Last week of work what! (Also yey monkeys monkeys!!!)

I have no idea how this happened. Probably because time acts linearly...shocking!

As of today, we have 4.5 days of work remaining. Of course, the work is still pretty crazy - leaving for the field at 5:30, not getting back until 7 or so in the evening. Curse you Earth's shifting orbit!

On the plus side, that means we have tonnes of daylight with which to focal monkeys and collect poops! In fact, rather than three sets of focals each week, now we're managing four! Can I get a whoop-awhoop-a-doop-yeah?

No?

Oh...that's okay too. I guess extra time spent staring at monkeys and their posterior protrusions isn't a party for everyone...sigh...

It is going to be a shock leaving Azrou. N, J, and I have become regulars at a local cafe (Cafe Flora) where we drink cafe au lait, jus d'avocad, and milleui avec fromage et amilou. Oh, the life of sitting and gossiping in the sun...so pleasant!

Mmmm...avocado juice...

Anyway! I have some extra time to kill now, and I think it's time you met some (more) of the monkeys!!!

BUT FIRST! BIG NEWS!!!!! ALERT ALERT!!!! There are now baby monkeys!!!! One of the females you can learn about below, Dakota, had a little baby boy this week. We have decided to name him Davos (after the Game of Thrones character - the theme for this generation of monkeys), and he is already the centre of attention of the group. Males are all trying to get in on the baby action, teeth chattering and trying to sandwich the infant. Oh, and the monkeys are also into Davos, just after Jamie and Paddy have had their turn.

And now for the monkeys!

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Crazy Times

I warned you, didn't I? Warned you that I wouldn't be updating regularly?

WELL IT WAS TRUE!!!

Although my gut instinct is telling me that I should just write out another bullet list of things that we've experienced again (I love point-by-point information delivery systems), but instead I'm going to create a highlight reel:

• That time we went to Spain kind of (to Ceuta specifically)
• That time we planned to go to Spain for realsies
• That time it snowed again
• Dung beetles!

and last, but not least,

• That time someone asked me to marry them within 1 minute of introducing himself

If I have time amongst the madness of field work, I might go into this more. For now, you'll have to be satisfied with this bare minimum of posting. 

Also, because people have been pestering me for photos - you know who you are -  have another picture!

The combination of semi-unreliable internet and large file sizes means that each photo takes about 5 minutes to upload after 10 minutes of file compression. So for now, NO MORE PICTURES FOR YOU! At least, not until I have much more down town or a much better internet connection (did someone say vacation?)

I also have pictures of lizards, lichen, and rocks! But I assume you're all here for the monkeys. I mean, that's why I'm here!

A few photos of Simon, the lion-faced monkey

Finally had the time to upload some of my photos! Here's a sneak peak:

This is a monkey named Simon, one of the prime age males in the Green Group. He's rather handsome for a monkey if you ask me!

Bukit Merah and Orange Cousins

So, the sanctuary was amazing.

The first thing that struck me was the island's layout. An interesting quirk of the Bukit Merah orangutan sanctuary is how the humans and orangutans are separated; here, the hairless primates are behind bars. While we walked through the sanctuary in a narrow caged path, it is up to the orangutans to come up and see us.

How amazing is that?

On this island in a lake, there were 24 resident orangutans. Over the day, we caught a glimpse of  about 11 or 12, including 6 incredibly playful juveniles!

Words cannot describe how endearing and beautiful these young apes were, here are some photographs*:

A juvenile female we found playing with two rambunctious males.

After an accidental head butt, the males split up and pouted for a moment before resuming their wrestling. Behold the pout!

Just snoozing in the tall grass.

It may look like a hug, but it's actually a bite. These two infant males spent a some time gnawing at each other, pushing and biting, slapping and pulling...all in good fun, of course!

One of the largest males in the part - look at those cheek flanges!

This was amazing. This female clapped at me, made eye contact, then offered up a hand. Maybe she wanted to borrow my camera?

Great mumma with a lovely baby! AHHH!!! So cute.

It's you lucky day!!! Why? 

Because...

Bonus Photos from the adjacent Eco-Park!!!

...that's why. 

Sleepy bearcats - totally adorable.

Also, have a sunbear. Being endearing.

*my camera's exposure was far too low (but I didn't notice in the excitement of the day) - you might notice the resultant discolouration :P

I'm SO EXCITED for tomorrow!

Hopefully some of my own photos will appear on the blog after our visit to Pulau Orang Utan! After the uncertainty of whether the sanctuary would be accessible, I'm so excited to get to visit. 

This was just a quick update - stay tuned for more after the trip!

Photo Post 1

LIZARD!!!!!!!

Stop One on Religions Walk: The Chinese Mansion

I was a huge fan of these portraits - each over 7' high - of the ladies of the house. The second one was a real looker! Look at those deep set eyes...shrivelled lips...pointed cheekbones.

I want these window coverings. Lots.

This is a "lovers chair", designed so that you don't strain your back while looking longingly into each others' eyes. Worked for me!

This is the opium chair. Meant for classy lads with harmless drug addictions.

It's a plant. I liked it. So now you can like it too!

  

Apparently women were avid gamblers, and were also known to be quite the cheaters! 

The first location we visited was an old Chinese mansion with an attached temple. The temple was infested by bats. If you get defecated on by one, it is considered very good luck. (Un)fortunately, we managed to avoid that one tradition...

...this gold lion hasn't fared as well as we did.

Then we were off to Little India!

These Mosques make so much noise in the morning, but hearing the call to prayer is beautiful and really mellows out the emotions. It's just enough to make you forget the heat.

The next stop was a Hindu temple. The carvings were amazingly bright and vivid. It was a huge shift moving from the serenity of the Chinese shrines to the mixture of scents and sights that make up Hindu legend.

This, for those who don't know, is durian, the "king of fruits". It smells like a mixture of wet dog and rotten vegetation, but apparently tastes delicious. I'll let you know tomorrow after our visit to a tropical fruit farm!

Speaking of food...we eat and drink A LOT! This is my new favourite drink, for no other reason that the fact that is is called "Kickapoo Joy Juice". I'm fairly sure the "kick" is just the large belch that awaits you after you down an entire can!

For lunch, we ate at a small Indian food place. Which served coconut water. In coconuts. How cool is that?! The food was the best I've ever tasted, and it was a true rarity in the fact that us vegetarians new for a certainty that we could eat it. Most things here have hidden fish broth, prawn paste, or chicken fat lurking between rice noodles, ready to pounce on our intestines!

Last but not least, we got henna'd! Really beautiful stuff, and every one of us received a different design. This is mine, and luckily enough, it is my favourite of the bunch.