Feliz Navidad

Low key Christmas here. Works for me. Kind of the opposite of a white Christmas. The beach isn't even white! It's black sand!
I'm just up listening to an Eric Burdon and the Animals concert from 1983. I say I'm just up like it's late. It is only about a quarter to 8 here. I'm already yawning. I don't really feel like going up to my cabin now though. The internet is also moving at a reasonable speed now. All day it has been ridiculously slow. My guess is from all the people talking on cell phones and using the internet due to the holiday.

Today's tour numbered into the upper twenties I believe. Carol and Earl split them. I went along with Earl and his group. Nothing terrible noteworthy throughout the tour until the end. At the end of the tour there are some wooden benches in the shade of a large water apple tree that is used to answer questions and for the tourists to get more monkey time complete with raisins to feed them. Sweetie didn't want to come to work today. Around breakfast time she hid and we couldn't find her when it was time for the tour. Winkie and Poppy were slow to arrive at the other side for the tour, but they did come. At the water apple tree Winkie only wanted to play in the tree and not be terribly social. Poppy was getting all the attention. At one point Poppy just snapped and let out a cry. When this happens she usually bites. Earl jumped in between Poppy and the others expecting to be bit, but to not have anyone else bit. Luckily she didn't bit him, but she then retreated away from everyone. I think she was just saying I've had enough for now. Also she is a bit hormonal and moody now possibly due to being pregnant. She then came over and hopped in my lap. She knows me and probably felt a bit reassured. The only thing with her in your lap is you can't really get up. If you get up she may bite. Kind of like saying "how dare you get up when I'm not ready?" So I was stuck there for a while until Carol lured her away after everyone left.
I have gotten bit by Poppy before. I was laying out on the hammock and she came and joined me. I had my legs propped up a bit and she had gotten comfortable under them. All of a sudden she freaks out. I have no idea why. She bit me three times. Only one broke the skin on my right middle finger. The other two bites didn't break the skin but left two bruises on my leg.
I guess monkey bites have potential to be quite bad, but thus far I've only had minor ones. Winkie sometimes gets a bit too playful and nips at ankles. Once I think I scared Winkie and she let out a yelp. Her big sister (not really sisters), Sweetie, jumped in and they both were biting at my ankles. Nothing too bad from that. Only a few small cuts.

Another regular duty has been added to my list in the past couple of days. I now have to feed Marco, the anteater, three times a day. This is not the baby one we got recently. Marco is not old, but he isn't a baby. I need to get pictures tomorrow. He is very sweet.

We had Christmas burritos last night. Que rico! They were very tasty. A game of dominos went along with the dinner.

Today has not felt like Christmas. I've been conditioned to be cold around Christmas...

There are yet to be other volunteers. The next one I know of is coming while I'm gone. He will be here for about a week. We will overlap for a few days I believe though. We got word today that one of the worker's sons got hit by a car while at the bus stop. She, her son, and another worker were waiting for the bus in which the two workers would take to where David would pick them up to bring them over to the sanctuary. Apparently a car spun out of control and plowed into the bus stop. I think Jeanette's son, Davis, got the majority of the damage. If I understood correctly, he broke his leg in two places and his face got pretty banged up. He was going to be transferred to a different hospital I believe from the one he was at in Gulfito.

Abogado had been gone for the past few days. Today a boat pulled up and they had him! Apparently he had flown to the next beach over and was flying into their house and attacking them. I think they were a bit shocked when they handed him to Earl and Earl tossed him up to fly.

Sweetie joined me on the hammock yesterday.

Another of Sweetie.

A view of the beach from the hammock.