Wednesday, 29 September 2004 | Velcro monkey

[Tulum, Mexico]

So far we've gone snorkeling in both clear ocean water (above coral and through schools of fish) and in an underground freshwater pool (through a cave lined with stalagmites and stalagtites). We've wandered through a graveyard and various grocery stores (both full of cultural eccentricities), and we've been serenaded by a trio of musicians while drinking from beer bottles choked with limes. We've ridden fixed-gear bikes around town and down watery dirt roads, and we've traced the outline of two Carribean islands with a moped.

We've taken ferries that cut through popsicle-blue water, and swam in the ocean at midnight and next to Mayan ruins. We've ridden in vans and on city buses among the locals on their way to work, and we've talked, listened, and photographed. We stayed in a hut within lapping distance of the ocean, and we've stood four feet above a party of wild crocodiles.

But I have to say that the highlight of this trip (for me, at least) happened today, when a spider monkey grabbed the strap connected to my camera and wrestled me for it. I was both delighted and horrified, worried that it might actually win.

The monkey was on a leash (which was a little disturbing) that was attached to a tree. The monkey was able to move several feet down a rope highway that had been built for it.

After it finally let go of my camera strap, we began wrestling with sticks instead, sticks that I would let it keep after putting up a small fight. It clearly liked the attention (it seemed to be showing off for me), but probably not nearly as much as I liked having a tiny connection with a monkey.

It surprised me how much it looked like both a human and one of those fake stuffed animal monkeys, the kind with the velcro hands and feet. Of course, the velcro monkey is supposed to resemble a real monkey, not the other way around.