Day 40 – Selvatura Park – Sky Walk

Zip-Lining had been done back in Montezuma. Sky Walking had not yet been attempted. We went off to Selvatura Park at around 10am. It was an attraction park up on top of one of the mountains here in Monteverde. We were going to do the Sky Walk. It was a walk consisting of 8 canopy bridges. They gave you a view and perspective of the canopy unlike anything I had ever been on.  This again was another one of those days where the camera battery was pleading with me to stop. The walk lasted about 2 to 2 ½ hours, but it seemed as if we had just started 15 minutes ago. 

Hibiscus flower that is as wide as a grown man's hand is long. 

This hibiscus almost has a deep dark reddish black center. It's beautiful. They are a slight bit larger than the one above.

A view this morning before leaving from atop of El Establo, where we are staying. If you look closely you can see the pacific ocean in the far distance.

JFB!!!!

You can pretty much count on this not happening again in the near future!

A shot looking down on the canopy. These just fascinate me because of all the diversity.

Anna spotted this. Look closely. The plant going across the picture is a palm. It is being strangled by a vine that is systematically wrapping itself around the palm leaf to the very end.

A bloom we spotted in the very top of the canopy.

Anna on one of the Sky Bridges.

A Panoramic view of the same above. I wish I could have gone wider.

First frog find in the Cloud Forest. This guy was tiny.

Kids posing and enjoying there walk at Selvatura Park Sky Walk.

Just a shot across the vegetation. 

These were so big and so heavy they laid on the ground.

They apparently grow these things pretty large here.

This is the back of the leaf from above. 

Not sure what berries or flower this was, but they were a deep blue.

A look across a banana plant leaf.

A BIG "HELLO" from Selvatura Park in Monteverde, Costa Rica.

Day 39 - Frogs, Frogs, Frogs

It would be very hard to trump the walk we did earlier this morning at the Monteverde Cloud Forest, but we still had an afternoon of fun ahead of us. The walk took every bit of four hours and everyone was ready for some grub. We had seen a restaurant yesterday on the way through town called the “Tree House”. It was a restaurant and hotel built around a massive tree. The restaurant looked packed when we went by, so that was either by the chance or the food was that good.

We got a table positioned right in the middle of the place. Definitely a unique idea and a great marker or calling card for a restaurant. You are not going to miss this place. Anna got a Ribeye Steak which she really enjoyed. Olivia got a garden salad and I got a hamburger. Thomas ended up sharing off of everyone’s plate. Lunch didn’t take too long.

Next, Thomas had his heart set on visiting the Frog Pond. It was only a couple of kilometers from where we were staying and it sounded like it would be a neat place to visit. We had been looking for those tiny little guys for the last several days here in the rainforest. So learning about them and their habitat might help in our success of finding some in the wild.

The tour lasted a little over an hour and at the end we had a new appreciation for frogs and toads. The diversity in all the species is astounding. As you may know, some of the rainforest frogs are poisonous. These are the real colorful ones, warning their prey that if you eat me, you will die. But they had all kinds, each unique and distinct. One was translucent and you could see its heart beat and all its organs. Another toad was so large that it ate baby chicks. Some blended so well that even when they were pointed out, they were still hard to see. It goes without saying that this was Thomas’ place. He was the tour guide’s unofficial assistant. He managed to find almost all the frogs for the guide. He was sad to see the tour end when it did.

After the Frog Pond, we headed back to the hotel and did a little swimming. We had not had any internet, but for a brief moment over the last week. It seemed that today we would. While the kids swam, I managed to get online. However the connection was terrible slow. So when the kids got done swimming, we went back to the room and let the kids veg-out. Anna and I then went to the mainly lobby area to get online. It was to have a much better connection. We both grabbed a couple of beers and got techie.

Around 8pm we all head out for dinner at a Tapas bar above Johnny’s Pizza. Great prices and delicious food, especially the Fillet de Corvina (Sea Bass). We ended up getting two actually and also got a couple of salads. Everyone also shared a Pork Cutlet and an order of mussels. We managed to scarf it all down, eventually calling it a night.

We were all asleep, except for Anna, before our heads hit the pillows.

Day 39 - A Day in Nature - Part Two

Okay. Here's the token family shot. Pretty good looking family though if I say so myself.

Thomas found this rock formation on the path and brought it to me. I took it over to the side and simply had to take a picture. It had to be a sign finding a cross in the middle of the cloud forest!

Bright yellow bush in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

What almost every other leaf looked like that we saw. 

Olivia spotted this guy and it looked really cool.

Looking down on the canopy. Really look and see all the different types of foliage that you see. I was flabbergasted!!

Just a moss shot.

Bright over the canopy! Only 10 person max capacity. Was about 100 meter bridge.

Thomas pointed out this fungi on one of the trees we passed. Can't say I have ever seen a red mushroom or fungi until today!

Who's your Daddy Longleg???

Not sure what the hummingbird species is, but I felt lucky to get this shot!

Another hummingbird shot. This guy was flapping his wings.

