In some ways we are surprised that it seems like no matter where we travel to, there is a chance that we will see monkeys at some point during our visit. Whether it is North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, or Africa, we have seen monkeys in so many different locations throughout our travels. Because of how expressive they are and the way that they share human traits, they are often fascinating to watch, but more often than not, they are troublemakers that have to be watched carefully. We have seen monkeys steal items from people who are not prepared for the fact that they will grab almost anything that they can get their hands on. They are extremely curious, and that curiosity often leads to a desire to explore items that you might have in your possession, especially if it is shiny.
Although monkeys can be found in the wild in Mexico, our first encounter with monkeys was actually in captivity during our trip to Puerto Vallarta, which is certainly not the experience that we prefer. Our second encounter was in Gibraltar during our trip to Southern Spain where we saw the Barbary Macaque Monkeys. During our trip to Panama, we actually took a tour that took us to several of the “monkey islands” that were created when the area around the Panama Canal was flooded to allow for the massive ships to pass through the canal. The smaller monkeys were trapped on the islands and are kept alive by the tourists who visit and feed them.
It is no surprise that we encountered monkeys in the Amazon Jungle both during our trips to Bolivia and Ecuador. In Vietnam, we saw monkeys on the shoreline of Halong Bay after our boat went through Sung Sot Cave. For obvious reasons, we saw plenty of monkeys, especially baboons, during our safari in Kenya and Tanzania as they were prevalent at each of the parks that we visited. Earlier last year, we visited “Monkey Temple”, more appropriately Pashupatinath Temple, just outside of Kathmandu in Nepal. Then later in the year, we decided to trek to visit the larger primates, gorillas and chimpanzees in Rwanda.
As long as you know that these amazing creatures are unpredictable and you keep your eyes on them to ensure that they don’t take advantage of your curiosity, these animals are truly fascinating to watch. You can often see them almost deep in thought as they watch everything going on around them. Of all of the monkeys that we’ve seen, the ones that we trusted the least were the baboons as they almost acted like a gang where several of them will group together to distract you while others attempt to get away with your belongings. Our time with the gorillas was probably the most incredible experience that we’ve had and will be something we will treasure forever. What is your favorite or least favorite monkey experience that you’ve encountered?
