Costa Rica - Flying in the clouds

July 25-26

Hello everyone!

Costa Rica is a small place, about the size of Denmark, but packed with many incredibly different environments. After spending time on the Pacific coast, the next stop was in the clouds…

Monteverde Biological Reserve

Cloud forests are found in places are far-flung as Panama and Pakistan

A cloud forest, actually. A place found in the tropics where tropical vegetation meets high mountains, making the atmospheric conditions create lots of clouds. Very different to the beaches we had travelled from, which went via quite a bumpy road up to the village of Monteverde.

Total journey time was about five hours

It was named by American Quakers who moved here in
the 1950s to avoid being drafted into the Korean War

Monteverde literally translates to ‘green mountain’. The pictures will show you why it’s an obvious name. When the mist clears, verdant forests go on for days. A stunning setting.

A viewpoint called Mirador El Maike

Getting to this view involves quite a steep
hike (or run the following day) from town

This is a heavily protected and environmentally important area for Costa Rica and the region. It has a raft of wildly different wildlife hiding above, in or under the cloud-shrouded canopies. Many of them only come out at night. Time to turn on the torch!

A glorious sunset before starting

Nightwalkers: assemble!

The night walk introduced us to some Costa Rican classics, like the mother sloth with her baby below…

Sloths usually have one baby per year, which are known as cubs

The baby clings to the fur of the mother! Madness!

…but also to some new animals and insects. We were ushered quickly and quietly to an opening and told to look up at the tree. “Puma,” someone said. Heart rates immediately soared - how cool would this be? Alas, the guide who said it started giggling under his breath. The animal up the tree in the distance, which hopped away soon after we saw it, was in fact a kinkajou. Don’t worry, I’d never heard of it either. It’s similar to a raccoon but a bit bigger, growing up to 75 centimetres with a tail which is almost as long.

They are also known as 'honey bears'

We also saw a couple of well-camouflaged snakes curled up in the trees (again, no idea how the guides spotted them) and a tarantula nestled in the nook of a tree. Arguably the most fascinating moment was when our guide picked up a stick and got us to turn off all our lights, before huddling over to block any moonlight. After about twenty seconds, the stick started to…glow. Blue-purple lines started to emerge on the stick. Very Avatar. Apparently it was some sort of otherwise-invisible fungi on the wood. Amazing.

Female tarantulas may eat the mae after reproduction

This is a side-striped pit viper. It can kill you. Easily.

Other wildlife, such as birds, are more commonly spotted during daylight hours. Aside from the stunning green hummingbird buzzing around a bush at our accommodation, of which no one could ever get a good photo, I saw a strange bird whilst walking in the clouds. It’s called a black guan, and is often referred to as a Costa Rican turkey.

The black guan has a slightly blue face

I didn’t mistype just then. I was walking in the clouds, specifically in the Monteverde Biological Reserve. They have set up a trail with a series of hanging bridges taking you through the canopies of the forest, often through the mist. The longest is over 130 metres long and 35 metres above the ground. 

Early explorers had to use ropes and trees to navigate the cloud forest

These clouds were originally warm winds from the Caribbean

Not for people with a fear of heights, this, particularly when the wind picks up and the bridges start to softly sway. Though when the mist abates and you get the most incredible panoramas of lush green forests with soaring hills in the distance, you might get over your fear.

So. Many. Trees.

There are some enormous ferns seem from above

It’s a lovely hike which isn’t done justice by the pictures. The views and atmospheres from every bridge seemed different, be it the different vegetation around and below, the occasional calling of various birds, or the changing microclimate. 

This might be a Pacaya Palm - Google Lens came
up with other options like 'strange red plant'!

The reserve is currently 10,500 ha in size, or about 25,000 football pitches

If any of you have been to Costa Rica, however, you’ll know that this isn’t the only way to experience the cloud forest up high…

An internet picture of ziplining in Monteverde

Ziplining through the canopies is the most popular activity in Monteverde, and possibly in Costa Rica itself. As a result it is extortionately priced (I wasn’t prepared to pay $15 for two photos, for example, and I didn’t want to risk dropping my phone so most pictures below are from the internet). Most aspects of Costa Rica seem insanely pricey, but ziplining in Monteverde is worth the $85 or so I paid. This is what it looks like.

Many companies offer zipping in Monteverde and across Costa Rica

The first few zips are designed to get you used to the technique. The fourth or fifth, I can’t remember exactly which, then takes you to a whole new level of ‘wow’. Zipping in a tandem to give you more speed and prevent you from stopping halfway down the 800 metre stretch, you zoom for the first time across open air, allowing you to marvel at the trees either side and below. Exhilarating. 

An example view of the zipline from the internet

You do about twelve lines before having the chance to do a rope swing, which involves you jumping from a platform and swinging towards the forest whilst making epic Tarzan noises. That might be optional, maybe it was just me.

The rope swing is about 12 metres high 

The final zip is long, over a kilometre. If you paid a bit extra, like I did, you had to be transformed by a worker into a superhero. That’s right. A superhero. No cape though, with the costume instead resembling an apron. This is because you need extra hooks and ropes if you are going to zoom down the final zipline in the Superman position…

I can finally legitimately be called a superhero...

After a false start when they realised one of my ropes wasn’t quite right (glad they rectified that), I was fired off like a little rocket. I felt like I was flying. Not that you can start flapping your arms, of course, but to be looking directly down on wind-whipped treetops, rushing rivers and probably a ton of wildlife was an incredible experience. Even needing to be quickly rescued at the end as I didn’t quite make it to the finish and started to go in reverse merely added to the fun.

A friend finishing the Superman zip, which is over 1 km long

Monteverde is a gem which I had heard about but otherwise never would have expected to find in Central America. The cool air, refreshing rain (which soaked me on a morning run) and tranquil atmosphere is a world away from the beaches on the Pacific coast. Whether walking alongside the trees on bridges or zooming over them on a zipline, it has been great to experience a rare ecosystem and enjoy its captivating, cloudy charms.

Traditional dancing in the town of Santa Elena

Didn't see a red eye tree frog - maybe this is how you feel if it licks you!

Love you all,

Matt