Day 39 - A Day in Nature - Part One

Today we all woke up early and got over to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve by 7:30am. This is what we had been dying to do since we arrived last night. It was a morning and early afternoon of exploration and breathtaking surroundings. My descriptions won’t do any justice here, so I will simply let the pictures tell the story. I pulled some out that I thought everyone would enjoy.

Monteverde - Looking out of the hotel room at El Establo at around 5:15am.

Not everyday you see a puma crossing sign.

See if you can find the Stick Bug.

Centipede of some kind on the we ran across will in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

This guy had to click every bit of 50 meters tall.

I thought this was an abnormal amount of fungi on the side of a tree.

These are some mean thorns coming off the side of this tree. Pretty sharp. I touched them.

A bat sheltering the day away in a curled palm. I looked in it hoping to see a frog. Never thought I would see a bat taking shelter.

Not sure of the flower, but this was only one in bush of many.

An incredible looking orchid.

A view on the continental divide. This was facing the Atlantic side. I wish the sky would have been clear. 

My princess taking a glare across the valley of clouds. We had maybe 50-70 feet visibility. 

Day 38 – Get Your Head Out of the Cloud Forest

Off to Monteverde. It is around 7am and the troops are being awoken. It was a late one last night and the kids seem to be moving somewhat slowly. Anna is moving even slower. A little café con leche and I think the eyelids will open a little wider. It is about a 3 ½ hour trip to Monteverde, so I wanted to get an early start. I took one last walk on the beach this morning at around 5:30am to see the sunrise. It was beautiful. It is some amazing that you can this magnificent place to yourself here. I know the kids will hate to leave the beach, but I think a little jungle adventure will do them well.

We managed to get in the car and on the road a little before 9am. It was to be a 3 ½ hour ride to Monteverde if all went well. Rossi, the owner of “The Flying Scorpion”, gave us some pointers last night on how to get to Monteverde. He showed me on my map a road that was no longer a 4x4 road, but should now be paved. When a map says 4x4 in Costa Rica, they mean 4x4, River Crossing, “You ain’t getting’ through unless you have a real 4x4” terrain. So as you can imagine, I was somewhat hesitant. It is hard to imagine that they go from 4x4 to paved here. Once passed that road and over another mountain we would be on main roads.

Last sand dollar found at around 5:30am right after sunrise before we left San Miguel. 

We did managed get over the two white knuckle mountains and got on Costa Rica Interstate 21. Interstate 21 has the pavement condition of the worst country road in South Carolina, added with multiple severe pot holes. It reminds me of playing dodge ball. Believe it or not, this road was a dream in comparison to what we had been on over the past month. We stopped somewhere shy of the Tempisque Bridge for Lunch. It was a soda off the side of the highway. No complaints. Lunch was good.

Neighbor looking for a little goodwill from us during breakfast. 

Anna took over driving and we were back on the road. As we got close to Monteverde I took back over driving and it seemed we were in the middle of nowhere. The roads were getting worse and we were in for a climb. The RAV4 started up a mountain that seemed to take forever. The grades were very steep and it was hard to imagine that anyone was living up this high, let alone there be a school. Turns out, they were multiple schools. Where the heck they all lived was beyond us, because we hardly saw any civilization, except for every now and then. We got to the top of a mountain which seemed to take forever and we stopped for some drinks at a soda. It was basically someone’s house. After a quick break and a small bit of entertainment with some bunnies, we were off again.

Took a little stop along the way at a Soda on Interstate 18.

After about another 45 minutes we ended up going from almost nothing to a metropolis in the mountains. Within 50 yards it went from rough gravel road to houses and pristine pavement. Anna and I both looked at each other in amazement. This town was the biggest we had been in since we had first arrived after San Jose and San Ramon on day 1. We saw a sign as we entered for a hotel called El Establo. It looked pretty nice, so we proceed to go and check it out. Once looking it over, we checked in.

On the way to Monteverde. The picture does not do the real view any justice.

We unloaded the car and then rushed the bathroom. The rooms were very nice. We had a two story room. The kids had a bedroom upstairs with a balcony look over to the downstairs bedroom where Anna and I slept. The bathroom was the nicest we had seen in some time. It had a wonderful shower and big bathtub. Anna took her first hot shower in 5 weeks. Olivia and Thomas both took a bath. After drying off, everyone got on the king bed and veg’d out for the next hour.

A beautiful looking pasture up in the mountains. We were maybe 20 minutes from Monteverde. Unbelievable watching the clouds pass by at a pretty fast pace. You could literally cut the air.

Took a break here at when we hit what we thought was the top of the mountain climb. We stopped for some drinks.

It was 6:30pm when we finally got enough motivation to get up and go to dinner. Laggus is a restaurant on the property that we went to. It was okay, but nothing amazing. It was definitely not worth the money what they charged. The cheesecake dessert that Olivia ordered was presented very well though. After dinner, we all headed to the room and watched a little TV and called it a night. Tomorrow was to be a big day.

Kids playing with the bunnies.

Everyone relaxing after our first hot shower after 5 weeks of cold water. Olivia found her happy place here.

Thomas debating as to what he wants for dinner. We ended up coming to Laggus for dinner.

Olivia's Cheesecake Dessert at Laggus at El Establo Resort.