The zipline tour we took in Monteverde was incredible. Because it was so high over the canopy, I didn’t see the monkeys and other wildlife I did on other ziplines. But, zooming several hundred feet above the ground at 45mph, for nearly a kilometer . . . . There were times when I was suspended over the trees far below, a carpet of green swelling up to one side, with a crystal clear view of more green ending in the Nicoya peninsula and Nicoya Bay, blue blue blue in the distance. Besides the line I was hanging from and the platforms on either side, there were no signs of civilization I could see.
I liked that I didn’t have to brake myself—it’s always tricky to know when to hand brake, but I didn’t really have to worry about getting stuck in the middle of the line and having to head to the platform hand over hand.
The wind was strong enough that on a couple of the lines we had to double up to increase the weight and stabilize the line. Going tandem with Rich was fun; he whooped and hollered so much it seemed like we were going even faster. But going tandem with one of the guides was even more fun—he had me let go and we spun a little and actually were extra fast.
After the zipline, we had lunch and then took a tour at Don Juan’s coffee plantation. That was fun, even though I ripped my pants on the cartera. The kid showing us around was Don Juan’s grandson, and even though he was only 17 he had an amazing handle on the business and on the process of growing coffee. Also, the coffee tasted good.*
That night, Maria, Carlos, Marlene, and I guilted Rich into coming out dancing with us, to the one club in Monteverde. Carlitos said most of the time it is totally inappropriate to go to a club not dressed well**—except in Monteverde, where every one is tramping around in the rainforest all day and is unlikely to have dancing clothes.
We had originally said we were only going to take a little time, but when Carlitos and Rich get going, whew . . . they don’t want to quit. And this after Carlos was all, “No, I can’t go out . . . I have to drive tomorrow . . .” But, it was all a show. And it was nice to dance with someone as good as he is. Even if I did totally massacre cumbia. I can do cumbia sola, but in pairs, no friggin way. Can never figure out where my feet are supposed to be, and when I think I’ve got it figured out, that’s always where my partner’s feet are.
I thought joining them in their tequila shots might help get the boys ready to go, but that failed miserably. Finally, after I stole Carlos’ and Rich’s beers, taking them (the beers) out on the dance floor while the boys were confused, then a bit frantic, and everybody who was actually paying attention was laughing, we finally got them out of there to go back to Hotel El Bosque.
The next morning, we had breakfast at Stella’s again, and then headed to the actual Bosque Nuboso—the cloud forest. It was a fairly clear day, though, and there was a lot to see. We actually saw a quetzal from far away, but they’re pretty rare to see at all, so I call that good.
There are a lot of interesting caterpillars in the forest, which makes sense because there are a lot of interesting butterflies and moths in Costa Rica. And there’s all kinds of other bugs, and plants, and birds. When I was separated from the rest of the group because they wanted to hurry up and make sure they had time in the gift shop(?), because me alone is so much quieter than the 8 or so of us together, bunches of birds crossed my path, checking out what I had to offer. What I had to offer was mostly fear apparently, because once I moved again, they’d flit off.
I’d really like to spend a lot more time in Monteverde. Also, next time I’m bringing my dancing shoes.
*Any time I go some place that grows good coffee, I feel obligated to drink lots of it, just for Kris.
**Cristian later confirmed this for me when he said we could go to a bar, but he only had shorts, so we really couldn’t.
