grab one of them each day and take him into the hammock with me, and they usually sleep and doze on my chest, while a group of wild squirrel monkey jumps in the trees around us. It`s a wonderful place being here!
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