(Monteverde, Costa Rica)

Due to my shoulder injury, there was no way I could commit to the intense 13-stage zipline circuit around the Monteverde Cloud Forest.  As a consolation prize, I decided to do the “Hanging Bridges” circuit where you covered more or less the same territory by foot.  Instead of 13 ziplines, there were 8 suspension bridges high above the cloud forest floor.

After having seen very little wildlife in the cloud forest earlier in the day from ground level (see my previous post), I was hoping that I would see something interesting from the top of the cloud forest canopy.

Due to the extremely rainy weather, the facility was almost deserted.  I saw one ziplining couple but didn’t see anybody at all on the hanging bridges circuit.   That was fine – I would have the bridges all to myself and there would be little noise to scare away the residents of the canopy.  If anything was “out there”, I would be in a perfect position to record it.  The swaying of the bridges would also be kept to a minimum.

The first three bridges were relatively uneventful.  I saw some interesting plant life on the trails between bridges but no animal life whatsoever.  I will admit to feeling a little discouraged by this point:  would I see anything at all from the bridges, besides an incredibly dense network of green stretching off in each direction?

I noticed that the fourth bridge was the longest one and that it seemed to cross a deeper valley than the others.  It also swayed a lot so I tried not to step too far from the middle.  I was quietly hoping to see at least a tiny creature when I suddenly stopped in my tracks.  To my left, about 20 feet from my position on the bridge, was a large black animal sitting on top of the canopy.  It was a howler monkey!

Not only was it a howler monkey, but it was looking more or less right at me and not making any attempt to move or disappear.  What was it thinking?  Why was it hanging out with me at the top of the forest?  After steadying myself and taking some quick pictures to record the sighting, I wondered what the howler monkey would do next.

It didn’t appear to be threatened by me, as it kept quiet even though some of its brethren were howling in the distance.  As I looked around, I realized that it would be possible for the monkey to traverse the canopy and climb one of the trees that grew higher than the bridge.  In theory, at least, the monkey could then jump on the bridge and confront me right then and there.

I tried in vain to recall what a howler monkey might do when confronting a human.  Alas, all I knew was that they howled from a distance at unwanted intruders:  I didn’t know what would happen in the event that an intruder was right in front of them.   I didn’t have to sign a disclaimer before going on the bridge circuit but Costa Rica is probably not as litigious as Canada or the U.S.A.  The bottom line: the howler monkey is a large wild animal and its behaviour cannot be predicted.

Fortunately for me, the monkey showed no signs of aggression or impatience.  In fact, it appeared to be a little bored.  It watched as another howler monkey (with a baby on its back) crossed the canopy underneath the bridge and took off into the distance.   I continued taking photos, amazed at the fact that this distant cousin of humans seemed content to just hang around with me nearby.

I eventually grew bolder and started talking to the monkey.  There was no response to my English, so I tried a few Spanish words and phrases.  Still no response.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (but was probably closer to 10 minutes), the howler monkey decided that visiting hours were over.  It turned and made its way in the same general direction of the other monkeys.

This monkey encounter may well have been the highlight of my trip to Costa Rica.  I was utterly alone, suspended 40 metres above the forest floor, with an intelligent, unpredictable, non-captive and non-human primate.  How often does that happen?   The exhilaration and intensity of this meeting will stay with me forever.  I think I will seek out some more wildlife experiences in my future travels!

(Monteverde, Costa Rica)

When clouds tend to perch at the top of the forest canopy, it is called a “cloud forest”.  Such forests get a lot of precipitation (up to 10,000 mm per year)…much of it in the form of “fog drip”.  This occurs when fog condenses on the canopy’s leaves and then drips onto the lush vegetation below.

This day’s activities began with our entire group taking a guided walk on the floor of the cloud forest.  While most of the other group members would be going on a ziplining adventure in the afternoon, my shoulder injury relegated me to an afternoon hike on suspension bridges over the forest canopy.  However, as you will see in my next post, this “consolation prize” turned out to have an extremely high value.

The hike along the forest floor was filled with the chirping of insects, various bird songs, rushing water, and ominous sounds from unseen frogs and toads.  It felt like a stereotypical rainforest without the steaming heat.

Because of all the moisture, one does have to be careful in the cloud forest.  It can be quite slippery on the mud or on the rocks that often form part of the trails.

Along the way, we saw another tarantula “cave”, dung beetles and various colourful flowers.  However, despite our guide’s best efforts, we didn’t really see much in the way of larger wildlife.  As previously noted, most of the cloud forest’s creatures are nocturnal and therefore aren’t particularly active during the day.

