Monkeys!

--No insightful thoughts in this blog, purely facts. But facts about a day that was so amazing I just had to give you all a play by play of everything that happened.
Eight others and myself headed out at 10 this morning to find the Solo Monkey Sanctuary. We knew what town it was in, but also had heard it was very very very difficult to find. We finally found two cabs that were willing to make the journey and set out on our way. As soon as we arrived in the town we began asking about Solo. No one had a damn clue. We had directions from a friend that said, "after the 'Welcome to Israel' sign, make a right next to the soccer field." Awesome. Thanks.
--Well we passed the 'Welcome to Israel' sign, and made a right on the next street after the soccer field, but nope. Everyone said we were going the wrong way. Finally we found a cabby from the area who was willing to lead us in the right direction. We went back to said soccer field and drove onto it. At the back of the soccer field was a tiny dirt road that looked like it could fit maybe one tiny tiny car, but required Hummer driving gear. After a lot of bumps, twists, and what felt like driving through people's front yards, we came to the forest! We met a man named Keemasi who was the owner and caretaker of the forest. He ended up taking us all over his beautiful property, and into the village, which turned out to also be part of his property, and his father was the king, making him prince. We were all shocked that we were getting a tour from someone who was so prestigious! And he was a rasta none the less! As we walked through the town it became obvious that Keemasi was someone very important. Everyone knew his name, and most people came up to him to shake his hand.
--After touring the village Keemasi took us down to the beach to see the fisherman and go for a swim. Well we came down to the beach and it was Filled with fishing boats! It turned out that the area we were in was famous for fishing, and boats from all over the world came to fish right where we were standing. We walked along the beach and Keemasi stopped alongside one of the boats, and suddenly motioned for all of us to get in! We happily all jumped in the boat, and before we knew it were were getting shipped across the coast to a tiny island, his brother's beach resort!! The hotel and ugly stuff was on the mainland, the island was strictly for swimming and relaxing. It was stunning. It was paradise. It was all ours. We all had brought bathing suits but couldn't be bothered, and we thew off our clothes on our run to the water, jumping in with our bras and underwear. The water was so warm, so clean and so beautiful. We swam and splashed and sang for two hours, finally dragging ourselves out of the water to go back to the forest.
--We walked up a big hill that overlooked the forest, hoping for monkey sightings and most definitely got our fill! As it was their dinner time they were all our hopping from one tree to the next, gathering fruits before nightfall. It was a magical end to such a fabulous day.
--I want to keep writing and elaborate and tell all I've learned from the day, and all I saw inside the village, but all my adventuring has gotten me preeeetty sleepy. : )