A Day in the Clouds
After a night of furious wind ripping through the tree canopy, we were pleased to awaken to a more peaceful morning. Sunshine and clouds alternated in the airspace above us as we made the 10-minute drive from our Airbnb home to the reception area of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve (not to be confused with the “Official Parking” signs and convincing attendants who try to lure unsuspecting tourists into their paid parking lot a good mile from the real entrance to the park!).
We opted for the $25 self-guided tickets sans the addition of the $20/person additional cost for a guide. We prefer to take the trails at our own pace, and, frankly, we don’t care that much about the nitty gritty details of every plant or species populating the reserve. Our enjoyment comes from experiencing the serenity of the outdoors together, not from properly identifying the leaves and birds. We’re grateful for those who do enjoy such pastimes; it’s just not us.
Our first trail took us to the far right of the reserve to an overlook of the Continental Divide. Clouds rolled in obscuring the view, but they subsequently thinned to form a translucent veil that allowed a glimpse of the magnificent sight. We continued making our way through each of the trails in succession, being certain to traverse the one that crossed the lone hanging bridge in the reserve. Our final path led to a platform overlooking a “waterfall.” Julian contends that it was more of a rushing stream. And the Swiss visitors who arrived shortly after us had even less kind things to say about the “cascada” classification.
We ate our canned tuna and granola bar lunch while listening to the white water rapids below, then packed up our trash and began the final stretch. We were able to cover the entire place in about four hours. Sadly, we departed without spotting any of the elusive sloths that are said to occupy the tops of hundreds of trees. Any monkeys in the vicinity also refused to make themselves known. We took some comfort in the knowledge that none of the paid guides we asked had spotted any sloths or monkeys either.
Since part of Julian’s interest in visiting the Monteverde Cloud Forest was inspired by pictures of hanging bridges, he felt particularly deprived having only experienced one in the whole reserve. So of course we had to remedy that by heading further north to the Selvatura Adventure Park where they had taken it upon themselves to assuage the wanting experience of other such disaffected travelers. Their 3km path boasted not one, but eight hanging bridges of varying lengths and heights. You have to pay the hefty sum of $35 for the privilege of traversing them, but I was pleasantly surprised at the experience. The well-maintained path was peaceful, and each of the bridges provided a unique vantage point for the forest below.
After all of our hiking, we were due for a mid-afternoon snack, so we stopped in at the Choco Cafe in Santa Elena to indulge in a slice of blackberry cheesecake and a slice of passion fruit cheesecake.
The passion fruit one was particularly delightful. We walked around the shopping center across the street, burning off a few more calories before ending the evening with an Italian dinner at Tramonti.
The homemade pasta rolled with spinach and ricotta cheese in tomato sauce was amazing! Despite reports to the contrary, we have found the food thus far to be both reasonably priced and of excellent quality.
