While Monteverde is not Costa Rica's biggest, most diverse, or oldest protected forest, it more than makes up for this fact by being it's coolest (awsome, not temp.). Situated on the western edge of the mountain range that runs through the country, Monteverde is a could forest in the truest sense of the word. Warm pacific fronts bath the country with moiture, and slowly rise to dump tremendous quantities of water all over this part of Costa Rica. Cool temperatures and high altitudes converge on this place to create a humid haven for all kinds of plant and animal life.
As we rolled in on our Jeep-Boat-Jeep excursion from La Fortuna, the sky was clear and the clouds had dissipated as they do every day about noon. We were warned however that the coulds would be back the following morning, because you can't call it a cloud forest if there ain't any coulds. The jeep/van we took from the Lago de Arenal was perhaps the nicest van that I have had the pleasure of riding on while in Costa Rica, a testament to the many foreign tourists that pass this way each year. As it bounced along the horrible rutted dirt road, I admired the faux leather interior, windows that worked, and best of all, the miniture DVD screen (1.5" x 1.5") wedged in the dash. What else could be playing but a ripped off DVD of MTV2 videos from the early nineties featuring Meatloaf, Poison, and other power ballad favorites. We sang along best we could, taking care not to miss the rolling alpine hills that passed by our window while we wailed.
Monteverde was a weird mix of small town, rural setting, and sporadic tourist. I take that back. There were a lot of tourists. Which was all in good reason as this was one of the most incredible displays of nature in all of Costa Rica. There was even a sushi restaurant in this town of 2000, but we didn't trust it, just like I never trusted the sushi served on another mountain at McClurg dining hall.
The NCAA Final four was on during dinner that night at a local soda, but halfway through it got changed to a latin music sing-a-long by the waitress. We tried with all our might but couldn't get her to change it back, and so that was the end of our escapade to american culture for the night. It turns out that the regional rodeo was also being held the same night, and so we walked a kilometer down the road and got to see local culture in action. The bar served up shots of sugar cane liquor, but we refrained and instead got a round of Imperial beers. Familiar fair favorites were there such as cotton candy, fried dooughnut balls, and taffy. A few new ones were there as well such as a Churro, or long fried heavy sweet dough filled with peanut butter and coated with sugar crystals. It was heaven in your mouth, and I could make a fortune importing these things to the US. Small dark dingy rides were all the rage with local 4 to 12 year olds, but they looked a little unsafe for gringo size men, so we just watched. The fair was also popular with the 13-17 year old age group, and it remined me of when I was that age. In Birmingham you couldnt go to a bar, only half your friends drove, you couldnt talk at movies, there was no football team, and bowling got old, so where do you go? We went to things like fairs and concerts the same as the kids down here. Stewart, Craig, and I skipped out on the actual rodeo, saying that we would do it the next night and got ready for a long day of zip-lining, cloud-forest hiking, and soaking up the humidity.
Early to rise about 5:30, we were the first people on the public Monteverde school bus headed towards the protected forest just 5 minutes outside of town. They acutally had a daily quota, and so our goal was to get in as early as possible to have the place to ourselves for a few hours. Early we were, arriving about 6:30, 30 minutes before they actually opened. While waiting, we sat and talked about how this was the most expensive park entrance fee we had ever paid: 9 dollars, in a country where the average daily wage was below 15. Just over our shoulder, a uber-blindly liberal lady from New York in her 40s couldnt help but listen in, and went off on an unprovoked tirade about how Costa Rica was only country down here who protected their forests and that costs money which we needed to pay. We responded by saying that the 9 dollar entrance was the one reason that there was not a single Costa Rican in line, and that the country essentially made its natural treasure too expensive for its own people who live here. And as such making it a veritable playground for rich foreigners. She didnt understand: she had to fly back to New York the next day.
