INTO THE CLOUD FOREST

The trip to the cloud forest was an adventure in itself!

These Swiss girls know how to travel. No dragging suitcases over the rocks for them

First we rode in a van, then a boat, then a bus.

The boat ride was beautiful and serene, and we had some entertaining travelers with us.

Goodbye Arenal Volcano!

Note the mansion on the hill. Belongs to some rich South American dude with his own helicopter

Two handsome young German guys, Junes and Axel, were chatting with some cute girls from Switzerland.  Junes was especially outgoing and told me about his travels, how he never worries where he is going to spend the night, and has even knocked on house doors offering money for an overnight stay. (A little too adventurous for me!!)  He speaks at least 3 languages fluently and is studying international business. 

We went from the lovely boat ride to a bus that wound up the steep, bumpy road to the cloud forest. 

Up above the clouds so high. Like a bus ride in the sky.

 It started to rain, the road was narrow and unpaved, which made for a bit of an intense ride.  Thanks to Junes, though, our minds were kept off the treacherous road.  He showed us a scar from a jelly fish sting he received in South America when he jumped in the ocean "after drinking a little too much one night".  He talked about the Pura Vida expression in Costa Rica which is sort of equivalent to "Que Pasa" in Spanish, or "Whassup!".  He decided to coin his own word and came up with "Hube!" (prounounced hoobay)  , taught it to his friends who work in an auto factory in Bonn and passed it on to the whole plant. 

With great enthusiasm, he had everyone on the bus repeating after him, "Uno, dos, tres, HUBE!!!"  Meanwhile, the bus was careening through the clouds and, on Junes' side, there was a spectacular view of the sunset.  He was leaning out the window, snapping photos, and offering to take photos with everyone's cameras so we could always remember this ride.

It was a gorgeous sunset. Too bad the picture is blurry

We all got off in Monte Verde, and Junes, Axel, and the Swiss girls went in search of a hostel.  It was raining and I hoped they would find a place to spend the night.   

The  Monte Verde Lodge is very nice.  We were greeted with a mango and lime drink.  Our room, 204, had a balcony and a forest view.  We went down to a gourmet dinner in the hotel's lovely restaurant with views into the jungle.  The bar area has a nice fireplace where we hung out afterwards.  We were surprised and happy to see Grand Cayman Couple, who also happened to be staying there.  It was like running into old friends. Pura Vida! 

Early the next morning we headed out to go zip lining.  I had never done this before and, yes, was a tad nervous.  The Selvatura area has everything you could possibly want.

We walked on metal bridges so high above the forest floor, you couldn't see the ground!

 An informative guide took us through the huge, enclosed butterfly garden, describing the different types of gimongous, colorful specimns fluttering around us.

This is the nursery. Butterflies in the making

This is an Owl Butterfly. When it's closed, it looks like a snake to its predators.

When its wings are open, it looks like an owl

The hummingbird garden had several feeders with literally hundreds of brilliantly colored birds flitting around our heads.

We ran into Newlywed New York Couple here and were excited to see each other.  They raved about the zip lining and that's where we headed for next. We harnessed up and climbed some stairs to the first platform.

Don't I look brave? HAHA

 Rapid instructions were given:  "Sit down into your harness, keep your legs up, hold the rope with your left hand, the zip line with your right.  Watch for the hand motions, telling you when to slow down.  OK?  Ready?  Go!"
The last minute, jumbled instructions rattled around my brain, bumping into Panic and Fear.  I gritted my teeth, sat down bravely into my harness, received a shove from the helpful guide, and flew off into the thin mountain air.  I was soaring through the clouds, above the treetops.   The landings were the scariest part.  Pressing on the line didn't really slow you down much, but then a mysterious brake kicked in at the last minute, jolting you to a stop.  Then helpful hands guided you into a standing position.  Some of the lines were short (there were 17 in all).  Others were quite long, which really gave you the sensation of flying.  At one point, it was so cloudy, I couldn't see anything in front of or below me.  I worried about not seeing the hand motions.  My legs hit the tree that time.  It was embarassing.  And it hurt (just a little).

But it was fun!  Who doesn't want to feel like they're flying?  An optional Tarzan Swing was offered for brave souls.  I watched as Kyle climbed the tall platform, was hooked up to a couple bungie cords, then shoved off into oblivion.  When he dropped down, I felt my stomach drop with him.  Then he swung wildly back and forth until the guys on the ground were able to grab his legs and bring him down.  I decided not to do the Tarzan Swing.  I have to draw the line somewhere.

This is Kyle, surviving the Tarzan Swing

That evening we went to Wild Life Refuge for a night tour of the forest, because we hadn't had enough excitement.  Our guide gave us flashlights and we saw strangler trees, walking sticks, cockroaches,

a spider, a baby yellow viper

Look!  It's a baby!

a green viper,

I'm the viper. I vant to vipe your vindows

a millipede, a sloth, an oil bird, which apparently is very rare, a brown jay, glowing fungus, and lots of ants too.  I'm so happy we finally got a night tour.  Even though it drizzled rain the entire time, our guide was so informative and it was an amazing experience.

We celebrated with a fancy dinner back at our hotel.

Wonder who has to clean up the candle wax??

And a drink at the bar

Hube!!!

Next stop:  coffee plantation