Welcome to the Jungle

Steve had the big idea that we should head out for a jungle trek. He aired this idea out loud in front of the kids, so with three against one there was no getting out of it. It wasn't that I was against the idea of going on a little hike through the forest, er, I mean jungle, but Steve was convinced (and excited) there would be snakes and monkeys. Monkeys in the zoo are cute, but after hearing from a friend the monkeys can get aggressive and something about "puncture wounds" I was less than thrilled to face a possible encounter with my two young sons.

Luckily, the only snakes we saw were a handful of pythons a shirtless man on the side of the road (pictured above) was selling for two hundred pesos ($4) each. Much to the chagrin of our boys, not only did we not buy a snake, nor were there any monkey sightings.

We had a great time going on a short hike through the woods. Our guide, Rosario, was a member of the Aeta tribe. Only slightly taller than Truman, wearing flip flops and toting a large machete she led us down the trail explaining the medicinal uses of many of the plants and trees that have been used by her tribe for thousands of years. She was even kind enough to tear up some leaves and rub them all over Henry's legs to make him "strong and have lots of energy and run around fast". Pretty much how he is normally, so who knows if it worked.

The hike ended with a demonstration of the Aeta's traditional cooking methods, including how to make fire and cook an entire meal using only a machete and bamboo. The man giving us the demonstration taught us how to lure and trap a monkey so we could have a nice barbecue next time we're out that way camping which, according to Steve and the boys, will be in the near future.