We rested for a while at a little creek. I contemplated the two majestic peaks of the Kilimanjaro, Kibo and Mawenzi, and I suddenly felt very small.

My friend Mabu was fiddling with some wood sticks while I watched the giant, snow-capped mountains, unable to enjoy the view because of my feelings of frustration.

"We'll never catch a monkey around here," I said, kicking the 40-pound backpack with my medical equipment that I had carried around for more than two days now.

"But Dr.Flora, you told me: 'Never say never!', didn't you?" Mabu protested without interrupting whatever it was that he was doing with those wood sticks.

"Yes, I did. Because 'Never' is an insane word," I admitted quite annoyed.

"My language doesn't have that word at all, did you know?" Mabu, the bushman, continued, laughing. "We just say: 'As long as there is snow on top of Kibo'"

"OK, OK!" I said. "Let's go back to the base camp. I'm sick of running around with all this stuff without even coming upon one of those damn monkeys."

"Why 'damn'?" Mabu asked. "It's just monkey. Ibu Baboon. You said you tell me why you want blood of monkey."

"A new serum," I said casually and asked Mabu, "why do you think they hang out around here?"

"New WHAT? You explain things by just saying another word, Dr.Flora.

"This is only place Ibu Baboons like. In entire world. Here at Kilimanjaro. Look at footprints!"

He took a still green banana and dropped it in a small burrow between two rocks. Then he put his small assembly of wooden sticks in the opening of the burrow and anchored it carefully.

"Let's hide between those trees for a while, Dr.Flora," Mabu said and walked towards a group of Mango trees. I followed him.

"I always wondered why there are no banana trees around here," I said to Mabu.

"Always?" he asked surprised and sat down behind a bush.

With his hands he made signs for me to join him, to stay quiet, and to relax. I sat down quietly and tried to relax. Mabu didn't move or twitch. I didn't fare too well. As a matter fact, sitting still and not moving around seemed like hard work to me.

Much to my surprise, less than half an hour later a clan of Ibu Baboons showed up.

I took a while before one of them peeked into the burrow with the banana inside. The baboon stretched his arm through Mabu's wooden stick construction and grabbed the delicious banana.

Mabu jumped up in the air, waving his hands and shouting in joy.

I was upset. How could he do that? He was driving the baboon away just when it was close enough for me to fire my dart gun with the sleeping drug.

All the baboons had left the scene, except for the one big male baboon who had grabbed the banana.

But his hand couldn't get out of Mabu's wood trap. At least not with the banana in his hand.

He had noticed us but he still didn't want to let go of the banana.

I approached with my medical equipment bag in one hand and the dart gun in the other.

Mabu said "Don't shoot. No need. Monkey will not let go banana!"

He was right. The monkey didn't let go of the banana.

I took out a syringe to draw the monkey's blood. He was making a hell of a noise but he still didn't let go of the banana. Reluctantly I followed Mabu's signals and put the dart gun away.

Even as I drew the monkey's blood with the syringe, he still didn't let go of the banana. He twitched and twisted but he stayed right there in front of the burrow.

Mabu laughed like a child while I struggled with the syringe and the monkey. Eventually the syringe was filled with one hundred milliliters of the monkey's blood. That was all what I needed for my research.

I put the syringe back in its case and started to laugh, too.

Mabu talked to the monkey for a minute or two, pointing a finger at me. \ The only word I could understand was 'serum'.

Then he pulled a tiny piece of rope from the wooden stick construction to release the trap.

With an incredibe loud chattering the baboon ran away.

"This is how we catch monkeys," Mabu explained. "When baboon has banana in hands, it does not let go of it as long as there is snow on top of Kibo!"

We both laughed and soon we were back on our way to the base camp.