Back in the Forest Again...

Thanks to all for your posts, emails, etc., in the wake of the volcano climb. Recovery has not been as rapid as I'd hoped. For 4 solid days, both Rob and I were barely able to move! My legs felt like they were made out of wood and lacked joints. Putting any amount of weight on them was excruciating. The single stair-step into the dining area became an impossible task. Lying down was uncomfortable because my shoulders, arms, and back hurt so much from hoisting myself up the mountain. Sitting wasn't so great either, on account of the bruise on the back of my leg from one of the times I fell. Even after a couple of days, Rob and I didn't really seem to be getting better. I couldn't figure out what was the matter with us! We're not that out of shape, are we? Rob said he didn't think we were out of shape, that the problem is merely that we're old. If that is the case, then I'm glad we didn't wait any longer to do this climb.

At any rate, I was determined not to let this residual pain from the volcano hike impact my March data collection schedule. So I gingerly made my way out to the forest this morning and found the monkeys. I am with them now, writing this in a desperate attempt to stave off boredom during what is going on a 7 hour rest bout. Seriously, I know howlers are boring, but this is beyond boring. My focal animal has moved all of 10m since daybreak, and he/she (its a Juv, so can't be sure of the sex) has only eaten a few bites of food. I had hoped they wouldn't be too rambunctious today, since my legs aren't up to par, but this...this is a little over the top. Martin warned me that the howlers do this excessive resting in the "summer" when its so hot and dry. That they eat in the morning while its still dark out and then they rest until the sun starts to set again. Ugh... its going to be a long summer.

Earlier in the day, I found a semi-shaded rock to sit on while I watched my focal animal rest. Unfortunately, when a nearby female decided to relieve herself, her stream ricocheted off a branch of leaves and it rained down on me. Luckily I scampered out of the line of fire before too much damage was done. Monkey pee is just another occupational hazard, I guess.

Hopefully the monkeys will start to do something interesting soon. I would think they would be getting hungry. In the meantime, I'm just trying to remind myself of one of Prof. Pablo's nuggets of wisdom: "The monkeys are just doing what the monkeys are supposed to be doing."

Thanks for reading, until later then.