Costa Rica Day 9
Costa Rica
DAY 9 - DECEMBER 12, 2002 - Sky Trek, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Bosque Nuboso, Hotel Fonda Vela
It was a great night sleeping with the windows open and hearing the wind blow and the water fountain outside bubbling. We got up at 6:45 to a sunny but windy day. The wind would die down and be a great day at the hotel.
We had breakfast at 7:30 and then met Harry at 8:30 by our lodge. We went to pick up tickets for the Sky Trek and while there I showed Harry my S2000 web site. The roads here are all very bumpy with no paved or flat areas. There is no speeding problem here.
We went straight up the hill to the cloud forest where we could not see too much due to the heavy overcast in the area. The hotel was clear two miles away. Once inside the Sky Trek facility, we were taken to get hard hats, harnesses, and gloves and be instructed on how to ride the Canopy Zip Lines.
We climbed the first tower, walked the paths to the first (short) zip line. They started us out on the short rides with little elevation to get us used to it. As it was very cloudy/foggy and visibility was limited, we left a perch and could not see the other side. We could, at times, see the canopy below us.
The trip took us over 11 zip lines and two hours. The cable runs were anywhere from 100 to 1400 feet (over 3 football fields). The height was from 40 to 445 feet above the ground and canopy. It is said that on good days, when the wire is dry one can reach a speed of 50 miles per hour in the longest run. One dangles on a harness from the pulley where we have two ropes attached.
The other side adventure is that the wire was wet, so we were covered from the waist up with some dirt that came off the wire as we passed through. We needed a shower! We had lunch at 1:30, finished at 2:30 and at 3 PM left for a LONG walk through the Monteverde Cloud Forest or as it is called here, the Bosque Nuboso.
After some people hit the gift shop, we started on the walk. Foggy, cool, and dark. We took the #1 trail and it showed a lot of work. The path went up and down but there were some cinder blocks or logs for the path. On the logs, they had put stapled metal screens to keep us from sliding. We did not see too much - cold and fog - but the vegetation was interesting.
We went to the top of the Continental Divide - 4700 feet and there the temperature was 68 degrees. We walked back on the road that had been used for the farms that populated this area 30 years ago before the Quakers started to buy the land to created the ecological preserve and the watershed that was being destroyed by lumber cutting.
We were able to walk out of the forest at 5:45 and it was dark - we were the last out. The temperature has dropped to 62 degrees. We came back to our rooms to clean up and get ready to go to dinner at 8 PM. We had the option to eat off the special menu or have the buffet and all of us chose the special menu.
Costa Rica sayings:
As long as a Sunday without money - A very tall person
As frustrated as a monkey with a plastic banana. - Someone is very frustrated or upset
Juan Valdez drinks Costa Rican coffee.
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