Monkeys & Mamajuana 27 Aug 2023
Today was terrific! We booked the Monkeyland Safari and Coffee Plantation Tour through Viator. What an amazing experience!
We walked to the meeting place to catch our bus. Not hard to find this bus.
Then headed into the mountains. We had a quick stop at a gas station for snacks. The scenery was beautiful.
These palm trees are protected. The wood is really valuable for building.
It was so pretty; I was in no hurry to get off the bus.
We arrived in the rain forest. The coffee plantation and Monkeyland were next door to each other. We started with the coffee plantation. After we stretched our legs.
We had a talk and demonstration of how coffee is made. Started with the beans and ended with brewing and taste testing. Josh liked it, he's a coffee fanatic. I passed since I don't like coffee. We also learned about coconuts. It was very interesting. Much better than museums.
Next, we were able to taste hot chocolate, which had cinnamon in it. It was really odd at first, but I liked it after a couple of sips. Josh did not care for it. Then came the cure for everything, Mamajuana. Seriously, stomachache to impotence this stuff has you covered. It was a red wine flavor with rum. I liked it. I even bought a bottle to bring home. Josh did not like it.
Now for the best part! Monkeyland! We stored everything that could hurt the monkeys, got instructions (don't yell, shuffle your feet so you don't step on them and be prepared for them to sit on you, don't pet them or you will get bit.)
Warning - there are a lot of really cute pictures coming. I was given a flower, because it's their favorite snack. This little guy distracted me.
And this one ran right over top of me and snatched the flower out of my hand. But how can you be upset. Look how cute!
We walked to a sitting area. The whole way monkeys are running all over, following us. So many had babies sleeping on them while they ran and jumped.
Once in the sitting area, the guide told us info about the monkeys. As he's talking, he's walking around putting food in bowls that we held. The little guys ran and jumped all over you. They were so light it didn't hurt.
This was such an incredible experience. It's so hard to describe.
The tour guide even took pictures for us.
Here is me getting attacked but it was the sweetest attack ever. And the babies just sleep right through it. Plus, me tasting monkey foot.
I could have stayed here all day.
Sadly, we had to leave. During the drive back, it started pouring.
The bus driver pulled the bus right up to a restaurant door for us since it was raining so hard. We decided to have lunch at Dolce Italia. We both got pizzas and they were amazing.
This is what Josh ordered, the 4 Cheese. It was delicious.
Mine (below) had mozzarella milk flower, prosciutto and tomato. Very good.
The desserts were great. The little white balls on the mousse were excellent.
After resting for awhile, we took an UBER to Jumbo grocery store. This was such a fun experience for me. We used my bad Spanish, Google translate and gestures to figure out what things were.
We walked to Wacamole for dinner. It was very good.
What a perfect day!
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