Monteverde, Santa Elena rainforests
After a long 5 hr bus ride from San Jose, I arrived in Monteverde-Santa Elena late last night. Luckily, I met 2 Canadians on the bus that recommended me to stay in the same hostel as them (they had been to Monteverde a week ago and are returning again). The hostel, Sleepers, is great - brand new, just opened 2 wks ago.. cheap ($5 a night with breakfast). Unfortunately, when we arrived last night, a huge wind and rain storm was passing through and knocked out the power for the entire evening... we signed in through candlelight.
This morning, the power was back on but the wind hadn't subsided. There continued to be steady rain throughout the day (I guess that's why they call it a rainforest! but the rainy season was supposed to have ended already). After breakfast and a short hike around town, I, along with a father and son from Redding, CA went on a zipline and canopy tour in Santa Elena National Park. The zipline was awesome! We zipped 19 lines over the rainforest, at times over 330 ft. above the forest floor. I will upload some videos after I return. It was an incredible experience. We also did a Tarzan swing during the tour. After the zipline, we hiked the trails across multiple suspension bridges that let us see the forest upclose and above the canopy of most trees. I uploaded bunch of pics to flickr but because of the constant rain and wind, a lot of my pics have water spots.
Tomorrow, I plan to go on a 6am forest hike with an expert guide for 4 hours and then take the bus to La Fortuna, the town near the Arenal Volcano.
This morning, the power was back on but the wind hadn't subsided. There continued to be steady rain throughout the day (I guess that's why they call it a rainforest! but the rainy season was supposed to have ended already). After breakfast and a short hike around town, I, along with a father and son from Redding, CA went on a zipline and canopy tour in Santa Elena National Park. The zipline was awesome! We zipped 19 lines over the rainforest, at times over 330 ft. above the forest floor. I will upload some videos after I return. It was an incredible experience. We also did a Tarzan swing during the tour. After the zipline, we hiked the trails across multiple suspension bridges that let us see the forest upclose and above the canopy of most trees. I uploaded bunch of pics to flickr but because of the constant rain and wind, a lot of my pics have water spots.
Tomorrow, I plan to go on a 6am forest hike with an expert guide for 4 hours and then take the bus to La Fortuna, the town near the Arenal Volcano.
