Several times per day the monkeys announce their presence by shaking trees, dropping twigs and discarded cacao husks on the roof, and squeaking at each other. We hear the rustling, thuds, and squeaks, then run outside to the portion of 360 degree wrapping porch that seems closest to the action. Luna points and laughs as small red furry creatures follow each other in jumping from branch to branch and scurrying up tree limbs. Squirrel monkeys!

A whole family of them live in the trees around the house and migrate back and forth daily in search of food. They peel open leaves for what we can only imagine are caterpillars curled inside, or maybe beetle larvae. They grab cacao pods and eat the white fruit and seeds. Mostly we see them running and leaping.

When the monkeys pass, Daddy plays Luna’s favorite game: He growls, pretends to be a monster, and she runs laughing.

He wraps her up in a hammock. “Gotcha!”

She gives a cheeky hand signal to mama watching behind the camera. It goes like this: place back of hand to mouth, wave fingers back and forth, and make “bwah bwah bwah” sound. I think it means “put that camera down and come play!” The monkeys are cute, but it’s hard to compete with an 11 month old with a new-found love of the jungle!