Nicaragua - Day 12 The Rest of the Howler Story

Today was a lot of conditioning.  I am stronger for it.  What should be half the fun in life is pushing the limits, learning, trying new things, making new normals, being open to new experiences and facing fears that open us up to new parts of ourselves that we didn't know existed.  So, you push, and you fight, and you just do your best.  I am learning to drop the frustration, keep things in check, stick with good people and take it in when I move forward.  I'm learning to learn again!

Mantled Howler Monkey (most likely the ones we have encountered)

SO!  I said I would write about Howler Monkeys.  Here are some facts from National Geographic's webpage on Howlers.  Howler monkeys:

• (males) are among the loudest animals on Earth
• are found in Tropical Central and South America
• have howler cries that sound off often at sunset, and can be heard up to 5km away (3 miles), most likely staking their troops' territory for the night
• can use their tails as a sort of extra arm, grabbing branches etc.
• rarely descend to the ground
• are omnivores, eating both plant and animal matter, but leaves and fruit make up the most of their diet
• can live 10-15 years in the wild
• are 22-36" from head to end of body (not including tail),  15-22lbs

The first time I heard a howler monkey was in Costa Rica eleven years ago.  It was in the morning and we were staying in a sort of tree house cabina.  As the sun rose, I heard the most primal, guttural growls and they were REALLY close by!  REALLY loud.  I thought we were about to be ambushed by gorillas.  Hubby, my then boyfriend, goofed around playing it up, until later in the day, we spotted the offending troop up in the trees.... each of them were approximately the size of our CAT!  They must be a moving speaker box or something.  Crazy.

SO!  The last trip, we were here in Nicaragua in 2010.  We were parked down a winding dirt road, to access the beach.  Sunset session came and went, the four of us, Little M, Hubby, Surf-guide Mike and myself loaded up the truck and set out for home.  But on the way out, we heard the distinctive sound of the howlers.  Still very intrigued by them, we followed the sound to the base of a couple trees, which were fantastically stretched right over top of the road we were driving out on.  We didn't even have to get out!  It was like Drive-Thru safari.

So the three of us adults stuck our heads out the window and looked up.  Man they were close!  This was awesome - they were RIGHT there!  What a view!  For some reason, we didn't let Little M out to see... good instincts.

As we were watching, I couldn't help but question in my mind, "Wasn't it clear out tonight?".  Could have sworn it was, but we were getting a little sprinkle.  Ah well, all worth it to see that and a tropical cloud burst is always refreshing.

We got back to our abode, and I looked up Howler Monkeys to show Little M and learn more about them.  All of the above facts, and one more.  Howler monkeys are apparently known to have great precision from high up in the trees, in peeing and pooping on offenders below them.  We all got PEED on!!  It WASN'T raining!!".

Never stand beneath a howler monkey.  I like to think their urine is some sought after facial treatment that will turn back the hands of time...

So today: my face is sensitive.  Each day, I think "I don't think I can get any darker".  Then tan lines appear that say otherwise and I'm still using a ton of sunblock.  Today, I figure my darkness masked my sunburn from yesterdays' three sessions out on the water, so before I realized what was up, I went out for a power walk to the beach and three more sessions this morning.  My tan almost covers the bruise on my chin where I tried to catch my surfboard with my face yesterday (board snapped back and I popped up at the same time - a paddleboarder saw, but I just looked all cool, like I meant to do that).

I don't recall having a sunburn like this before.  I always just tan.  I don't look pink at all.  Just dark.  But I can feel it.  haaa....