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Published: February 18th 2011
I was a little over-ambitious yesterday & last night with downloading all of the photos from my recent 4-day trip.So now I'll bring you up-to-speed with the text about those last two days.
It was wonderful to have the sun again at Monteverde after a couple of very gray, rainy, drizzly (but warm) days at Arenal and La Fortuna! However along with the sunshine came cool temps and very high winds. Very typical for Monteverde. Of course for most people as long as they have ample layers they probably enjoy the brisk winds but for me it was a challenge trying to stay warm.
While Barb & Mary went on a hike which included a series of hanging bridges, I sought out something to do that would be more comfortable and thankfully chose a local hummingbird gallery. Oh my, how fun and enjoyable it was to watch these colorful tiny birds flitting about, drinking their nectar and interacting! As you probably saw I took many photos. Photographing this scurrying feathered friends can be a challenge for sure since they don't light anywhere for very long. But I think I got several that did a pretty good job of capturing their beauty. My young taxi driver, a Tico, enjoyed them nearly as much as I did although it was obviously that it wasn't his first time there.
On this trip I was able to meet several young Ticos working as guides & taxi drivers that are really in their element. They all have such a love for animals and plants as well as a real passion for preserving the environment and teaching others about what they know and love. And, no surprise, they do not like big cities such as San Jose.
When we first arrived at Villa Verde we all spotted the Sloth Sanctuary, http://www.slothrescue.org/, across the road. So after our afternoon activities we went there. They stayed open an extra two hours to accommodate us! This sanctuary is new and grew out of the older one on the Caribbean side of the country that has a very interesting story and they provide such an important service for these dear misunderstood animals from educating the public to rescuing and rehabilitating them. We all feel in love with them and their sweet faces....how could you not when they constantly are smiling! We couldn't use flashes on our cameras so the photos are a bit dark but I think they will give you an idea as to how special they are.
Since we had a big lunch I opted to not go out to dinner with Barb & Mary and instead stay out of the cold wind. I had enough fruit and other things to fill me up.
For returning to Atenas we were going to do the same as we did to come and take a public bus to San Ramon then a taxi from there. But we got a "better" offer from the owner of the hotel, Nils. He had a friend taking him to San Jose and they would be willing to take us to Atenas, for a price of course. Well instead of taking at least four hours by bus and taxi it took just three. So that was good. The vehicle was not in great shape and made some very strange, not good sounding noises going up hills when he shifted gears. There were seat belts but they we useless as you couldn't adjust them to be secure. But obviously we made it and we were very thankful to not have a longer trip home!
The drive home provided some nice scenery as well as quaint pueblos to see. Most impressive was seeing the Cloud Forest in the distance, there's one photo of this.
Both Arenal and Monteverde are two of the popular tourist spots in the country and I can see why. They both are such beautiful and fascinating natural wonders that are very different but equally grand to see and experience!
I must admit though that I'm appreciating being back in warm Atenas! Now I'm off to the weekly Feria!
BTW...I have a couple of videos from this trip I'll try to download later. Still working on getting the long one with the audio of the live music at the neighbor's party last Sunday.
Ciao,
Barb
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sis
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Glad you made it back to the warm temps! Good to be 'home' I bet. I can't wait to see the photos, especially of the