A Tune and Uninvited Guests

Don't get me wrong, I like music. But I have to admit I can't remember the last time I bought a cd or a song online. My Itunes hasn't been updated since 2010. I don't think about music very often unless it's annoying me, like when I'm trying to eat a meal in restaurant with the "The Gypsy Kings" blaring and on a loop. (It's easy to remember if you've heard Volare twice). That being said, I'm going to give a big effort to listen to Brazilian music while I'm here. I'm stealing recommendations from other bloggers, so while you are reading this post, listen to this!

Yesterday, we packed up a picnic and went off with some friends to explore a new park near our house. We found a nice picnic table under some trees near a playground and laid out our lunch. Score! No sooner had we taken a bite, we were surrounded. Surrounded by what, you ask? Wasps? Bees? Lizards? Children? Seagulls?

One dangled from a branch and threw himself onto our potato salad. Another jumped on the seat next to my friend and made a face to distract him from his Vegemite sandwich.  My husband grabbed a paper plate and shooed another away which hardly worked for more than a second. We put the lids back on everything and put our arms around our plates. You're still wondering what was attacking our lunch? Ants? Crows? Wrong.

Marmosets.

Or micos as they are called here in Brazil. Native to the Northeast of the country, they were introduced to the Rio de Janeiro region at the beginning of the twentieth century and flourished.  Now, it's the same old story as always, they were so cute, people started feeding them and they began pushing out the other native monkey species in the area. They are super active and agile and will steal anything that is not tied down. They have been known to climb through windows to grab lunch on the run. At our picnic, we have an audience of about 5 of them licking their chops and drooling on us from the branches above. Another fun, but unnerving Brazilian moment.

By now, you've finished listening to Tie, pronounced Tee-eh. Here's more if you want to hear more, and learn a wee bit more about her.