Monkey See, Monkey Do

The monkeys hadn't been giving us too much attention for the last few weeks.  I could see them swinging in the trees behind the guesthouse from time to time, but not too much up close and uncomfortable time that gets my hair on edge and has me cringing on the patio that they will come too close looking for raw peanuts or the fallen mangoes and bananas we have inside.  I hadn't seen them on the wall between our house and the neighbors' place at 5:30 am but that was because, with God's blessing, Lily and Virginie had not been waking up quite so early. 

And then this week, the return.  First I saw the two mothers and their little ones clinging to their bellies searching in a flower bed for something to eat and then they were right there.  In front of my face.  Right at the pool behind the patio in a tiny little tree with a strange fruit that, silly me, I thought were pine cones or something.  I had never seen anything like them before.  Turns out they are sugar apples or soursop and these monkermoos will do just about anything to sink their little teeth into them.  At once there were six or so monkeys in one Charlie Brown Christmas tree going bonkers eating, tugging, fighting over this fruit!  Even when I approached, and yes, I approached, a little bolder now, they made no move until I was about two feet away, too excited to chomp away on the sugary clumps.

Now you know something that looks like it tastes that good needs a sampling from a human tester.  When Didier got home from work, I had him go out there and pick some of those apples and bring them inside.  I told him how the monkeys loved them and that someone had to see what they were like.  I could smell them when the monkeys were eating them and they did smell yummy.  We needed to know the yummy.  They softened overnight and Didier did his taste testing in the morning.  Pure sugar.  I don't mean sweetness, I mean sugar.  They tasted like sugar.  Once I saw that Didier wasn't going to fall out from eating one, I tried it too.  Apparently, one can make drinks from this and I bet they are delish.

When I'd asked my landlord's husband how to tell if they were ripe he said I should just try to get the ones the monkeys were after.  I have been watching them rather intently each day.  There are many more samplings to be had.

(c) Copyright 2010.  City Mom in the Jungle.