A bit of delay from customs, but before too long, I disembarked and met Alexander from Three Brothers’ Tours for my own day in a country I’d heard so much about. We drove and chatted for a couple of hours until we arrived at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. In order to be designated a Cloud Forest, three things must be present: apaphytes ( plants that live on other plants or trees), parasites and, yes, duh, clouds.
A quick empanada and then we were off on the lush, muddy trail. Alexander had an excellent viewing scope on a tripod which he’d put down as soon as he sighted anything. First, a baby side striped plam pit viper nestled on a branch in a tree:
And on we went. Next up, something for you Jake!
Turns out best photos were taken with my phone through the scope, which explains the strange shape. Many beautiful birds, including this one that wasn’t a bit afraid of our approach:
And on we hiked to La Vantana, a point from which we could see the Atlantic and Pacific oceans:
More trails and I get to cross one hanging bridge (there’s a park elsewhere which has about 14 of them):
And having seen the majority of the sites here, we headed out and into the Curi-Cancha Reserve, just next door, which was filled with beautiful trees and open areas where there are so many hummingbirds and beautiful vistas:
And the amazing trees!
For reeealll:
the female quetzal:
A really big pit viper checking us out:
And then we’re out of the parks to a store that sells locally-grown coffee. I tasted all of the roasts and selected one that I could use on the boat. After that, we’re on to a local restaurant for me to enjoy a typical casado, which is rice, beans, a meat, fried plaintain and hot sauce! Long drive back to the boat, and I was very proud to be the last passenger back on (and still 30 minutes before curfew)!