It was time to change bikinis to long trousers and long sleeves! Someone had mentioned to Markus that Monteverde is a town worth visiting. We were anyhow going to go to the Arenal area and Monteverde was on the way. We found a nice-looking 2-star hotel online, Monteverde Inn located in the Valle Escondido Preserve (Hidden valley). The hotel has an amazing location - you can look over the trees in the valley at the mountains. We even got lucky one night and saw a rainbow over the forest and a beautiful sunset!
The hotel is very nice - we highly recommend it. The price was around $30 a night, including breakfast. The room was spacious and clean and the hotel staff was helpful and kind. The hotel restaurant cooked meals when the guests so wanted, at a very affordable price. And WiFi worked even outside so we could show the surroundings and animals through video chats to friends and family :D
First day we walked through the Valle Escondido valley trails. The trails are well-marked and we even got a map. The hotel staff takes very good care of the trails - keeps them safe and clean. The forest is very nice - beautiful big ficus trees, a waterfall, nice viewing points and we saw different animals too. There are a lot of coatis in the reserve and we found a coati flock of around 15-20 coatis. We followed them for a while and saw how easy they move in the trees. They are often mixed with monkeys because they are very dark, have a long tail and move in the trees easily. We didn't think that the would be so agile and fast when we first saw them. We spent around 5 hours exploring the trails, with a lunch break in between :p
Markus attended also a night-tour that the hotel organizes. The group walked through the forest in the dark and looked for different animals and insects. Markus saw a sleeping hummingbird, sleeping butterflies, a toucan, a small scorpion that you can mainly see in UV-light (!!!) and other insects. The guide was really good and had good humor. He told a lot of facts about the local flora and fauna, e.g. never wake up a sleeping hummingbird because it probably gets a heart attack from the too big heart rate increase and dies. Its heart rate is around 120 when it sleeps and over 1000 when it flies.
We started the second day with a canopy tour. There are around 200 zip-line parks in CR and we took the tour with 100% Aventura, The "tour" included about 6 zip-lines, one rappel, one bridge and an optional Tarzan-swing. Two of the zip-lines were Superman-zip-lines, i.e. one hangs from the zip-line stomach downwards. That was so cool! The idea was a bit scary, but then it was actually much nicer than the one where you sit! Markus did the Tarzan-swing (crazy person, says Edda :p ) - first he had to walk over a see-through hanging bridge, then the swing ropes were attached to his harness, tightened up, the staff opened a gate and said "bend your knees" and pushed him down! The hight was around 70m and free-fall was maybe around 50 - 60m! The longest zip-line was 1590m! Quite a start for the day! When we arrived back from the canopy tour it was pouring so it was a good time for some series for Edda and a nap for Markus ;)
On our last day we visited Don Juan Coffee & Chocolate & Sugar Cane tour. We had already visited a coffee tour before, so the majority of the information was familiar but we got some new good facts about coffee too. We were the only people at the tour, so we got a private tour which was nice. But the guide seemed a bit sleepy and got off the topic all the time. Anyhow, he was interested in Finland, showed us two sloths sleeping in the trees and told us some new information about coffee, chocolate and sugar cane. He even made chocolate for us and we made our own sugar cane - orange drink, which was delicious. The chocolate part was a bit short because cacao trees do not grow in Monteverde area. We are planning to visit a cacao farm on the East coast where they have cacao farms and more knowledge about chocolate. The owner of the place is an over 70 years old local man. He seemed to be in a relatively good shape so it brings up a question. Are coffee and chocolate the secret ingredients for a healthy and long life? ;)
There are a lot of activities available in Monteverde, and the scenery is really beautiful. <3
The hotel is very nice - we highly recommend it. The price was around $30 a night, including breakfast. The room was spacious and clean and the hotel staff was helpful and kind. The hotel restaurant cooked meals when the guests so wanted, at a very affordable price. And WiFi worked even outside so we could show the surroundings and animals through video chats to friends and family :D
Room #14
View from the restaurant towards the reception
A grand ficus tree
These rabbit-size-mouse-looking animals were everywhere
A toucan
Coatis wondering around
Markus attended also a night-tour that the hotel organizes. The group walked through the forest in the dark and looked for different animals and insects. Markus saw a sleeping hummingbird, sleeping butterflies, a toucan, a small scorpion that you can mainly see in UV-light (!!!) and other insects. The guide was really good and had good humor. He told a lot of facts about the local flora and fauna, e.g. never wake up a sleeping hummingbird because it probably gets a heart attack from the too big heart rate increase and dies. Its heart rate is around 120 when it sleeps and over 1000 when it flies.
A small scorpion under UV-light
A toucan baby bird (around 2 months)
We started the second day with a canopy tour. There are around 200 zip-line parks in CR and we took the tour with 100% Aventura, The "tour" included about 6 zip-lines, one rappel, one bridge and an optional Tarzan-swing. Two of the zip-lines were Superman-zip-lines, i.e. one hangs from the zip-line stomach downwards. That was so cool! The idea was a bit scary, but then it was actually much nicer than the one where you sit! Markus did the Tarzan-swing (crazy person, says Edda :p ) - first he had to walk over a see-through hanging bridge, then the swing ropes were attached to his harness, tightened up, the staff opened a gate and said "bend your knees" and pushed him down! The hight was around 70m and free-fall was maybe around 50 - 60m! The longest zip-line was 1590m! Quite a start for the day! When we arrived back from the canopy tour it was pouring so it was a good time for some series for Edda and a nap for Markus ;)
Over 1,5km long zip-line :D
On our last day we visited Don Juan Coffee & Chocolate & Sugar Cane tour. We had already visited a coffee tour before, so the majority of the information was familiar but we got some new good facts about coffee too. We were the only people at the tour, so we got a private tour which was nice. But the guide seemed a bit sleepy and got off the topic all the time. Anyhow, he was interested in Finland, showed us two sloths sleeping in the trees and told us some new information about coffee, chocolate and sugar cane. He even made chocolate for us and we made our own sugar cane - orange drink, which was delicious. The chocolate part was a bit short because cacao trees do not grow in Monteverde area. We are planning to visit a cacao farm on the East coast where they have cacao farms and more knowledge about chocolate. The owner of the place is an over 70 years old local man. He seemed to be in a relatively good shape so it brings up a question. Are coffee and chocolate the secret ingredients for a healthy and long life? ;)
A cocoa bean, actually rather tasty :D
There are a lot of activities available in Monteverde, and the scenery is really beautiful. <3
Something extra for today: Some cows posing as if they were in a painting. Pretty beautiful, right?
I really do hope coffee and chocolate are the secret ingredients for a healthy and long life, especially chocolate. 😋
ReplyDeleteConsidering my grandpa, 96, didn't exactly live the most healthy lifestyle, eating 5 slices of cinnamon bun every morning and never touched a vegetable since it for him was classified as "rabbit food", I've come to the conclusion that a healthy diet isn't always the secret for a long life. The most important is trying to enjoy each minute of it and do what makes you happy - and for most people that means eating chocolate and loads of it. 😝😍
Can't wait for your post from the cacao farm!
Take care and enjoy! x
Axo
Thanx for your lovely and long comment Axo! :) Oh, I just started graving for Finnish cinnamon buns!! We are glad you enjoy reading our posts!
ReplyDeleteEdda