Tales From the Cloud Forest Part IV: Marvelous Adventures
The title for this episode is a nod to my mother. Whenever she listened to the soundtrack of "Man of La Mancha " she thought Sancho was enthusiastically crying out "Marvelous adventures!" He was actually saying a direct translation of what he says in the book..."More misadventures!" Still, you have to love his attitude.
Next trip methinks I will be bringing the laptop so I can at least type these up regularly. Anyway, here´s what has been going on with this happy wanderer since you last heard from me.
We journeyed from La Fortuna to Monteverde. Part of the trip was by boat in Lake Arenal...a.k.a. the largest lake in Costa Rica, and the 2nd largest lake in Central America. The lake was created when a dam was made. Hydroelectric power is huge in Costa Rica, accounting for 40% of their electricity. It also gave us one last spectacular view of the volcano.
The road to Monteverde is very crappy. This is partly because the locals like it that way. People can't just make a quick day trip...if they make the trouble of getting there, they will definitely spend the night. Thanks to dramamine, my new best friend, no motion sickness. Woo hoo! Allan our tour guide called it a "free Costa Rican massage." I just know that thanks to the amount of 70´s and 80´s music that the Ticos like, I will now forever associate the song "The Lime in the Coconut" to happily bouncing down the road to Monteverde.
First thing we did in Monteverde was to go visit the Butterfly Garden.....also got to see some veeeery big bugs. I´m especially a fan of the vibrantly blue morphos that are utterly gorgeous, and nearly impossible to photograph. When they land on a leaf they close their wings, and you only see the dull backside. Tori, miraculously, got a picture of one today. At the Butterfly Garden one butterfly kept landing on Tori´s hat, and then her camera. We dubbed her "The Butterfly Whisperer."
After that we took a cab ride to the ranario....which translates roughly to "froggery." Was a bit tricky to see the frogs what with them being in small exhibits....and being surrounded by Dutch tourists that would not get out of the way. So I kept sneaking ahead of our tour guide, finding the frog, and pointing them out to travel companion Tina who dubbed ME the "frog spotter."
The next day we had an amazing walk through the Cloud Forest with Danilo. We saw all sorts of animals....toucans, brightly colored insects, etc......and between me and the photos Danilo took on my camera through his binoculars....I suspect I know what will be decorating my wall in my new apartment.
That afternoon, we went ziplining. Tori and I were in what I dubbed the "LD group." After two tries they decided we were not to be trusted on our own....and decided we would need a guide to go with us. Which was fine with me. It was fun....but if I do it again I will be in better shape for all that climbing.
That evening, we went for an Night Walk in the Cloud Forest...with the same incredible guide. I definitely could not believe I was walking through the forest at night seeing bugs, a snake, and a tarantula without having a major meltdown....it´s fun when you can surprise yourself.
The next day we were off to Manuel Antonio and the beach. At the Manuel Antonio National Park, our guide was a man who had actually LIVED in the park when he was a child. Alan has been finding incredible guides for us.
That afternoon, Tori and I went monkey hunting....and then went for a dip in the Pacific. I found myself doing all the same things I used to do in Lake Michigan (except tormenting my sister...) except having way more fun because the water was a lot warmer and clearer, and the sand was a lot cooler.
For our final day at Manuel Antonio, we took a boat ride to look for dolphins. We did not find any dolphins....although I did discover I do not like being in little motor catamarans at ALL. After a couple of hours we stopped to go snorkeling. At first, it looked like I would need the special help again. I freaked out a little bit with floating that far from shore, with the fish RIGHT THERE. However, after about 5-10 minutes I was hooked. My helper was surprised to find out that I had taken off swimming on my own. I am totally doing that again.
Last night was the end of our official tour. Tori and I have a few days to hang out in San Jose. Today we went to the National Museum. It used to be military barracks and a prison. Now it is an art museum and a butterfly garden. I think Joni Mitchell would approve. "And I dreamed I saw the bomber jet planes riding shotgun in the sky turning into butterflies about our nation." What a great country. :)
Next trip methinks I will be bringing the laptop so I can at least type these up regularly. Anyway, here´s what has been going on with this happy wanderer since you last heard from me.
We journeyed from La Fortuna to Monteverde. Part of the trip was by boat in Lake Arenal...a.k.a. the largest lake in Costa Rica, and the 2nd largest lake in Central America. The lake was created when a dam was made. Hydroelectric power is huge in Costa Rica, accounting for 40% of their electricity. It also gave us one last spectacular view of the volcano.
The road to Monteverde is very crappy. This is partly because the locals like it that way. People can't just make a quick day trip...if they make the trouble of getting there, they will definitely spend the night. Thanks to dramamine, my new best friend, no motion sickness. Woo hoo! Allan our tour guide called it a "free Costa Rican massage." I just know that thanks to the amount of 70´s and 80´s music that the Ticos like, I will now forever associate the song "The Lime in the Coconut" to happily bouncing down the road to Monteverde.
First thing we did in Monteverde was to go visit the Butterfly Garden.....also got to see some veeeery big bugs. I´m especially a fan of the vibrantly blue morphos that are utterly gorgeous, and nearly impossible to photograph. When they land on a leaf they close their wings, and you only see the dull backside. Tori, miraculously, got a picture of one today. At the Butterfly Garden one butterfly kept landing on Tori´s hat, and then her camera. We dubbed her "The Butterfly Whisperer."
After that we took a cab ride to the ranario....which translates roughly to "froggery." Was a bit tricky to see the frogs what with them being in small exhibits....and being surrounded by Dutch tourists that would not get out of the way. So I kept sneaking ahead of our tour guide, finding the frog, and pointing them out to travel companion Tina who dubbed ME the "frog spotter."
The next day we had an amazing walk through the Cloud Forest with Danilo. We saw all sorts of animals....toucans, brightly colored insects, etc......and between me and the photos Danilo took on my camera through his binoculars....I suspect I know what will be decorating my wall in my new apartment.
That afternoon, we went ziplining. Tori and I were in what I dubbed the "LD group." After two tries they decided we were not to be trusted on our own....and decided we would need a guide to go with us. Which was fine with me. It was fun....but if I do it again I will be in better shape for all that climbing.
That evening, we went for an Night Walk in the Cloud Forest...with the same incredible guide. I definitely could not believe I was walking through the forest at night seeing bugs, a snake, and a tarantula without having a major meltdown....it´s fun when you can surprise yourself.
The next day we were off to Manuel Antonio and the beach. At the Manuel Antonio National Park, our guide was a man who had actually LIVED in the park when he was a child. Alan has been finding incredible guides for us.
That afternoon, Tori and I went monkey hunting....and then went for a dip in the Pacific. I found myself doing all the same things I used to do in Lake Michigan (except tormenting my sister...) except having way more fun because the water was a lot warmer and clearer, and the sand was a lot cooler.
For our final day at Manuel Antonio, we took a boat ride to look for dolphins. We did not find any dolphins....although I did discover I do not like being in little motor catamarans at ALL. After a couple of hours we stopped to go snorkeling. At first, it looked like I would need the special help again. I freaked out a little bit with floating that far from shore, with the fish RIGHT THERE. However, after about 5-10 minutes I was hooked. My helper was surprised to find out that I had taken off swimming on my own. I am totally doing that again.
Last night was the end of our official tour. Tori and I have a few days to hang out in San Jose. Today we went to the National Museum. It used to be military barracks and a prison. Now it is an art museum and a butterfly garden. I think Joni Mitchell would approve. "And I dreamed I saw the bomber jet planes riding shotgun in the sky turning into butterflies about our nation." What a great country. :)