We woke to a clear morning, and what would prove to be a clear day, which is out of the ordinary for what is usually a very misty Cloud Forest tour. We started with a smoothie and pancakes, met up with our German friends we met the night previously, and were taken up to the park.
Our guide proved to be an indefatigable hunter of the elusive Quetzl, the lovely blue bird which was hunted near extinction due to the males two very long tail feathers, which were used to decorate Mayan headdresses for centuries. He heard the call of the bird and led us on a merry chase, running this way and that, until we finally spotted it!
My apologies for the terrible picture, but that’s about how good we saw it, too. We just barely managed to hold the phone to the scope and snap a quick one.
Seriously, he tried very hard to get that bird in a scope! We saw a number of birds with our group, which was very international- the Germans and a couple from Holland, which is one of our favorite aspects of travel- chatting with people from all over the world. Mostly we enjoyed the jungle full of ficus trees and the vines that would one day envelope and strangle other host trees to become new ficus- such an extraordinary life form. The canopy was full of rioting monkeys, and the falling rain of leaves from their thrashing was beautiful. We stopped at a small hummingbird conservatory for about 15 minutes before departing, which was really nothing more that feeders hanging on a terrace, and got a kick out of watching the drama of flitting birds and all their controversies at the feeders.
Back at the hotel by noon, we packed up our things, said goodbye to our newest travel companions, and hit the road- for about a half a mile before stopping for a comfort lunch of pasta.
If you travel to Costa Rica, know that Monte Verde is MUCH COOLER than the lowlands. We drove down windy mountain roads (in excellent repair) until we reached sea level, where it must have been at least 25 degrees warmer. Just before we reached our destination we crossed a fairly long bridge over the river Tacoles in the Parque National Carara. We parked our car and walked to the halfway point, looked over the railing, and saw:
These lazy gators. So much for swimming in the rivers!
The hotel we had booked in Jaco turned out to be not quite as advertised, but the proprietor was really nice about it, and both didn’t charge us and guided us to another place just down the beach with availability. The pool even had iguanas roaming about.
That evening, we headed out onto the gorgeous black sand beach and enjoyed the sunset, and a couple of cocktails at a beachside restaurant.
Done with our day, we marveled at our good fortune and gave thanks, and turned in.
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