Unexpected in Monteverde: extreme wind. It’s situated on the Pacific side of the continental divide and the trade winds are strong when cold fronts move through in the first part of the year. This means the winds outside of town and high in the hills (like our rental villa) gust so hard it shakes the house, day and night. This means no sleep for me because there are probably murderers outside, hiding in the sound of the wind.
We had to get up bright and early for our nature walk in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, returning to the same place as last night. It was, of course, like night and day. The deafening cries of crickets and other night insects were replaced by birdsong. We could appreciate the scenery and the trees around us during this walk, and there would probably be 100% less tarantulas.
Ricardo was our guide again, taking us down the same path as last night. It was dappled with sunlight as the wind shifted the trees. What made the cloud forest special was not just the trees and animals, but the incredible amount of growth on the trees, both living and long dead. The trade winds blowing over the mountain keep everything pretty humid and alive.
It’s home to many strangler figs, some of them well over 200 years old. There’s one near the trail. Last night, Ricardo put his light into it and you could see the light reflected far above in the canopy. Today, I stuck my camera into it!
The vines also send roots way down from the canopy, resulting in dangly vines everywhere, sometimes just overhead. For some reason, I have never thought of them being roots before, even though this is painfully obvious now.
While we saw (and heard) a lot of birds, we did not spot a quetzal, the crown jewel bird of the forest. Even though they are Guatemala’s national bird, it is easiest to see them in Costa Rica, partially because the forest protection is better for them.
We also saw the mischievous…mammal thing that roams about on the path in and around the park. They’re scavengers and I have no idea what they were called. They were cute though!
Our cafe for snacks was outside of the hummingbird feeding station, and we were even joined by a friend in the cafe!
We went home for a siesta for a few hours and a snack. Delicious, delicious jamon.
Returning to the cloud forest was easy, now that the crowds were gone. We got prime parking and had the trails mostly to ourselves. We even passed Ricardo again!
The hike up to the divide is about 2km, with a brief detour to the suspension bridge that is featured every time you google Monteverde. We got to walk on muddy waffles for most of the way up and down the hills, which were mostly well-maintained and relatively non-trecherous.
The bridge was suspensiony and very wiggly. It’s the iconic red bridge you find if you google Monteverde.
The hike up to the top took another 30 minutes, and we were rewarded with infinite wind and a beautiful view!
We took the steep and narrow option back down the mountain. It was muddy and slightly more treacherous than the waffle trek.
It’s our last night in Monteverde. The sunset from our hilltop down to the ocean is beautiful! Tomorrow, it’s off to the beach.
