Monteverde Cloud Forest

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When we woke up this morning, our muscles reminded us that we spent 2 hours on horseback yesterday! Whoa! It was time to leave this pretty resort, and move to our next destination. Our guide has a degree in biology, so he was the perfect one to take us on a nature walk at the base of the volcano. He shared lots of information about the regeneration of the flora and fauna since this area was covered by lava in 1968. We walked for an hour, seeing orchids, bromeliads, bamboo, and young trees. He pointed out many of the things that we would have missed on our own. Nature guides are so good at seeing things before anyone else, and he pointed out a coatimundi moving through the trees. It's a raccoon/monkey kind of an animal, and really exciting to see. At one point, the wimps (me) among the group turned around and returned to our starting point, while the hardy (Marshall) hiked further over old lava flow. This is the kind of lava that's made of big boulders, and not the flowing kind you see in Hawaii. They also got a great view of Arenal Lake, and Marshall thought it was worth the extra hike. Several of us more mature tourists walked back together, and I learned that one man from Tampa is 88 and traveling alone. There is also an 81 year old woman. I hope I'm still globe-trotting when I'm 88! He said his secret is to stay away from salt and sugar, eat minimal meat, drink alcohol regularly, and get lots of sleep. I'm guessing that his sleep is in direct proportion to his alcohol intake! We left Arenal behind and headed to Monteverde Cloud Forest. We stopped in a small town for lunch at a diner that looked like it was from the 1960's. Come to think of it, everything here looks like it's from the 60's. This place specialized in local “tico” food, so Marshall tried some green papaya, which was served hot like mashed potatoes. I had a tamale wrapped in a banana leaf. It had rice, vegetables, and a little meat in the middle of the cornmeal mush. It tasted pretty good! I also had some beef stew which had huge pieces of cabbage, yuca, potato, and two starchy ingredients that I could not recognize. Not my favorite. After lunch, our guide narrated a drive around town. It was an especially nice tour, because this is where our guide lived until he was 15. His family has quite a history in the town, as most of them were educators in the town. The school is named for his grandfather, and he made the letters in the name of the high school seen on top of the building. They were his first industrial arts project, and his dad was his teacher. It really gave me a sense of connection to hear his first person narrative. We continued on the Pan American Highway. I have heard of this road, and I know that it continues all of the way through South America, so I anticipated an interstate kind of road with multiple lanes. Instead, this is a fairly narrow, 2 lane road that goes through small towns. What a surprise! We finally turned onto another road and spent the next hour winding our way up a mountain that's covered with jungle. This road was dirt, narrow, and had no safety rails. I've been in this same situation in other countries, and it's always scary. Luckily, we were toward the rear of the bus, so I couldn't see out the front. The views were more amazing with every turn. At one point we could see down the mountain and out to the Pacific Ocean. The living conditions in this area were really bad. Farm workers earn $650 a month, but prices on goods are similar to our prices. We saw lots of cows and horses. The fences are made from young trees that have been cut down and stripped of vegetation. They are stuck in the ground every six feet or so, and barbed wire is strung between them. Over time, the “fence posts” grow roots and start to branch into trees again. After a while, the fences are simply barbed wire strung between perfectly spaced full-sized trees. I like observing farming practices in other countries. That reminds me that yesterday we saw two farmers plowing on a hillside, using hand plows pulled by horses. Back to this crazy ride up the mountain...after a long, slow ride, we arrived at an area with more people and a few small stores. Suddenly, the driver stopped in front of a little restaurant, and our guide pointed out a large troupe of white-faced monkeys playing in the tree behind the restaurant. We watched and took pictures for several minutes. They were moving from one tree to another by jumping from branch to branch. We saw three mothers with babies on their backs. It was so much fun to watch them; I don't know why Florida doesn't have monkeys! Shortly after our monkey encounter, we were driving into the clouds and reached our hotel. This hotel is not as nice as our other one, but it's fine. The rooms are huge, and we have two King beds. There is also a view overlooking the town of Monteverde. Since this country is covered in trees, most things are made of wood. Our room has some kind of exotic wood on the floors, walls, and ceilings. It wouldn't be my decorating choice, but it is pretty impressive. We walked about 400 yards down the very steep road that leads from the town to our hotel and found a great little bakery for sandwiches and sweet treats. When it was time to return up the very steep road, we caught a shuttle. We need to rest our sore muscles, because tomorrow we're zip-lining!

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