6/2/13 - High Alert, Monkey at Gallop Gables

We've been joking ever since we moved into Gallop Gables that eventually a monkey was going to drop out of the jungle behind our condo and come looking for food on our porch.  That being said, the last email I expected to receive on Friday afternoon was from the association saying one had been spotted in the buildings by the pool.  Even crazier, it had actually gotten into a few of the units.  Of course by the time we got home from work it was nowhere in sight, so no, this was not the little guy strolling around the grounds.  Its probably better because I think we were the only two people in the complex that actually were excited about the situation.  The reason I say this is the email notice management sent out was priceless:

"Wild monkey has been spotted" - Hmmm, good to know it was a wild monkey and not an escaped one from the zoo or circus. Now we know if we see one wearing a costume and playing an organ grinder it is not the monkey that was spotted two days ago.  More troubling, does this mean that some people in this complex have monkeys for pets?  You wouldn't want to call in animal control to take away curious George from your neighbor, that could make things awkward the next time you run into them at the pool.

 A few of the tips we were given if the monkey gets into our place:

"Shoot a stream of water at them" - Unfortunately I left my super-soaker squirt gun back in the States, looks like we might need to move onto plan B.
"Tap the floor with an umbrella to scare them" - If a monkey gets in our place, I'm probably grabbing the camera and hoping it doesn't run away too quickly.  Plus, who do I look like, Mary Poppins?
"If you have a child with you, put them on your shoulders to act bigger and scare the creature away" - Sarah and I are going to practice this maneuver for the next time one comes around.  Plus, it will give her a better angle to take some photographs.

As you can tell, we spent most of Friday having a little fun with this, and by a little, I mean A LOT.  Saturday morning I shot over to the market to pick up some fruit to entice the wildlife ...... try something different for breakfast.  Apparently lychees and rambutans are in season now, which is outstanding.  Lychees kind of look like a green walnut until you peel everything back and there is a sweet, juicy white fruit inside.  Rambutans look and feel like a small koosh ball.  You pick one up and you just want to throw it around the house, which is probably what the monkey would
have done if it actually did get into our place.  Like the mangosteens, they are all a little bit of work to get at what's inside, but worth the effort.  Having failed to lure anything interesting into view beyond the usual birds, squirrels and butterflies we tried one final trick Sunday morning - McDonalds breakfast.  I mean, 3 times in 10 months living here.... I think that's an acceptable ratio.  An Egg McMuffin worked as well as tropical fruit though, so no dice, just a bee stuck in our curtain and I'm not going anywhere near that.  For noow, back to peeling some fruit for a trap.... I mean snack.