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Monday 17 November 2014

Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica

Our second stop in Costa Rica was Monteverde where we were to explore the cloud forest. A cloud forest is essentially what it says on the tin- a tropical forest which is cloaked in a consistent cloud. This moist environment is ideal for thousands of different types of animals, making Monteverde the perfect place to go searching for some interesting little beasties...




Our hotel, the El Establo Mountain Hotel, offered us the first surprise. They'd set up bird tables in the trees outside the main reception area, where beautiful brightly coloured birds could be seen to flit amongst the branches.




One evening, a coati paid us a visit, slinking out of the trees to steal a banana from the bird tables. It happily sat on a branch, peeling its prize and gobbling it down... Before moving onto another banana!





Our first activity was a night walk. We donned our raincoats, picked up our torches and delved into the forest in search of some animals. Despite the rain, we spotted a surprising amount. Two little birds had made tunnel nests in a muddy bank and another tunnel housed a baby tarantula! We also saw a green toucan with bright blue head feathers napping in a tree and a tree climbing porcupine, as well as all sorts of creepy crawlies...

The next day saw us clambering in the treetops. We were off on a hanging bridge tour to meet the animals that inhabited the tree canopy.





All the different plants were simply stunning. Huge vines hung down from the trees while lush ferns and soft mosses sprung up everywhere. Tiny flowers peeked out from behind bright green leaves and unidentifiable fruits grew in clusters. There were birds everywhere and we even spotted a little hummingbird in its nest! We were really lucky however when from one of the bridges, we saw a troop of howler monkeys!







Monteverde was also home to some brilliant food. We ended up visiting a little restaurant called Café Orchid twice, where we had the most fabulous crêpes and some delicious yet interesting drinks such as a pineapple and basil juice!




On our last evening, we also found a lively restaurant near our hotel called Don Luis, where we were entertained by a guitar player while we munched on some more traditional Costa Rican food. If that wasn't the perfect way to round off our short visit, I don't know what would be!




7 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos! I visited Costa rica years ago and loved it. Will you be going to Tabacon Hot Springs at all?


    seeshopeatdo.com

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  2. It's so beautiful isn't it?! And no, not those hot springs but I did go to another volcanic region =D

    KJ x

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  3. This is great and really making me want to travel over there.
    as always loving the blog!
    im working away at the moment in s.afroca and its so nice to read how an english person speaks if that makes sense hahaha

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  4. Lovely photos! Everyone I know that's been to Costa Rica raves about it, I can't wait to check it out one day.

    http://sillymedley.blogspot.com/

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  5. Glad you're enjoying the blog Jet! Costa Rica is definitely worth visiting if you have the time!
    S. Africa sounds amazing- I've never been there!
    KJx

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    Replies
    1. That was me commenting before I had the blog so hello again. I had a question on your travels of how long you spent in Costa rica, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka? I'm looking at booking a 10 day trip with the last of my annual leave and trying to work out what might be do able in that time,

      Jet
      www.jettravels.co.uk

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    2. Hi Jet!

      So, rather conveniently, I spent around 10days - 2 weeks in each:

      - Costa Rica I believe was 10 days with a couple of days in New York on route. In this time, we were able to travel to all the major places we wanted to see- as tourism is quite new there, you do have to travel around as each 'area' tends to be set up very well for one or two key activities.
      - Vietnam was just over two weeks
      - Hong Kong I was in for a month as this is where my best friend lives so I was staying with her. However, I think you could see a lot of the major sites in a short trip - say a week?
      - Sri Lanka was 10 days I believe

      Hope that helps!
      KatieJane

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