Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

                                           

This excursion was totally amazing, it was like  being in paradise. The biodiversity of this jungle with its flora and fauna was incredible. Our guide showed us some hummingbirds at the beginning of the hike. They flutter 80 times a minute,  making it challenging to take a picture. Then, we saw a quetzal  bird within 10 minutes of our  hike, it was  perched high on a branch. The male quetzal was chirping and calling it's spouse. The guide told us that there are approximately 200 quetzals in Monteverde. It seemed to be turquoise and later with the sunlight it appeared to be more green. We were informed that the color can be described as iridescent. We felt rewarded to see a beautiful quetzal so early. It was a magical moment for Lisa and me!

We also saw trees covered with algae growing on it. We learned that it was not a parasitic relationship but a symbiotic one. Later, we got another science lesson when we saw a strangler tree.  The strangler is a parasite that grows from the top of a tree and totally devours it, leaving it hollow. It is a horrific phenomena! At the end of our hike, there was supposedly a  great view of the Inter Continental divide where the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean meet. However, the clouds were covering the view past the mountains. Here are some pictures of our 3.5 hour hike.

El Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio

Vinnie and I took a weekend trip to Manuel Antonio National Park, an ecodiverse wildlife park on the Pacific Coast.  We went on a guided tour and spotted many different animals like a red-eyed tree frog, a baby sloth, a black iguana, white faced monkeys, a blue crowned humming bird, and many crabs.  Then we went to the beautiful beach. A very full and good day!

Sloth!

Here are some overdue photos from my host family. They own a farm for agrotourism.  One day there was a mother sloth and here baby in a tree right outside the home!  Look at these great pictures!

Orchid Garden and Jungle Walk

         Lisa and I have been taking four hour long, private classes in Spanish in the morning. We both enjoy being students again. Since, this is the rainy season in Monteverde, it rains every afternoon between 1-4 p.m. We wait to go for excursions to explore this amazing green town. On Tuesday, we went to the Orchid Garden. We saw an amazing variety of orchids!

      Yesterday, we went on Santa Maria Night Walk in the jungle with an awesome guide. We were provided torches for the tour that began at 5:30 p.m. It was getting  dark at that time. We saw a mother sloth with her baby on her tummy dangling on a branch. Next, we saw a black porcupine with a white face perched up very high on a tree. Then, we saw an orange tarantula. It moved into a hole right after we clicked a picture. The guide told us they are blind. Next we saw a yellow caterpillar, it was an amazing sight. Last but not the least, the guide took us to the ant colony. He showed us the leaf cutter ants all females working. He held one soldier ant by the mouth. Then, he surprised us with a cool sight, we saw the ant holding onto a tiny stick with her antennae. He even joked about all the male ants being lazy and staying inside the colony. He was knowledgeable, humorous  and friendly. I thought this night walk was a pretty cool adventure!

We are back in Monteverde after a weekend in La Fortunate, the town near Arenal.  Arenal was fun, mostly because of the interesting people we met on the bus on the way there.  A German girl, an Australian guy who was traveling for a month, and an American girl volunteering.  There are a lot of young people volunteering in various capacities down here and it is fun to get to know them.

Now back in Monteverde tienen un existencia muy differente que la vida en una familia tica.  We have our own appartments, very spacious compared to the families.  I really liked my tico family- there house was small but in the middle of the forest and I felt very alive while I was there.  I have lived with host families in the past.  Dicen que when you learn a new language you get a new soul, but I feel that times three when you have a new foriegn family.  The host mother took me on  walk in the forest through their jungle property and we saw many animals- leaf cutter ants, a sloth with a baby, sugar cane and coffee.  I will add pictures soon.

Mount Arenal Volcano

     We had fun getting to Arenal from Monteverde, even though it was a long, bumpy 3 hour ride in a shuttle. Next, we took a boat ride and another private shuttle to get to our accommodation at the Arenal. We did a two hour hike in the forest looking at flora and fauna. We saw a variety of  sloths, yellow birds, red frogs, iguanas, green Jesus Christ lizards, colorful butterflies. Our tour guide informed us that the red frogs are poisonous. We also saw leaf cutter ants hauling a piece of leaf  each bigger than themselves and following a trail.These small creatures have an amazing work ethic and are inspiring to watch!      

      Also, we loved the Catarata Rio Waterfalls that we saw in our Arenal trip. It was 480 steps going down to get close to the falls to swim in the water. Later, we had to ascend these 480 steps again to get back back up to the parking lot. So far, it has been the highlight of  our trip!

       Currently, we are at CPI Spanish Language School for two weeks residing at the student apartments. Our student housing is very comfortable. We have a kitchen, dining and family room on the first floor. Our individual two bedrooms are upstairs with attached private bathrooms. 

         Finally, we had a Spanish test today. I'm in the beginner Private Spanish class for 4hours from 8-12 a.m.  My teacher is pretty good. She has already assigned homework for tonight. We have a cafeteria with reasonably good food. We might eat lunch here. We plan on doing hikes to learn more about the flora and fauna in Monteverde every afternoon after 2.