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Published: March 19th 2009
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The weather in Monteverde made me homesick - constant drizzle and gusts of wind that chilled through to the bone. Real rain jacket weather - zip up, hood up. It was like being in a cloud. This is not how I imagined Costa Rica to be. The area´s name really should have given it away though, but my brain must have focused more on the word ´forest´ than ´cloud´when we decided to head to Monteverde
Cloud Forest. Doh.
Not ones to let the weather get us down, we donned our unflattering waterproofs (as we saw on other tourists, all waterproofs seem designed to make the wearer look ridiculous - why is that?) and ventured out into the clouds, first exploring on foot.
Since we began our Supertramp, we have heard much about the beautiful queztal bird. In Mayan mythology it was a bird of paradise and the legacy continues today as a symbol of Central America (in fact the bird lends its name to Guatemala´s currency). It is a smallish bird with blue, green and red feathers. But its distinctive feature is its long tail, twice the size of the bird itself. Thanks to widespread deforestation, the queztal is
now facing extinction. Even in national parks where its habitat is protected, it is rare. I was beginning to think we would pass through Central America with our only sighting of this famous bird on postcards in souvenir shops.
But less than fifteen minutes along a trail in the Cloud Forest Reserve, a man ahead of us armed with a serious pair of binoculars starts shouting "Quetzal! Queztal!". His friends came running and other groups suddenly appeared out of nowhere. And there it was. The Elusive Quetzal. Sitting gloriously in a tree about sixty feet away, completely unaware (or maybe just unintereseted) in all the fuss it was causing on the ground. It posed for a while before spreading its colourful wings and flying over our heads, its long tail trailing behind like decorative ribbons.
I was so delighted we finally got to see a queztal, I completely forgot that I was cold and wet and a little grumpy (like when I used to be dragged around the peak district as a teenager...parents note: walking in a big circle for hours in the wind and rain is NOT a fun way to spend a Saturday morning).
The
cloud forest held more treasures, once we had mastered the art of bird spotting. It´s not complicated really.
1. Walk quietly so as not to scare any wildlife away.
2. Stop when you hear a bird singing.
3. Scan the trees and bushes for movement.
4. Keep scanning the trees and bushes for movement.
And that´s it. Nine times out of ten this worked for us and we spotted the bird that was making the noise. As well as the queztal, we saw (I´ve made up names for the ones I don´t know): fidgety-bird, I´m-pretty-look-at-me-bird, annoyingly-repetitive-squawking-bird, tiny-but-really-loud-bird, you-won´t-get-a-photo-of-me-bird and lots of hummingbirds. (OK, so I´ve still a lot to learn when it comes to bird names.)
Some birds were shy, flying off as soon as the camera came out - but we still managed to get a few good shots, as you can see for yourself.
A little disturbed by my newly acquired appreciation for all things feathered and my rapidly improving bird spotting skills, it was time to get some adrenaline pumping. We signed up for a canopy tour and signed a ´just-in-case´disclaimer against sprains/whiplash/death. Next we were strapped into a harness and
given a helmet. I felt like a bridled horse wearing a hard hat. Yet another classic outfit for the photo album!
Ladies first, so up I stepped onto the platform. I was clipped onto a rope tied between two trees (not unlike a clothesline) and told to ´sit´ into the harness, then before I knew it there was no ground beneath my feet and I was flying through the air. Wooo-hoooo!!!! Admitedly I didn´t see much wildlife as I whizzed over the trees, but no one does canopy tours for the flora and fauna. There were 16 zip lines in total - one 600m long - plus a Tarzan swing, which was fantastically scary. I tried to do the Tarzan call but my stomach seemed to rise up to my throat when I lept off the edge and no noise would come out. As soon as I stopped swinging, I wanted to go again. From start to finish the whole canopy tour was a great buzz.
(
It´s not great quality, but have a look at this video to see the zip lines and Tarzan swing - )
Although it isn´t exactly the weather for it, anyone who visits Monteverde and doesn´t try the locally produced ice cream should be arrested. They even made my favourite flavour, so I had three scoops of rum and raisin creamy delicious-ness. Every cloud has a silver lining.
From Jess
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Joy
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Peak District Training
Hi,I couldn't stop laughing after reading this fantastic blog -great description and pictures.Not just the photos of trendy waterproofs but the lack of appreciation of my efforts training you for the supertramp tour when you were a teenager.See ,parents really do know best .We told you it would be worth the walks!!Sadly,Serena and Ciara totally agree with your description of Peak District walks!Love to both of you.Keep the fantastic blogs coming.