Baby squirrel monkeys and zip lining the WMDR

Up at 730 which was a nice change from the 630 we were used to. Andy got up before I did and fed the Squirrel Monkey some peanuts, then later the Macaws. We got up to meet some of the workers to feed the Spectacle Bear. These bears are endangered so they are thinking of breeding it. This was one a village cub and one day it was getting unruly so someone called the animal SOS, where they get most of their animals from. To feed the bear, one girl distracted it by feeding it peanuts while two guys quickly cleaned the cage. When they were done she led the bear to its breakfast. It was slow to eat because we woke it up this morning. It stood on its hind legs to smell the newbies (us). It was as almost as tall as Andy but it claws were huge. It looked so cute I just wanted to give it a hug. The way it ate was even more adorable. He had a cement bowl full of porridge, honey on bread, and egg and cheese. He ate so slow and carefully. First he started with the cheese, pulling each one out and placing it on his arm then slowly eating it. Next he ate the bread with honey, holding it in his hands. Then he went for the egg. He wasn’t up for eating the porridge; they told us he saved it for later the previous day. We were very happy to get to see this! Only people who stay the night can see them feed the bear because they want to minimize human contact.

We ate breakfast with the volunteers that consisted of two slices of French toast and a piece of cheese one of the girls graciously shared with us. There were four people here from Minnesota so we went along with their tour to see the monkey area again (you can only go there with a guide). Most of the monkeys left the previous day since there were too many people and they were making so much noise. Today they played. One monkey tried to climb down a guy’s shirt. Another monkey sat on Andy, unzipped his pocket, and reached down in it looking for goods. A female monkey behind us was tethered because she is in heat. She would clap her hands really loud trying to get the other males attention. A male monkey brought a baby down on his back to visit (not his father). After the baby played for a while another monkey (not his father) took him away.

It was time for our zip lining adventure. As we were walking up the trail a Spider Monkey hitched a ride from Andy. The monkey had his tail and one arm holding onto Andy’s arm (his tail was cutting off Andy’s circulation). We walked up the trail a bit then decided it’s probably not a good idea to bring it so far from the refuge. Andy tried to get him off by putting him near a tree but he was not interested. Finally Andy got him to release and the monkey slowly walked off.

We made it to the zip line in the small town of P… Nothing here but some snack shacks and the zip lines. I was really nervous, mainly because Andy was making me nervous the previous day. We got in our harnesses, jumped in the car, and they took us to the first zip line. I felt fine about the durability of the zip line since there were steel beams going deep into cement. They used Black Diamond for the harnesses so that made me feel better too. The only thing I was concerned about was stopping. You can to pull the secondary handle down to slow at the end before you hit the padded stop. If you braked too early you wouldn’t make it to the end. The first zip line was the highest (928 ft above the basin), the second was the fastest (possibly reaching up to 60m/hr), and third was the longest (Andy took a vid); all going over three valleys. The first ride was nuts. Andy went first but that didn’t make me feel better. I was a bit scared but as I went down, but 20% of the ride down I was good and looking over the valley. What a beautiful way to see the valley.

We walked back and sat with our feet in the river for a bit. Those damn sand flies jump on your legs so fast, you have no time to put them in the water without getting bitten, but the cold water on our feet felt so good. We had our clothes lying out on the rocks in the sun from washing them earlier. It so warm and sunny getting them dry is not an issue.

We walked back to the refuge and spent more time with the animals. Walking around we saw one of the guys holding a baby Spider Monkey named Rico (all the Spider Monkeys have musician’s names). We stopped to chat and the monkey jumped on my hands! Maybe one of the most awesomest things to happen! He was so little, his hands and nails looked like a newborns. He we terrified of the larger alpha monkey that was loose so he was hiding and keeping an eye out for him. He crawled on my shoulders, on my head, all over my arms. I held him as long as possible.

We also saw a ferret-looking animal with the cutest baby bear face. They were “taking it for a walk” since it’s at the end of its month long quarantine before it’s introduced to the other animals. It was climbing the tree, going out on the branches and back. They were playing with it like a cat; letting it bite them (lightly) although it’s claws seemed much bigger.

We made our way back to the café to wait for the Gravity group to leave so we could join them. While waiting I sat outside because Rico was out there snuggling with the Coati. It was the cutest thing I’ve seen. You would never believe these two animals to be pals, much less playing and fake biting each other. Soon a Macaw walked onto my lap. I wasn’t so cool with this since its beak could take my finger off in a heartbeat. All of a sudden, another Macaw squealed and came after the one on my lap. There were 5 Macaws and there were all freaking out in my face. It was cool, no one was hurt. Then the larger Spider Monkey who Rico is terrified of came over. Rico was on this guy’s shoulder. The bigger monkey climbed up on this shoulder too and attacked little Rico! He was squealing for a good 10 seconds then they finally separated and Rico took off. Poor little guy, I hope he wasn’t hurt. I can’t stop thinking about him. All he wants is love. I should have been a vet.

We boarded the bus climbing up the World’s Most Dangerous Road with the girl who fell earlier that day doing a Superman crash (she probably broke her elbow). Going up that road was a hell of a lot more terrifying than going down since my life was in someone else’s hands. The whole way up the guide Cody kept telling us where and how people died. Just 18 days ago and Japanese girl flew over the edge and died. This road is really no joke. You will die if you’re stupid or scared. I don’t recommend for people who don’t mountain bike, much less haven’t been on a bike in a while. There were stories of a drunk taxi driver driving off the cliff with three kids after Christmas; the famous 102 people who died when a flatbed truck went over; a French girl who went over because she lost her balance standing still (that’s happened to me before); and all kinds of craziness.

We made it back to La Paz, grabbed a hostal (the first one we saw when we didn’t want to walk up the hill anymore), and went out for food. Since we had no money all we ate were two small pieces of French toast, some raisins, and a Snickers. We stopped in the first food joint we saw and ordered soup and a burger. We ate the soup and hungrily waited for that burger. We waiting a good 45 min and it never came because the dumbass never put in the order although he clearly repeated what we ordered. Apparently the world doesn’t want us to eat today. We stormed out and got a pizza togo- it was 10pm. An awesome and exhausting two days.