Quite the day! Still searching for the meaning of pura vida but as our understanding grows, our appreciation for the Costa Rican culture becomes more resolute. The day started with breakfast at 0630, and then on the bus headed to Monteverde’s Cloud Forest.
Tony, our tour guide, and self-proclaimed “everyone’s big brother,” along with Juan Carlos, our bus driver, took us to a fruit stand at the side of the road. He was emphatic about not needing more than a few dollars, claiming, “a little will buy a lot of fruit!” It did. For about 3 dollars or roughly 1500 Colones, I purchased 4 very large passion fruits and a half-kilo of lychees. They won’t last long. Stephanie left with a lollypop, disinterested in the wild motley assortment of fruit, heading straight towards the candy. She was a bit disappointed in the texture of the candy and the appendages of a bee embedded in the 15th lick. She is quickly learning not to bother too much about what is out of her control; pura vida. The rest of the group left with an assortment of fruit including wild plums and water apples.
Before heading deep into the Costa Rican forests, we were pleasantly surprised to stop at a black sand beach on the Pacific Ocean. We had no idea we would even get to see the ocean, let alone roam a beach. A few pictures and we were off on our mission to reach the Cloud Forest, an ecological phenomenon caused by the continental divide. The eastern side, windy and humid, pushes the Caribbean Sea’s moisture up the mountain, causing condensation at the top and precipitation on the western half. Claiming to be the first area of Costa Rica to be protected, we quickly understood the importance of sustaining such a treasure. The journey took us up the sides of mountains, inches from cliff edges on our gigantic bus, around construction, and through small towns, eventually making it into the clouds, literally. The weather reminded me of Seattle but the scenery was unlike anything we’d ever seen before.
Monteverde, neighbored by the Tico town, Santa Elena, is home to many Quakers, whose families traveled from the United States in the 40s to escape the draft. Quickly establishing their homes, and purchasing a large plot of land from a mining company, the Quakers decided to preserve a large portion of land, protecting it from clear-cutting and use. The town center is made up of two buildings and as Tony put it, “so simple, so cute, so Quaker!” Between 1200-1800 meters above sea level sits the Monteverde Cloud Forest, open to the public to explore and meander through the very humid forest. The temperature was cool, but everything was wet.
After a bit of community service, transporting surfacing material 400 meters deeper into the forest to help the Quakers with their quest, we set on an adventure to find the elusive waterfall at the end of the trail. After a half hour hike paused briefly a few times by Tony stopping us to explain anastomosis, epiphytes, and the difference between lianas and vines, we made it to one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever encountered in nature- three short falls filling up pools of clear water echoing pleasant and soothing sounds anyone could take a nap to. Truly magical.
The hike back seemed longer than the hike to get there but eventually the group made it to the main area where the students were promptly seated in a classroom for a short lecture on the Quaker property and sustainable efforts needed to maintain a stable and healthy ecosystem. Back on the bus, we were all game for having some lunch, since it was already 1300.
Lunch at the new hotel consisted of rice and beans, a staple for us during the week as well as the Ticos all around. A nice salad and pasta was available as well, complemented by freshly squeezed apricot juice and a passion fruit dessert (I could live on passion fruit). The group generally enjoyed the meal.
Time to get to our rooms. None of us expected to be traveling a kilometer up the hill to reach one of the buildings in the resort where our group would be staying. We stepped off the bus with our room assignments and key cards and headed into what reminded me of a ski lodge. We opened our doors to find massive rooms, windows wide open, and a view we will never forget. The rooms faced southwest; we peeked down the valleys and hills until our lines of sight hit the Pacific Ocean dozens of miles in the distance. Through the clouds and condensation we could still make out the waterline and even boats in the distance.
After a short time getting settled in and showering (you have no idea how smelly and dirty we all were from our trek through the cloud forest) we made it back to the bus to head into town to visit two snake and frog exhibits. The first exhibit was well planned and excellently presented to the students. Once the short lecture concluded, the students were able to explore the many terrariums with every venomous snake and poisonous frog one could imagine might be roaming around in the humid Costa Rican forests. The highlight had to be the glass frog, a newly discovered species, popularized in the past few days’ conversations by Jake who was keen on filling us all in on the discovery. Its translucent eyes and greenish body was fascinating.
The second exhibit was neatly set up but poorly organized causing our group to run into another class group which was not well behaved or supervised. We were a little disheartened by this but we were still able to make due by spotting the frogs in the dark enclosures with our flashlights after the rambunctious students were finished. The last terrarium was many of our favorites; the infamous tree frog, a focus of our shirts, and a fascinating colorful creature popularized in NatGeo magazines and the Discovery Channel. This was the first time many of us had seen not only one but many in person. In fact one of the females was carrying her kin on her back as if to say, “hey guys, check this out, take our picture!”
Dinner back at the hotel was mediocre. Much of the time was spent searching for Wi-Fi signals to post this blog and pictures from the day. This post will be posted late but unfortunately the Wi-Fi at this hotel has not been readily available. Signals tease my computer and iPad only to rub in my face that I cannot connect. Tomorrow we look forward to zip lining down the mountain, through the canopy of the rainforest, and relaxing our bodies in the warm hot springs in the afternoon. Another long day but one I guarantee we will not forget!
