I'm Only the Trombone Player

Monkeys and Parrots ... and SNAKES?

I woke up to a blood-curdling Monkey Scream at 5 AM this morning. By the time I was out of bed and put my glasses on, Andre had barricaded himself into our bathroom. He had gotten up early and decided to research our next destination Cozumel, Mexico. Unfortunately he found this thread on Trip Advisor – Monkeys  .

It was this entry from the thread that had agitated Andre;

9. Re: Monkeys ~ 8 years ago

“There used to be monkeys and parrots but boa constrictors were introduced by a European film crew that released the snakes after filming and it wiped out the population of both. i've been told people are seeing parrots again but can't verify that myself.”

There was no way I was getting this Monkey off the boat and into port in Cozumel!

Thinking fast and without coffee, I looked for some alternatives. Luckily I found this;

COBA & MONKEY SANCTUARY  

"This is an exciting adventure like no other in Cozumel or the Riviera Maya. You'll explore the ancient Mayan Ruins of Coba, swim in a cenote, and visit the monkey preserve of Punta Laguna, where you can see spider monkeys and howler monkeys swinging from the treetops, and if you're quiet, maybe even coming up close for a curious look. A true ecological adventure!"

Now, this was right up Andre’s alley. Usually this tour isn’t available to cruise passengers because of the travel time involved, but when you’re traveling with Andre, things have a way of working out.

It took a bit of coaxing, (fresh banana muffins and an uncorked bottle of Patron Cafe XO), but I got Andre out of the bathroom. I let him read the itinerary for the tour. He jumped for joy when he read about the Monkey Sanctuary..

Knowing time was short Andre placed an immediate call and summoned the Chihuahua's and the chopper, before we were even docked we heard the whirlybirds buzz past the ship. We made it off the boat and were at the pad lickity-split. It was a short chopper ride to the start of the excursion, we gave the Chihuahua's the morning off so they could visit relatives.

When we got to the Sanctuary, everybody on the bus was wondering if we'd see Monkeys? (Totally missing the fact that Andre was sitting in the back of the bus already.) Andre just smiled a knowing little grin. At the first stop he got off the bus, chattered a bit, and we were surrounded by tribe of monkeys, all of them appeared to know Andre. Apparently he's famous in the Monkey Business World, and quite well liked.

We spent a while among the tribe, took pictures and there were some tears of happiness as we parted.

We made it back in plenty of time, Andre is taking a little nap before formal night.

We did tried our tuxes on, I got a picture of Andre in his! See everybody at dinner.

"Newbie Contest Challenge!!" 

...I'm only the trombone player!

Janus on WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group