Monkeys are Made of Chocolate!

When I first arrived in Montezuma, Costa Rica, I came across a book called "Monkeys are Made of Chocolate" by Jack Ewing, a Costa Rican conservationist from the U.S. at the local book trade shop / library. Naturally I was attracted to the book because for one, It was about chocolate and monkeys - my favorite superfood teams up with a close relative. Secondly, it was about conservation, eco-systems, and the environment - a subject dear to my heart.

Jack was a cattle rancher that came to Costa Rica for work on a ranch called Hacienda Baru in the South Pacific coast. It's a long story, but eventually Jack traded in his ranching boots for a shovel and some seeds and ended up reforesting the entire area of Hacienda Baru, then got it declared a national wildlife preserve, where he oversees the project while writing stories, articles, and essays on Costa Rican wildlife and conservation.

In his short essay "Monkeys are Made of Chocolate" Jack talks about the favorite food of the monkeys - Cocao! Monkeys and Cocao have a beautiful relationship. While a monkey may seem wasteful only taking a couple of bites before discarding the rest of the pod to the jungle floor, it actually plays a big roll in the ecosystem, making the cocao available to ground dwellers, and spreading the seeds. Jack jokes about the wastefulness of the monkeys, and ends the story with "...if monkeys are made of chocolate, then humans must be made of oil...". It is an extremely good book, and I recommend it to everyone.

Today I finally got to see all of this in action. I woke up early this morning to 30 or so guests hopping about the farm, enjoying a plentiful array of insects, cocao, and bananas. It was an amazing sight. The Central American Squirrel Monkey is only primarily found in Manuel Antonio and Corcovado National Parks. Luckily I live about 8 miles from Manuel Antonio. It is estimated that there are less than 2000 of this species left in the world, so this was an amazing treat.

I watched with joy and wonder as they made their way around the farm, throwing cocao pods and stealing bananas from our bird feeder. It seems they like us and have been here for the last 3 hours. The Iguana family that lives in one of the trees in front of the house seems to be annoyed by their presence, and the male is wagging his big red beard around trying to show them that he is the boss.

I love this amazing country, but 5 months in the jungle can begin to get at you. I will be back, someday soon, but in about 9 day, I will be back to reality. New York is just a different kind of jungle.

- Ian