Costa Rica - Part 3

The Cloud Forest

While I loved Puerto Viejo I have to say that Monteverde was my favorite part of our trip. The views were just spectacular and the wildlife simply amazing! We left the coastal lowlands and wound our way into the higher altitudes. They are both jungles, but very different types with very different climates. As we drove higher into the mountains, we entered the Cloud Forest. It is a cool, wet jungle that is regularly bathed in mists and, you guessed it, clouds.

Some of the amazing views we saw as we were driving to our next destination. We would climb and climb and then the mountain side would drop away and we would be treated with a fabulous panorama stretching to the pacific ocean.

 

We climbed the road which was part gravel, part paved until we reached a fork in the road. At that point, we saw a construction worker blocking the way which we needed to travel. Apparently the road was closed between 9am and 5pm. We would either have to wait 3 hours for the road to open up again, or drive around the back way.

 

We chose the back way.

  

This took us though a cute little town called La Junta before sending us up one of the steepest mountain roads that I have ever driven on. Luckily the road was paved for the most treacherous portion of the journey. However, as soon as the road flattened out, or the threat of imminent death waned just a little, the road would suddenly turn to gravel.

 

We passed a variety of tiny towns clinging to the sides of the mountain, sheathed in mists.

Once again, we ended up arriving at our rental property well after dark. But arrive we did.

Coming up to Santa Elena. One minute you can see the town clearly and then the clouds will completely cover it up and it disappears!

Random cow in the road. We saw them everywhere.

Casa Cielo

 

Entrance to our Casa Cielo!

 

   There was a cute little path winding through the brush, then, all of a sudden, 

there is our house hanging off the side of the mountain.

Numerous animals that greeted us practically every time we walked out the door including chickens, dogs, etc.

 

This sweet dog belonged to the lady who watches over this place. 

  

Here's a little tour of the house we rented. This is the brightly colored kitchen. 

She had a nice warm appetizer for us when we arrived! Fried Plantains!

  

Big picture window that had spectacular views!

  

Another view of the living room/kitchen area

Upstairs was the bedroom which included a nice bathtub!

A porch right off of the bedroom let you look down the length of the valley and out toward the sea.

 

That is, as long as the mists weren't around. Those gorgeous white clouds would roll up the valley and envelope our little house. It was amazing!

View from the porch

Caught a photo this beautiful bird on our way somewhere. It is hard to say. There are beautiful birds throughout this whole beautiful country.

This is the first wildlife we saw when we arrived at the Monteverde Rainforest for a tour. 

Blue Morpho Butterfly which is nearly impossible to get a picture of with it's wings opened. However we had plenty of times where we saw it's beautiful blue wings flying around.

I can't even describe to you the beauty that we saw. God's creation's never cease to amaze me!

Fun Fact: The trees are the first thing one notices upon entering the rainforest. They are huge - up to 150 feet tall!

There is literally life EVERYWHERE! Even the life has other life living on it!

Some kind of beetle

Fun Fact:

           Birds drop seeds of strangler figs from the sky into trees in dark forests, making these unusual plants grow, at first, from the top in a downward direction. Most plants and trees grow from the ground up. The roots of the strangler fig slowly grow down and then up, until they surround the tree, actually squeezing it until it dies and hollows out.

Little umbrella mushrooms. Adorable!

There are so many varieties of flower sprinkled throughout the rainforest and half of them are orchids.

Like this little guy.

 Orchids!

 Birds Nest!

Fun Fact: In Costa Rica, you can find more than 800 of the earth's 20,000 or so species of ferns. These plants require certain environmental conditions, including moist soil and air, protection from cold temperatures and the right amount of filtered light and shade. The conditions in the rain and cloud forests of Costa Rica are ideal for ferns to thrive.

We took a guided tour through the Monteverde Rainforest (It was definitely worth the price) before we ventured off on our own into this lush tropical paradise.

Competing for sunlight!

Santa Elena, proudly wearing her mist shroud.

 

 

Being a rainforest, it tended to drip down on us with little to no warning. We started off in ponchos, but Gary eventually abandoned his. (Though he kept his camera in a little mini poncho)

 

A rare glimpse out of the forest and down into the valley below.

Behold the Sea of Nagoya which connects to the Pacific ocean.

 

Most of the parks we visited had these nice little waffle stone pathways. They are a great idea for keeping your footing, but I would hate to be in charge of installing them...

The hanging bridges were one of our favorite parts of the Cloud Forest experience. They are high up in the canopy and allow you to look much more closely at aspects of the jungle that would be invisible from down on the forest floor.

Fun Fact: Epiphytes are also known as "air plants” as they have no attachment to the ground. They instead root themselves to other trees or plants in Costa Rica and derive their moisture and nutrients from the air and rain. Orchids, mosses, ferns, lichens, and bromeliads are just a few of the families of epiphytes that can be found in Costa Rica.

 Fun Fact: Monteverde has the largest number of orchids in the world! Costa Rica is home to an incredible 1300 identified species of orchid. Simply amazing!