Rachel in Brazil – A Day with the Monkeys

The large white van pulled up on the clay colored dirt road and emptied its contents of people: men and women, young and old, black, bronze and white, American and Brazilian. There was not one thing in common among the nine except their enthusiasm for life and the monkey adventure before them. They clamored out of the van with bags of bananas and cameras. It was a beautiful day with blue skies overhead and a canopy of green lush foliage all around. They giggled and jabbered together so much that the monkeys remained unnoticed. Finally the group settled down and separated to form little circles around individual trees. A hush followed. Slowly they came…just as the people had tumbled out of the van, the little monkeys began to tumble out of the forest. Small ones, large ones, dark ones, light ones, brave ones, timid ones and of course, the leader. He stayed back to survey they scene. He was large and dark and authoritative; the big daddy!

As bits of banana were offered, the tiny monkeys scampered down the tree trunk, grabbed the goodies and dashed back to unreachable heights. The big daddy taunted one of the members of our group. She tossed things at him and he flailed them right back. They were as entertaining to watch as championship wrestling. Ultimately, the big one won by cheating. He started flinging poo! The humans were breathless with laughter. The energy exchanged between the two groups of primates was limitless. When the supply of bananas ended, so did the presence of the monkeys. Our group walked the clay path to a little lake nestled in the tall grass. We sat and spoke Portuglish (Portuguese and English) together recounting the happy adventure. This is the beauty of communication. With an open heart and a willingness to laugh, we can exchange words as we share life. We rested in the sun on a bed of fragrant grass and were content. A perfect day in the Brazilian countryside.