The smallest monkey and man of the Philippines

Today was a strange day. By strange, I mean extremely bizarre. Eva (my new Lithuanian friend) and I decided to do an all day tour with our own private car and driver. There were many stops, but I'm only going to highlight the weirdness of the day. First, we saw the smallest monkey in the world, the Tarsier, which I was extremely excited about. Tarsier monkeys are 3-6 inches in length. They have big brown alien eyes and E.T.-looking fingers with round balls at the ends. They can jump extremely long distances from tree to tree. Tarsiers are indigenous to the Philippines, and especially on the island of Bohol. This was the main reason I came to this island. You all should know by now that I'm an avid monkey lover.

dangerously adorable

They keep the miniature monkeys in a sanctuary, which mimics their natural environment. However, these animals are nocturnal and I'm sure they don't appreciate the hoards of tourists gawking at them all day and snapping their photo while they're trying to take a snooze. Walking along a footpath, the Tarsiers can be spotted clinging to a tree branch. I would seriously love to take one home with me, but sadly, they are nearly extinct :(

Although they have an uncanny resemblance to a rat with their long hairless tail, or even a bat or a mouse, you have to admit, they are cutey patooteys.

Can you spot the Tarsier?

After the Tarsier sanctuary, we went to see Bayoyoy, the smallest man in the Philippines. Strange enough, he's also one of the oldest, at the ripe age of 65. All the tour agencies in town were advertising this little guy and included a stop at his house on nearly every tour. We didn't understand what all the hype was with this little guy, but we decided to check it out anyways. Plus, we thought it was funny to pronounce his name and erupted into a fit of giggles each time we said it. 
Arriving at Bayoyoy's house, we removed our shoes and entered the house where he lives with his sister. It's a typical Filipino home. We had to wait a few minutes for a large group of Filipino's to file out of the house. They were also there to catch a glimpse of Bayoyoy. Eva and I walked up a few steps and when we looked to our left, we see Bayoyoy in a baby stroller. Here's where it gets strange. We instinctively gasp. I've never in my life have seen a smaller human being, unless you count babies. 

This man is less than 3 feet tall. I knelt next to his stroller and stared in amazement. His head was the size of a softball and his legs were contracted. A dozen medical thoughts whizzed through my mind as I did a visual inspection of him. I tried to hide how shocked I was, as his sister was standing in the doorway. We were allowed to take pictures with Bayoyoy. But something didn't feel right. I felt like he was a circus attraction. He is blind and mentally handicapped.

to compare size

He obviously had dwarfism, but the family had found this to be a lucrative opportunity. They rely on donations from the tourists to survive. There was a donation box on the front of Bayoyoy's stroller. I set 40 pesos (1 dollar) down and thanked his sister for letting us visit. Her eyes lit up when she saw the donation and gave me a genuine "thank you". There were only small coins in the donation box, and I think some visitors leave no offering at all. 
This sort of thing would never happen in a developed country. This is just another sad example as to what people in third world countries must do in order to survive. 
After our day of seeing tiny primates and little people, Eva and I returned to our hotel in a bit of a daze. Hmmm, that was really bizarre, we both thought.