Even if we didn’t see much wildlife, it was still fun to actually see some of the cloud forest itself in natural light.  The previous night’s wildlife-spotting was fascinating but we didn’t really have a chance to get the “big picture” as we dashed from sighting to sighting in the darkness.

I had worked up a good appetite after all of that walking and forest scanning.  My tour leader had recommended a typical Costa Rican restaurant in Santa Elena called “Sabor Tico”.  “Sabor” means “flavour” and “Tico” is a name that Costa Ricans give themselves; it’s kind of like “Canuck” for Canadians.

The restaurant’s location on top of a mostly vacant mall didn’t look too promising but the restaurant turned out to be a great choice.  I had the Casado carne en salsa and it was excellent.  The beef was in a tasty tomato-based sauce and reminded me a bit of goulash.  I also found the sides of salad, fried plantain, yucca, rice and beans to be of a high standard.  With a little bit of chilero thrown in, I felt rejuvenated for the afternoon.  Just as good was the horchata beverage I had with it; while it’s not specific to Costa Rica, this “rice pudding milkshake” with vanilla and cinnamon was probably the most enjoyable drink I’ve had in Costa Rica so far.

It had been a good day already; stay tuned for an exciting afternoon on the cloud forest canopy!

(Monteverde, Costa Rica)

While Costa Rica is a small country, there are some formidable transportation barriers.  The barriers are both physical and climatic:  in addition to steep mountains and raging rivers, the massive amount of rainfall wreaks havoc on the roads.  Santa Elena (the central “town” of the Monteverde Cloud Forest) is not very far from La Fortuna but the quickest way to make the trip involves a bus, a boat across Lake Arenal, and another couple of hours of the most bone-shattering, brain-scrambling dirt/rock road you can imagine.  It’s definitely worth the effort, however.

Monteverde felt right.  We’re still in the tropics, but the altitude and the weather keep the temperatures at tolerable levels.   I’ve been able to do a lot of (sometimes strenuous) walking here without any difficulty.

Our hotel is spectacularly situated on the slopes of the mountain overlooking Santa Elena.  I normally don’t see the value in paying extra for a good view…but I have to admit that the views here are spectacular.

While today was a busy day, the highlight was probably our “night walk” through the dense vegetation.  We took a small van to a remote mountainside location and were equipped with flashlights:  we were going to search for nocturnal creatures in the jungle!  This sounds crazy but it actually makes a lot of sense in a place where 80% of the creatures are nocturnal.   As our guide didn’t seem to be afraid of any lurking dangers, we figured that it would be OK for us too.

Trekking through the dense rainforest at night is completely different from anything I have done before.  In brief:  it is dark and creepy.  More than one of us commented that it felt like we were in some action/adventure movie with a nighttime tropical chase scene.  I aimed my flashlight in front of my feet for the most part, to make sure I didn’t stumble on any exposed roots…or snakes.  There are a lot of poisonous snakes here!  However, from time to time I illuminated the area around me to see what kind of tropical life was around.

The creepiness started early:  we saw a tarantula within a minute of entering the forest.  It was very large and very hairy:  fortunately, it retreated into a tree trunk shortly after we saw it.

The next sighting was of a kinkajou.  It’s also known as the “honey bear”; it is related to the raccoon but looks somewhat like a large ferret with the face of a bear cub.  It was very shy so getting a good photograph proved to be difficult.  Nearby, we saw a green viper hanging in a tree.  We couldn’t get too close; even though it wasn’t very large, it could really do a lot of damage.

The largest sighting was of a two-toed sloth.  It isn’t closely related to the three-toed sloth but is also a rather dirty and, well, sloth-like creature.  Fortunately, once the sloth had been spotted, it was relatively easy to observe.  They really don’t move fast; it looks like a real effort for the sloth to do much of anything.  They can’t walk but are able to pull themselves around the tree trunk and branches.  When the sloth does move, however, it is quite impressive…in a “I can’t believe that thing is moving” way.  The photo at the top of this post shows the sloth hanging upside down from a branch.

We didn’t see a jaguar or any other large cat on this night:  such sightings are exceedingly rare.  Still, I’m really glad that I went on this near-cinematic night-time adventure.   Once again, seeing truly “wild” animals was much more satisfying than seeing animals in captivity.  For what it’s worth, I ultimately felt safer in the Costa Rican rainforest at night than I would in a Canadian forest at night.  As a bonus, there weren’t any mosquitoes either!