MONKEYS!!!

You think monkeys are cute. So did I. Now, not so much. Not at all. One morning Erin kindly offered to go on a morning game drive with Tim so that I could sleep in. I was woken up by a screeching noise. I looked out our tent and it was two monkeys who’d gotten into the trashcan and were swinging it back and forth. They were eating our scraps from last night. I went to the bathroom and scared them off on my way. Then I decided to make oatmeal and tea for breakfast. So I got everything out and went to the sink to fill my pot with water. I came back to 2 monkeys tearing into my box of oatmeal! I yelled at them and they ran off, but not before they stole 1 pack of oatmeal. Then, after I felt like I’d scared them off for a bit, I turned to the car to grab sugar and a spoon for my tea. I was maybe 10 ft from the table and when I turned back around, there were 3 more monkeys ripping into my box of oatmeal and opening my tea! The only thing at hand was Erin’s shampoo, which I threw at them. It ended up on the other side of the fence and they still got away with 2 more packs of my instant oatmeal. Then they proceeded to prance around on the other side of the fence and eat my oatmeal where they knew I was watching them but couldn’t get to them. I was FURIOUS! I finally got to eat my breakfast and while I was sitting, 2 more monkeys tried to run off with the pot with my hot water. I collected a handful of rocks and started throwing them at the monkeys wishing the whole time that I had a bb gun or an airsoft gun to shoot at them. After I’d put everything away, they got up onto the car and looked into the windows trying to figure out how to get the food that was inside.

When we came back from working that day, the monkeys had opened the two containers we use to store dishes and cooking gear (thus the washing before and after cooking). They will eat paper, matches, citronella candles (maybe they have a mosquito problem?), Cliff bars and VIA coffee. They will steal your utensils and then taunt you with them because you’re not as quick as they are. They are pests. They are terrible little creatures. The worst thing about that whole morning was just after the monkeys had stolen my oatmeal, about 20 tourists came INTO our campsite and proceeded to watch, laugh and take pictures of the monkeys, exclaiming how “cuuuute” they were. I sat there in stony silence wishing many leopards on each of the monkeys! (Leopards eat monkeys around here.) Speaking of which, we saw a leopard in a tree yesterday with a dead impala that he’d just killed!!! It was crazy!

~Chels