Tony, our tour guide, and self-proclaimed “everyone’s big brother,” along with Juan Carlos, our bus driver, took us to a fruit stand at the side of the road. He was emphatic about not needing more than a few dollars, claiming, “a little will buy a lot of fruit!” It did. For about 3 dollars or roughly 1500 Colones, I purchased 4 very large passion fruits and a half-kilo of lychees. They won’t last long. Stephanie left with a lollypop, disinterested in the wild motley assortment of fruit, heading straight towards the candy. She was a bit disappointed in the texture of the candy and the appendages of a bee embedded in the 15th lick. She is quickly learning not to bother too much about what is out of her control; pura vida. The rest of the group left with an assortment of fruit including wild plums and water apples.
Before heading deep into the Costa Rican forests, we were pleasantly surprised to stop at a black sand beach on the Pacific Ocean. We had no idea we would even get to see the ocean, let alone roam a beach. A few pictures and we were off on our mission to reach the Cloud Forest, an ecological phenomenon caused by the continental divide. The eastern side, windy and humid, pushes the Caribbean Sea’s moisture up the mountain, causing condensation at the top and precipitation on the western half. Claiming to be the first area of Costa Rica to be protected, we quickly understood the importance of sustaining such a treasure. The journey took us up the sides of mountains, inches from cliff edges on our gigantic bus, around construction, and through small towns, eventually making it into the clouds, literally. The weather reminded me of Seattle but the scenery was unlike anything we’d ever seen before.
Monteverde, neighbored by the Tico town, Santa Elena, is home to many Quakers, whose families traveled from the United States in the 40s to escape the draft. Quickly establishing their homes, and purchasing a large plot of land from a mining company, the Quakers decided to preserve a large portion of land, protecting it from clear-cutting and use. The town center is made up of two buildings and as Tony put it, “so simple, so cute, so Quaker!” Between 1200-1800 meters above sea level sits the Monteverde Cloud Forest, open to the public to explore and meander through the very humid forest. The temperature was cool, but everything was wet.
After a bit of community service, transporting surfacing material 400 meters deeper into the forest to help the Quakers with their quest, we set on an adventure to find the elusive waterfall at the end of the trail. After a half hour hike paused briefly a few times by Tony stopping us to explain anastomosis, epiphytes, and the difference between lianas and vines, we made it to one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever encountered in nature- three short falls filling up pools of clear water echoing pleasant and soothing sounds anyone could take a nap to. Truly magical.
The hike back seemed longer than the hike to get there but eventually the group made it to the main area where the students were promptly seated in a classroom for a short lecture on the Quaker property and sustainable efforts needed to maintain a stable and healthy ecosystem. Back on the bus, we were all game for having some lunch, since it was already 1300.
Lunch at the new hotel consisted of rice and beans, a staple for us during the week as well as the Ticos all around. A nice salad and pasta was available as well, complemented by freshly squeezed apricot juice and a passion fruit dessert (I could live on passion fruit). The group generally enjoyed the meal.
Time to get to our rooms. None of us expected to be traveling a kilometer up the hill to reach one of the buildings in the resort where our group would be staying. We stepped off the bus with our room assignments and key cards and headed into what reminded me of a ski lodge. We opened our doors to find massive rooms, windows wide open, and a view we will never forget. The rooms faced southwest; we peeked down the valleys and hills until our lines of sight hit the Pacific Ocean dozens of miles in the distance. Through the clouds and condensation we could still make out the waterline and even boats in the distance.
After a short time getting settled in and showering (you have no idea how smelly and dirty we all were from our trek through the cloud forest) we made it back to the bus to head into town to visit two snake and frog exhibits. The first exhibit was well planned and excellently presented to the students. Once the short lecture concluded, the students were able to explore the many terrariums with every venomous snake and poisonous frog one could imagine might be roaming around in the humid Costa Rican forests. The highlight had to be the glass frog, a newly discovered species, popularized in the past few days’ conversations by Jake who was keen on filling us all in on the discovery. Its translucent eyes and greenish body was fascinating.
The second exhibit was neatly set up but poorly organized causing our group to run into another class group which was not well behaved or supervised. We were a little disheartened by this but we were still able to make due by spotting the frogs in the dark enclosures with our flashlights after the rambunctious students were finished. The last terrarium was many of our favorites; the infamous tree frog, a focus of our shirts, and a fascinating colorful creature popularized in NatGeo magazines and the Discovery Channel. This was the first time many of us had seen not only one but many in person. In fact one of the females was carrying her kin on her back as if to say, “hey guys, check this out, take our picture!”
Dinner back at the hotel was mediocre. Much of the time was spent searching for Wi-Fi signals to post this blog and pictures from the day. This post will be posted late but unfortunately the Wi-Fi at this hotel has not been readily available. Signals tease my computer and iPad only to rub in my face that I cannot connect. Tomorrow we look forward to zip lining down the mountain, through the canopy of the rainforest, and relaxing our bodies in the warm hot springs in the afternoon. Another long day but one I guarantee we will not forget!
