Monteverde

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From Boquete in Panama we headed for the border with Costa Rica. The crossing was relatively painless. We spent a night in San Jose before getting the early morning bus to Monteverde.

Monteverde National Park is a cloud forest in Northern Costa Rica and is a popular destination for backpackers as well as the wealthy traveller. During our visit it was rainy season so our afternoons were often spent relaxing out of the rain.

During our stay it was my birthday so I organised to go horse riding. My horse for the day was Darwin, he was really well behaved and generally did what I asked. Gary was riding Whiskey, he was rather lazy but still very well behaved. Darwin decided early on that he didn't want to be at the back so anytime that Gary passed me Darwin ensured he didn't stay in front for long. We had brilliant weather as we walked, trotted and cantered through some stunning scenery.

In the afternoon we stopped for drinks at the Tree House, a restaurant set in a tree overlooking one of the main streets, while in the evening we enjoyed wine and cheese on the balcony outside our room.

On our last day we visited Monteverde National Park which was established in 1972 and is currently 9,942 acres. It is a tropical cloud forest with a fascinating ecosystem which supports 20% of the world's plant diversity and 16% of vertebrae diversity in only 0.4% of the Earth's surface. It is home to over 100 species of mammals, over 400 of birds, 120 of amphibians and reptiles, tens of thousands of insects and over 3,000 of plants. I'm not sure how many we saw but our sightings included a monkey, various bird sightings and lots of plants. The Pan American continental divide runs through the park and there is a lookout called La Ventana (the window) but unfortunately it was extremely cloudy and windy when we arrived so we didn't have a great view. The paths were really well marked and I enjoyed walking over the swing bridge and seeing the waterfalls.

Next stop Ometepe Island in Nicaragua

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Comments

[taracloud]

Happy Birthday!
A birthday horse ride with a drink in a tree house sound like a memorable way to celebrate! The Monteverde Park sounds fab--love those elevated walkways.