Amazing Adventures in Monteverde

Although the weather in Monteverde was very nice yesterday, last night the wind blew... and blew...and blew. Another sleepless night in this little town for me. Got up today at 6am, had some free breakfast at my hostel and bought my bus ticket to San Jose. At 8:30am I was picked up by my shuttle that was taking me to the Reserva Santa Elena. This reserve is 310 hectares in size and much smaller than the more popular Monteverde Cloud Forest. It was first opened to the public in 1992 and is now managed by the Santa Elena high school board. This cloud forest however, is at a slightly high elevation than Monteverde and since it is less visited, more authentic and untouched....this is what I like. Once I entered the reserve I knew I had made the right choice. The vegetation was amazing. Even though it is not the raining season at the moment, it does rain here frequently, so everything is very lush and green...you could actually hear drops of water falling off the leaves from time to time and feel the mist in the air. It is very difficult to describe the true beauty of this area....and pictures only capture a little glimpse. Since I only had 3 hours to spend there, I decided to hike the Youth Challenge and Encantado trails. They were about 4-5kms in length and all paths were fairly well marked. Aside from the two high school groups I ran into....thankfully I was able to loose them at some point early one...there were very few people around. It was sooooo peaceful...aside from the sounds of water dripping from leaves, you could hear all kinds of birds chirping, crackling noises, water running from nearby streams and the odd voices of people walking in nearby trails. It felt so removed from everything around...you could actually hear the sound of small birds flying...their wings really do make fluttering sounds. I took picture after picture and could have stayed there all day....I felt a bit rushed at times since I had to be somewhere else at 12:30pm, but enjoyed every minute. Just down the road from the reserve I had booked the suspension bridge and canopy tour package at Selvatura Park. I arrived for my 12:30pm start time, only to find out that it really was not until 1:00pm. I thought I would check out the restaurant to grab a bite to eat before I left, only to find out it was way too over priced, so it looked like lunch was not in the plans for me today. This would be the only day I did not bring something to snack on... and after 3 hours of hiking and 4 more hours to go, it was not a smart move!!! At 1:00pm I headed off on my 1 hour suspension bridge walk...now if I had known it would be so similar to the reserve I had just been at, I probably would not have done this. The good thing however was that I did get a different perspective of the forest by walking along the bridges through the middle of the canopy. There were 7 bridges in total, and although they did move slightly when several people were walking on them, they really were not that much of a big deal. One bonus during my hike was when I spotted the rare quetzal sitting in a tree. This is the official bird of Guatemala and probably one of the most amazing birds I have ever seen....stunning green, with hints of ultra blue and a little bit of black. Its tail was about a foot long and it looked like it was sparkling in the sun. Apparently there was a female in a nest in the tree, but I did not see it. I tell you, there were some very excited bird watches around me when this bird was spotted. This was at the end of my suspension bridge walk and when I arrived back at the information booth, I headed down the hall to get suited up for my zip lining experience. This was one of the main things I wanted to do while in Costa Rica and I can tell you it was nothing but spectacular!!!! There were about 40-50 people in our entire group and we were first bused up to the entrance to the first platform. Once we arrived at the top, we were given some instructions on how to zip line without killing yourself...yes I said killing yourself!!! Things to remember: keep your strong arm behind you on the line, do not squeeze the line to stop, never put your hand on the line in front of the pulley ...that is if you want to have your fingers back..., keep your knees bent, legs up and lean back....and enjoy the ride!!!! This zip lining company had 13 cables ranging in distance from 76 meters...the first one...to 1km in length...yes I said 1km!!!! For someone who is afraid of heights, I think I did pretty well on my first line...a little shaky in the knees and not sure exactly how I was going to stop at the other end, but it all worked out fine. There were 10 specialists helping us move through the cables...one on each end of the line...and everyone one of them were great. Once we got off the first line, we were immediately clipped onto the second line and within 10 second back on our way...this was probably the best way to do things...it kept you from being able to think about what you were doing. The fifth line was one of my favourites...650 meters of pure bliss. It took about 30 seconds to complete and it was INCREDIBLE....you could see the clouds with the sun peaking out, the suspension bridges below and the most beautiful canopy I have ever seen. I even let out a couple hollers along the way...what a rush!!!!!! We continued along the lines, sometimes doing a bit of a hike to get to the next one, other times connecting to the next line right away. My only real fear once I got the hang of things was walking up some of the platform stairs where you were hooked onto the cable...this is where being afraid of heights can really make you shaky in the knees and a bit light headed... but I made it through either way. The final cable was the longest one and I went down it with a guide and one other person. I was not sure how I was going to like this, but it was another one of my highlights. At this point in the day...5pm..., the clouds started to roll in and there was mist in the air. As you were going along the cable you went from seeing the canopy below and feeling the wind in your face, to having the mist on your face as you entered the clouds, to being able to see nothing except white all around, to finally seeing the guide at the other end waiting patiently for you to arrive...arrival safe and sound. At this point we had the option to do a tarzan swing...now after 13 cables several kilometers long, I decided to opt out of this one....I was feeling more like Jane and less like Tarzan at this point and did not think I could handle the several second free fall that you had to do before you actually swung on the rope. Either way, this was one of the most incredible things I have ever done and would definitely do it again...especially in such a beautiful place as Costa Rica. Once we finished the canopy tour we headed back to the information area where, of course, our picture was waiting to be purchased. They took these pictures on the 3rd run when most people were still a bit timid...sorry folks, I did not buy mine. I tell you though, I think I was looking pretty spiffy all decked out in my harness and helmet!!! Within about 20 minutes our shuttle arrived to take us back to our hotels/hostels and I was beat....and starving!!! I had a quick bite to eat, caught up on some last minute souvenir shopping and headed to bed early. I know I am going to be sore in the morning after a full day of hiking and zip lining...especially after spending the past couple weeks just lazing around on the beach. My body will not know what hit it...thank god for ibuprofen!!! I am heading to San Jose early in the morning tomorrow for my last day in Costa Rica. Until then...