Head in the Clouds in Monteverde
My time in Monteverde was quite possibly one of the best experiences I have ever had. It is a place like nothing else in the world filled with trees and houses on a mountainside. Monteverde is a very small town, located in the mountains of the province of Puntarenas. It is one of the most famous ecotourism spots in the world. This was another one of our USAC sponsored trips so they provided transportation. The bus ride itself was an experience due to the high altitude and steepness of Monteverde’s location on top of the mountains. At times I felt like we were driving up a hill with a 90 degree angle. The views were spectacular though and the ride only lasted about three hours or so. When we arrived, we were each assigned a cabin. I roomed with two other girls, and I was lucky enough to have the queen bed, which was a nice change from the twin bed I have been in for the past three weeks. We were so high up in the mountains that when we looked out our window, we were in clouds.
Our first excursion in Monteverde was a hike through the famous Monteverde Cloud Forest. It only cost us $4 because we are USAC students. I did not see as many animals as I would have liked, but I did witness some awesome plants and insects. We saw several strange looking caterpillars and incredibly tall trees with exposed roots that continued on for miles. When we got to the top of the trail, I was expecting an immaculate view, but alas I was greeted with clouds. I guess it was a semi fair tradeoff since I did see the whole countryside on the ride up the mountain. It is just super peaceful to walk around in a biodiversity hot spot that is so well preserved that you forget you are walking on a path in a national park. Costa Rica should be proud of their dedication to protecting the environment and preserving biodiversity. I will treasure the memory of being inside nature’s lungs, the rainforest.
After the two hour hike, we headed back to our cabin and went to the “downtown” area of Monteverde, which was literally a five minute bus ride. We bought some overpriced souvenirs which included a wooden mug with a parrot on it that I convinced myself I had to have. We had dinner at a bar and I had the strangest concoction. I love the fried plantains here which are called, “patacones,” so I ordered a plantain sandwich type thing. It was not very appetizing due to the fact it was smothered with cabbage and watery refried beans. I definitely prefer the patacones that I have eaten in Puntarenas. We ended the night with dancing at Bar Amigos, probably the most exciting night I have had since I have been here.
For our last day in Monteverde, we went ziplining in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. It is something I will never forget. We did about 10 or 11 different ziplining rides throughout the whole forest, totaling about 1.5-2 hours. Many of the rides lasted about 20 or 30 seconds, which is a lot when you consider you were practically flying through mid-air above treetops. I definitely felt like Tarzan, but in lieu of vines I used ziplines. To be overlooking such a massive rainforest rich with biodiversity is breathtakingly spectacular, and makes you appreciate how amazing our planet is. For the remainder of the afternoon, we went to the amphibian and reptile exhibit in Monteverde. We learned about all the different types of snakes, frogs, and lizards that live in Costa Rica. They have some vicious poisonous snakes here that have the ability to make you go brain dead or venom that will literally eat away at your skin and organs. Luckily they mostly just come out at night, and most of them live in the rainforest. I had the opportunity to hold a baby snake at the end and it was surprisingly adorable despite my fear of snakes.
