20th June Cloudy

Another sleepless night.

Today, we plant trees, thirty to be exact. We work along the shore and measure out six meters clearance between saplings to ensure adequate sunlight. When I start running out of room, six meters become three, then two. In my search for new pasture, I stumble into monkey territory. They have commandeered an abandoned house that once belonged to a local family who left when the government decided to build this national park. The monkeys bounce up and down and bang on the metal roof as warning shots. I consider showing them who is the new boss in town, but something tells me it is a bad idea. I pack up and look for a new site.

These monkeys would do anything for bananas. One time, I was walking around holding a banana when several monkeys descended from trees and ganged up on me. When I didn’t surrender my goods, they yelled at the top of their lungs. I heard that in some national parks, rangers teach monkeys to steal cameras from tourists exchange them with bananas afterwards. I believe it now. I don’t even like bananas, but all I had left is a banana peel. Before they got too close, I threw the peel as far as I could and ran. I will never bring bananas to the jungle again.

“Okay. We are done for today,” says Chito.

It’s only 7:30 am. What am I going to do for the rest of the day?