We had to share our beach space with a pair of iguanas. Like many of the other beach-goers, they had cleared an opening on the sand and didn't appear threatened when Sharon spread our beach towel nearby.
Another beach-goer was this little white-faced monkey. This one had crawled into a trash can and is busy licking a napkin it found. During our day at the beach, monkeys were as pesky as sea gulls at the Ocean City boardwalk. If you didn't watch your stuff, especially any food you brought along, the monkeys would attempt to snatch it. In fact, most of the duties of the attending park rangers seemed to be keeping the monkeys out of people's backpacks. What a job!
Not all the monkeys are encountered on the beach. This one is part of a troop we found deep in the rain forest. A group of about 30 hikers had gathered along the trail to watch this troop forage through the trees overhead. One of the monkeys seemed miffed at our presence and came down to eye level to challenge the guy taking pictures next to me. Pretty scary, huh?!
(Final Installment)
Copyrighted©2001 Jim Mattson