White faced Capuchin monkey, reaching for a banana

If you look closely, you will be able to see that this white faced Capuchin monkey is reaching for a banana that we tossed to him. These monkeys are very intelligent. They are the same species that organ grinders will use to solicit donations from a crowd.

I read an article in the local newspaper recently that in our region of Costa Rica environmental authorities have installed several hundred "monkey bridges." Wildlife authorities studied monkey behavior to determine the places where they travel most frequently. They built the monkey bridges across roadways and in areas that monkeys have been traveling across telephone and electrical wires. The purpose is to give monkeys safe passage to reduce accidents.

We have a monkey bridge right in Tamarindo in front of the Capital Suizo Resort. It provides a way for monkeys to cross the road from Tamarindo to Langosta from the safety of about 15 meters above the roadway so they do not have to deal with traffic on the street. The monkeys are more comfortable and safe traveling around from tree to tree rather than down on the ground.

On our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week we are showing photos of Uluru, also called Ayers Rock, in Australia.