After that we were off! I will say that Monteverde's popularity is well deserved, for this was perhaps one of the most beautiful and richest rain forest that I have ever been in. I felt like I had boarded a time capsule, transported millions of years back before the scourge of man. The trees hung a hundred feet over your head, sheltering you as if you were in some grand english cathedral supported by columns 6 feet around. Meanwhile early morning clouds still wrapped around the base of these massive giants, meandering along the forest floor as if there was no forest at all. The cool temperatures stirred a soup of fog that at times obscurred the path right underneath your feet. And if this was one of Mozart's great symphonies, the key would be in green; for this color overwhelmed the senses in every form. There was so much life in every inch of this place that you could have sworn it had a heartbeat. On the branch of a tree grew a moss, on top of that moss there was an orchid, through that orchid weaved a vine, and crawling along that vine were tons of large ants carrrying pieces of leaves, carrying these leaves to another patch of moss, where a tree was growing on top of the first one. Whole patches of earth were somehow suspended in tree trunks, harboring a second forest floor with orchids, bushes, and animals. From the trees hung 80 foot tall vines, some large enough to swing on, and others just barely thicker than a pencil.
As the day drew out, the clouds cleared, and a gorgeous blue sky was occasionally visible through the trees. We continued the hike, stopping at a bridge built through the canopy to check out what life was like a little higher in the forest. We also passed one or two groups of birdwatchers, which reminded us that we had pretty much had the entire reserve to ourselves all morning, seeing one or two hikers at most. It pays to get up early.
That afternoon we didnt let the exictement stop, and went on a "Canopy Tour" through another part of Monteverde. Canopy Tour is actually just an environmentally friendly marketing term for "bad ass cable zip line." Ignoring the approaching storm and sporadic lighting customary here in the afternoon, we doned harness, had a brief 5 minute safety talk, and hooked up with pulleys to our first cable. The zip lines here are of epic porportions: Our second zip line was almost a half mile long, spanned an entire valley, brought us 600 feet off the ground, and reached speeds of 30 to 40 miles an hour hour, all on a cable no wider than your thumb. There were 22 of these. It was intense.
Next stop: the beach town of Jaco, Costa Rica to catch some bill fish!
After that we were off! I will say that Monteverde's popularity is well deserved, for this was perhaps one of the most beautiful and richest rain forest that I have ever been in. I felt like I had boarded a time capsule, transported millions of years back before the scourge of man. The trees hung a hundred feet over your head, sheltering you as if you were in some grand english cathedral supported by columns 6 feet around. Meanwhile early morning clouds still wrapped around the base of these massive giants, meandering along the forest floor as if there was no forest at all. The cool temperatures stirred a soup of fog that at times obscurred the path right underneath your feet. And if this was one of Mozart's great symphonies, the key would be in green; for this color overwhelmed the senses in every form. There was so much life in every inch of this place that you could have sworn it had a heartbeat. On the branch of a tree grew a moss, on top of that moss there was an orchid, through that orchid weaved a vine, and crawling along that vine were tons of large ants carrrying pieces of leaves, carrying these leaves to another patch of moss, where a tree was growing on top of the first one. Whole patches of earth were somehow suspended in tree trunks, harboring a second forest floor with orchids, bushes, and animals. From the trees hung 80 foot tall vines, some large enough to swing on, and others just barely thicker than a pencil.
As the day drew out, the clouds cleared, and a gorgeous blue sky was occasionally visible through the trees. We continued the hike, stopping at a bridge built through the canopy to check out what life was like a little higher in the forest. We also passed one or two groups of birdwatchers, which reminded us that we had pretty much had the entire reserve to ourselves all morning, seeing one or two hikers at most. It pays to get up early.
Craig and Stewart on our Canopy Bridge
That afternoon we didnt let the exictement stop, and went on a "Canopy Tour" through another part of Monteverde. Canopy Tour is actually just an environmentally friendly marketing term for "bad ass cable zip line." Ignoring the approaching storm and sporadic lighting customary here in the afternoon, we doned harness, had a brief 5 minute safety talk, and hooked up with pulleys to our first cable. The zip lines here are of epic porportions: Our second zip line was almost a half mile long, spanned an entire valley, brought us 600 feet off the ground, and reached speeds of 30 to 40 miles an hour hour, all on a cable no wider than your thumb. There were 22 of these. It was intense.
Next stop: the beach town of Jaco, Costa Rica to catch some bill fish!
1 comment:
Thanks for the heads up on the landslides - I'll be following your adventures with interest before we head off in 12 days - We only have 4 weeks of travel however so you'll have to give me the highlights!
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