 Cloudforest |
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It's about 1:30, and I'm relaxing on one of the divine Fonda Vela chairs outside of our room. We got up very early this morning and headed out to the Monteverde Cloudforest Preserve. We took a four-hour walking tour with our wonderful guide, Samuel. He had a giant telescope sort of thing that let us view birds and such in close-up. We spotted a quetzal and many other types of lovely birds.  The coatimundi scared me a little by getting so close. I made the mistake of opening a Zone Bar and the crinkle of the plastic basically sent him into a tizzy during which he made a beeline for me even though I rapidly zipped it back into my pocket after realizing the magnitude of my hunger-induced dumbassery. He even stood on his hind legs in anticipation. Crazy stuff. 
Mostly I enjoyed walking along the trail being surrounded by all of those trees and plants exploding with life. We trekked up to the Continental Divide. On one side was the Caribbean and on the other the Pacific. We couldn't see either one because of clouds, but the sky was still blue and the sun was bright and it was beautiful and so peaceful. The four hours really flew by. I'm so glad we did it and that we had such an excellent guide. 
It was amazing. (I realize these pictures all basically look the same, but to me there's no such thing as too many pictures of something awesome.) 
We headed back to Stella's for lunch. I had a vegetable quiche with salad and he had some kind of spinach and bacon lasagna. We went back to Café Monteverde and then back to CASEM, where he bought some Christmas gifts. It's now later, and he's singing in Spanish in the shower. This afternoon we picked up some of his friends from the zip lines on the side of the road and headed to the bank in Santa Elena which you'd have thought was the national treasury what with all of the insane security measures, men with rifles, evil-eyed guards, and the accusation of basically counterfeiting our traveler's checks and demanding the phone number of the bank in New Orleans, USA, where he bought them. Whatever, bank.  Then we went back yet again to Café Monteverde and to the Lazy Frog, a very cute art gallery/gift shop/coffee shop that's going out business. Sad. The owner said wistfully, "It's been a fun year and a half." We each bought a handmade coffee mug. Then it was off to the Monteverde Cheese Factory, where I got a chocolate ice cream cone and he got some caramels that are basically big logs of sex. We came back to the Fonda Vela and took a walk down the private trail, which was nice if a bit dark.  See, here's the thing. I know people think that I am a delicate flower who cannot exert herself or break a sweat or endure any physical hardship whatsoever, but one of my very favorite things to do on earth is walk through the woods. I know this hardly makes me original. But I love it. It's not like I'm some kind of hardcore hiker, but I don't mind when it's even kind of hard. (Hard for me. Probably not hard for a normal person.) I loved it during summers at camp in Norwood, Louisiana. I loved it in the Blue Ridge Mountains those summers in North Carolina. I loved it that summer in Colorado on our near-daily hikes through Chautauqua. I loved it in Keswick last summer when we hiked around Lake Derwentwater. I loved it this past summer when we hiked through Manuel Antonio National Park. I loved it on our first night in Monteverde when we did the night walk even though we were surrounded by bugs. I loved it yesterday when I did the solo hike with the hanging bridges even though I was admittedly kind of scared because it was gorgeous and wonderful. And I loved it today through the Cloudforest Preserve and when we took the private trail around the Fonda Vela. I remember when I was young, I would always look for faces and shapes on the roots on the ground. I still kind of do that. I love being surrounded by green and the sounds of birds and creatures. I love trying to keep my footing and the way my calves ache. I love when the trees block out the sun but it still finds a way to blast or creep through. I know that this sounds very stupid and who doesn't love the woods, blah blah. 
I really loved Monteverde, and I will miss it.
© Copyright 2005 elb |
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