Above the Clouds - Week in Monteverde

After the first day or so in Monteverde, everyone settled in and quickly got used to the totally different environment of the cloud forest region. We literally were above the clouds during most days -- you could see them down below the mountain, and in the afternoon they would creep up the side of the mountain, cross over the road in front of CPI and make everything foggy. Sometimes it would rain and sometimes there was just a little bit of mist, but most of the mornings were clear, sunny and warm. The area to explore was much more rustic than the Central Valley, and the environment was completely different. The shops and restaurants were "artsy" and there were lots of locally produced handcrafts. The restaurants were unique and catered mostly to tourists, so the food there was more expensive than in San Joaquin.
On the other hand, the scenery was amazing. On most mornings, you could see down through the smaller mountains and valleys and all the way out to the Gulf of Nicoya in the distance. Everything was totally green and lush. There is truly no place like it.
At CPI in Monteverde, the ASU group had classes in the afternoons, from 1-5, to allow us to take advantage of the best weather in the mornings for other activities. Excursions and adventure activities were optional, but most of the group chose to do the Trapiche Tour, horseback riding, or the Extreme Canopy (or two of the three or all three). "Trapiche" refers to the old-fashioned press that was used to extract sugar cane water from the cane itself. We got to see the trapiche in action, powered by two oxen turning it in a circle. The tour also showed us how a variety of other plants and crops are grown, as we walked through a working farm. Actually, it is now more for tourists, but it is totally run by a family. The son, Diego, was the driver of the van that picked us up as well as the tour guide. Diego's father and brother ran the trapiche and got the sugar cooking so that we could make candy from it and watch them pour other sugar into molds. The mother and sister of the family cooked a delicious lunch for us featuring many of the products that we had seen growing on the farm. At one point during the tour, an oxcart and two oxen appeared and took six members of the group on a short ride. The Trapiche tour was not as humorous as Cafe Britt, but it was very interesting and entertaining.
Six of us, all girls, went on a two and a half hour horseback ride through the countryside. We saw beautiful panoramas, two monkeys, lots of birds, and a baby horse that was only 15 days old. Katie really wanted to go faster, since she has some riding experience, so at one point the guide allowed us to trot and gallup. He said that we could gallup about 100 meters down the path and then turn around and come back. Some of us listened and only went that far, and others went quite a bit farther. You can guess on your own who the guide had to chase down the road a few hundred more meters.
Dr. O. passed on the Extreme Canopy, feeling that the three regular canopy tours she had taken in the past were extreme enough. She had also heard about the Tarzan Swing. It was described as a free fall, where you are caught by a rope, and then you swing back and forth over the rainforest on the rope. Most of the rest of the canopy tour was a ziplining experience, where you glide far above the rainforest on a zipline. Anne Marie was surprised that the lines are actually so high above the ground. Everyone who went actually did the Tarzan Swing. Check out the pictures -- they are quite impressive.

So that's all from Monteverde. In fact, that's all from Costa Rica. We got home very late on Sunday night after a delay of almost two hours in the Charlotte airport. Everyone was thrilled to see family and friends at the airport when we finally arrived in Memphis. There is no doubt that everyone learned a great deal of Spanish in Costa Rica. But we also learned that life can be oh so different in another country, even one that shares many of our own country's ideals and values. We learned how important some of the little things -- like soft towels and hot water heaters and peanut butter -- can be. Perhaps most importantly, we all learned something important about ourselves, but you'd have to ask us each individually about that. Each of us would probably have a totally different story to tell.

Thanks for reading.

ASU in Costa Rica
2008
PURA VIDA

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