monkey island

We decide to take one more tour to go check out the Isla des los Micos, or Micos monkey island. In hopes of being more intrepid than the average folk we opt to find our own method of transport. We manage to find a public transport boat to take us the 40 minute ride up river. A little girl climbs on my lap and falls asleep. The country is teeming with children. They seem to be a most easy going and even tempered lot. Even the teens appear relaxed and even affectionate towards their parents and siblings. How do they do that? Anyway, back to monkey island. We are guided on a lengthy jungle hike where we are met by hundreds of monkeys eager to grab bananas from our hands. It was a bit unnerving really. After monkey snacking we marched on till we reached a small lake. We climbed on board a dug out and were ferried across passing through thick reeds and then into open water decorated with huge lily pads. Some were in bloom with bulging white lotus flowers. Another much larger lake awaited us and by the time we had traversed it I thought I might expire do to sun stroke. Forget about the romantic notion of Indians serenely paddling their way through the wilderness. It is bloody hot work. Apparently the lakes are full of piranha and anacondas and caimans. Darn, we didn't see a one. The canoes took us through the densely treed jungle inlets. It was quite spooky and magical. After trudging back to the base camp we are entertained by more local Indian dancing. The Ticuna de jaguar Indians are just one of many indigenous tribes here. They are quite small, all easily under 5 feet tall. The men and women wear rush skirts and not much else. They look ancient but are probably our age. Ouch. I can't decide if this is a good or a bad thing for them to be paraded out as a side show. It provides them a source of revenue sure . What are they thinking about?

We are already becoming dissatisfied with the tameness of our jungle experience. Next time it's off solo for a few weeks, that would be the way to go.