Monteverde hilltop stop

I departed the Arena region with 6 other Americans in a shared private transport through the rain forest, across a lake, and up, up, up into the hills through cattle farms, stopping for a cervesa and am empanada at a roadside stand along the way. We arrived in the small village of Santa Elena, high in the hills with views of the Gulf and Nicoya peninsula below in the Western horizon.

The wind here is unbelievably persistent. I asked the guide if it's always like this and he answered, no, sometimes it's worse. Lol. At night it sounds like you're sleeping on a ship in a storm. And I am not complaining. It's refreshing in contrast to the tropical humid environments I just left. I have enjoyed opening the doors and not using the A/C.

Walking into town and back feels like a near vertical experience at times. My calves will be looking good! 🥾🦵🏻

For activities so far it's been pretty mellow. Exploring the town, a little laundry, some pizza, some traditional food, and relaxing at the hotel because the room has a stunning sunset view, perfect for chilling out and drinking some Argentina vino tinto, and getting a good night sleep before the 6:20 am bird watching tour. Yes I woke up at 5:15, on purpose, to have coffee and go watch birds in a cloud forest, walking through trails to a hanging bridge, leading to a tree house where they served breakfast.

Daniel our guide helped identify over 40 species during our 3 hour nature excursion. He was a fantastic companion, very enthusiastic about birds and nature. I crawled into a ficus tree on the way. The park has mobility guides to assist in traversing the bridge to the platform. "Have you ever worn a harness before?" Um, not that I can recall. 😂 Yeah, no.

He buckled me into the protective straps, hooked me to a wire, and sent me on my way across hanging the bridge high above the forest below. It felt peaceful and relaxing, a few butterflies in my stomach. I stopped to look down and decided better to keep moving, look ahead, like the fire walk, keep going, not too fast, cool moss.

At the tree platform there was an option to continue climbing to higher levels above the canopy, I was happy to remain at the first one, where we ate a lovely breakfast and talked with the 3 Costa Rican guides, and continued to watch birds. I felt I would see Ewoks at any moment, but I did not.

Pura Vida!Lue lisää