Monteverde

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After a bone jarring drive, especially for those in the back seat, we reached Monteverde. The surprise here was that the weather battering the US had reached this far south and the winds were howling and clouds covering the mountains. The rain in the upper elevation was being blown down into the town and so, while you might be standing in sunshine, there was always a mist--and this is supposed to be the start of the dry season!

Of course, we were hungry and so headed for the recommended Taco Taco and were treated to the best plate of tacos I have had. Then off to the lodge.

After being given incorrect directions to our lodging, we stopped at a hotel and were provided with a detailed map which we would need to find the place. After rambling around some mountainous dirt roads, the entire Monteverde town area has about three main streets paved, the rest mud and dirt streets, we found the Ecoverde Lodge high on the mountain above the town. In fact, it turns out the lodge is actually in the cloud forest, as in driving wind and rain. Remember I mentioned how the sun was shining in town, not so up here at the lodge where the wind was driving the rain so that you could only see about 100 yards or so....but it was warm, for us, about 50F. But the Ticos (as native Costa Ricans refer to themselves) were bundled in wool hats and heavy coats. We checked in to a little cabin with two rooms overlooking the talapia pond and looked for a heat source, good luck with that! They do not put in heat in homes in a country where this is about as cold as it gets. Then we headed down to town to take a night hike in the jungle.

For two hours our guide tromped around in the creeks, looked in trees and under rocks, and introduced us to the jungle at night. We saw the small Red Eyed Frog, Coati, Kinkajou, Olinga (those three are mammals), two sloths (making five for the day when you count the three we saw on the way here), scorpion, Tarantula, sleeping Green Toucans, and a Striped Palm Viper (as in poisonous). As with so many things here, you cannot underestimate the value of a good guide.

The next day we headed down out of the rain, enjoying the rainbows that the mist from the mountains provided, to see what adventures today would bring. We decided to cancel out the planned zip lining and horseback riding, the weather was still not cooperating, but instead found two other great treats.

The first was the Bosca Eternal Ninos--the Children's Eternal Forest. OK, who remembers when you were a kid in the 80s and you were doing things to 'save the rainforest?' Well, you might have been part of this campaign which, led by a team of Swedes and Americans, bought 56,000 acres of Costa Rican rainforest with funds raised by kids all over the world. The price was $22 an acre, low because the Costa Rican government was trying to homestead the area. The conservationists saw this was going to lead to deforestation and thus the effort. Now this piece of land is preserved due to the efforts of children worldwide! We learned all this because Marcia struck up a conversation with one of the founders who happened to be there--and comes from London, Ohio. The was peaceful as this is not a place many tourists come. There are no guides, just trails for you to explore. The overlooks show a panorama of untouched wilderness.

And the walk was strenuous enough to require coffee and passion fruit cake afterwards at Cafe Monteverde, a growers coop. That, it just so happens, also does coffee tours which we of course took.

The coffee tour was on one of the farms, the LIFE farm as in Low Impact for Earth. The place has an organic garden for the workers, biomass for gas generation for some cooking, etc. But most importantly good conditions for the workers (no child labor, better wages than other places, housing, health care, etc.). We toured the grounds and processes and then were outfitted with baskets and turned loose to harvest coffee ourselves. (Don't worry, we did not deprive any of the pickers from their pay--they are payed by the amount--at the end we gave what we picked to one of the pickers for him to turn in.) We were treated to a coffee sampling and of course bought some to bring home.

Then what may have been the highlight of the time in Monteverde. On the plane to Costa Rica George had struck up a conversation with a young man who had been here often. When Monteverde was mentioned he noted that in the area was a Strangler Fig tree that you could climb up into. A note about Strangler Fig trees. Their seeds are deposited high in the branches of a host tree. When the fig germinates, it sends its roots down around the host tree and, over what can be centuries, strangles the host tree. Then, when the host tree dies, it rots out from inside the fig, leaving an intricate web of roots around a hollowed out space. We asked around and were given directions, as in just park on the road here, find the path, and walk down to the tree. We found it and John led Katelyn and Marcia up through the hollow tree--climbing up over 100 feet in a root tunnel. And, as with most of the good things in life, this one was free.

We went back to the lodge and enjoyed a great dinner of shrimp rice and spent the evening trying to teach our host, Mauricio, the gave of Euchre. Given his limited English and our more limited Spanish it was not very successful, but drinks and laughs were shared into the night. (One of the other problems with teaching the card game was figuring out a word for trump suit....as in not the president...)

While we had intended to spend one more day and night in Monteverde we decided the sun and waves of the Pacific Coast would be a better option and prepared for departure the next morning after a great breakfast of rice, beans, eggs, and plantains.

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Photos

Palm Viper
A night hike friend

Climbing the Strangler Fig
Look close, John is way up top.

Don't quit your day job
George picking coffee beans....he is way better at drinking it.

Ecoverde Lodge
Our home in Monteverde

Coffee Pickers
At the end of their day, enjoying free refreshments from the farm.

Inside the Strangler Fig
Katelyn looking up at John as they climb the tree.

Euchre
John teaching Maricio.