Monteverde

Myth number 1: there is such a thing as a "dry season" in a rainforest. Or in Monteverde, more accurately a cloud forest. I believe the distinction is the altitude. Driving around is quite interesting as you go into pretty deep cloud cover for periods of time, which makes it more exciting! :o)

Sam's bucket list
Item #122: Canopy tour/zip line--- CHECK!

I did it. Well, more accurately, Marcello and I did it, but more on that.. We got to Selvatura Part and my heart started to race. I'm not only afraid of heights, but the height and speed.. well, let's say I tried my best to not think too much (yes, Jason, it's possible). We got geared up in the harness and the helmet, of which I have a lovely photo to remember the moment. I then made up my mind that I was going tandem (taxi, as they call it.) Standing at the top of the first platform with my heart racing, I knew there was no way I was doing this without someone else. So, Marcello to the rescue! What more could I want than an adorable Costa Rican guide to go with me. I apologized in advance for the volume that I knew would come, and he just laughed. Silly man. Marcello must mean either "hero" or "man with bloody ears." I let out a yelp as we jumped off, and what a thrill it was! It took me two trips off the platform to open my eyes and look, but i was glad I did. The trees rushed by and the rain pelted my face. The views were gorgeous.

Until I got caught on a platform in a wind gust (thankfully, not hanging on the line.) The platforms do move a bit which didn't have me feeling very happy. It was only two to the end, and a huge gust (mind you, the entire time was windy) blew causing the guys on the platform to yell "grab the line." I won't repeat what I said.. There was a "Jesus" swing as well, where people could jump off the platform and swing. Much like bungee jumping. Um.. no way in hell anything but my corpse was doing that one. It was great fun to watch and the men yelped more than the women! What a hoot.

15 lines we slid down. I'm glad I did it, I am, but probably won't be doing it again anytime soon. Unless I see Marcello again. :o)

Almost forgot to mention (actually I did, and just went back in to edit) the last zip line was over 1KM!! OMG, I was scared half to death. It went on and on into the clouds and we went so quickly! It was funny as it ended up as three of us (a guide, me and melanie.) We noticed once we got in that no one went solo on this one as it was so long. This was was really incredibly fast, and with the wind and rain, I actually couldn't see. About 3/4 the way through it, I was able to look (though I'm not sure that was the best idea.) Apparently this is one of the longest zip lines and it was something!

We saw an interesting animal when we got back to the lodge. I'm not sure what it was-- was like a raccoon in size and manner, but had a longer pointy nose. I got my camera out and was just prepared to click when a rather brilliant person ran over to greet it. Yeah. So the creature ran off and no one caught it on film. What a shame, but hopefully we'll see one tomorrow during our Monteverde cloud forest tour. We're going early to hopefully see more wildlife.

We got back and I have only been this wet once in my life I think! It took work to strip off our saturated clothes, and of course it's cold and windy so we were frozen. Decided to grab a bite to warm up and headed to Morphos. Sandy, for your benefit (as I know you love to know about the restaurants!) Morphos was a very cute little place in the center of town near our hotel. It was raining so hard we did choose to drive there. It was decorated with butterflies everywhere, and candle light. The food was fantastic. Melanie got arroz con camarones (rice and shrimp) which was fabulous. Had a lot of cilantro, which was unexpected. I got curried chicken and pineapples which was very good as well. We got got hot tea (for the obvious reason) and headed out to look for a laundry to dry our clothes. With the cold temps and humidity, we don't think our stuff will dry. Oh, and no heat in the room! This was the most expensive laundromat I've ever seen! We didn't even ask for them to wash, only dry a load of clothes and two pairs of sneakers, and it was around $25!!! They said the sneakers will take two hours (???) I was debating just trying to light a fire and hanging them over, but I'd probably get arrested! It would have been less costly to get waterproof boots, though my fleece managed to get soaked under my waterproof jacket. The wind and water apparently found a few not perfectly fastened parts!!

So, came back to the hotel for a bit, and then need to pick our nice and toasty clothes up at the laundromat. Expecting a rather cold night, but thankfully I brought my fleece pjs and melanie flannel. Yeah, what a hot picture I know, but we'll be toasty at least!!!

Tomorrow's weather is expected to be like today, so we'll probably have another fortune in dryer bills! I did bring my keens and may just wear them instead of soaking my hiking shoes every day. The room doesn't have a hair dryer either which we figure doesn't matter much! Within a few minutes of stepping outside we're soaked anyways!!!

Enjoying the trip, though this weather does make me appreciate Phoenix!!! I'll post again tomorrow.
Sam