September 2, 2009: Monteverde (again)

Sean: This morning I woke up at about 5:45 and could not get back to sleep. Eventually I just got up and started reading for a while. By the time I mustered up enough energy to get out of bed it was close to 7:00 and time to start the day. We packed up our things, ate breakfast, and set out for Monteverde.

To get there we had to drive all the way Lake Arenal. After a bit of confusion and several stops to ask for directions, we found our way. In total the trip took just over 3 hours in the car. It was slightly more painful than the bus-boat-bus option that we used with GAP but it was great to get a new experience.

Once in Monteverde we had to find a room. I knew just the place (since I was here only about a week ago). Once again I decided to take a page from GAP and stay at Hotel Rustic. In a strange twist of fate, we were given the exact same room I had with my brothers. Upon opening the door I half expected to be juggling Liam (it is the very room he learned this fine skill) and Owen to be on the computer.

It was then time for lunch so I made sure we headed for Morphos, a favorite of mine when I was studying in Monteverde 5 years ago. Refueled and ready for some excitement we visited Selvatura to book some tours. I had never used this company before and was excited to see what they had to offer!

After setting our plans we made a quick trip to the supermarket and then headed to the hotel to get ready for a canopy tour. We drove ourselves to Selvatura Park and arrived about 40 minutes before our tour. While waiting, we decided to visit the Education Center, a massive collection of insects (that did not die of natural causes). It was quite interesting to see the collection of creatures from all over Costa Rica, Central America, and the world.

At 2:30 we started our zip line experience. I was shocked to find that the group consisted of only 3 people (a guy from Israel joined my dad and I). It was by far the smallest canopy tour I have ever seen. We had two guides who did not seem that enthusiastic about the adventure and were the exact opposite of our guides at Adventura.

Even though it was my third canopy tour of the summer I still had a great time. Zipping over the trees never gets old, or maybe it does for the guides because they really were very dull. The highlights of the afternoon were getting to do another Tarzan Swing (even though it was only 10 meters or ¼ the size of Adventuras) and the 1 kilometer long zipline.

In fact, the 1km line was so long that the guides asked me to go with a partner in order to increase wait and ensure that we would make it across the canyon. Unfortunately, even this technique did not save us from coming to a halt about 20 meters before the end. I was trying to videotape the experience so im not sure how this occurred. Regardless, it was not much fun pulling myself with one hand (the other was holding the camera) across the line while being attached to another person.

When we were done with the zipline my father and I headed for the Monteverde Frog Pond. The exhibits at the frog pond were quite neat and our guide was very friendly. I believe they had 17 species of frog, each with its own terrarium. It was very interesting to see some of the species I have not yet found in the wild. My favorite, by far, was the red eyed tree frog. It is something of a national symbol of Costa Rica. This is the creature that is on the cover of many guidebooks, featured prominently on shirts, and integrated with many other souvenir items.

By the time we left it was time for dinner. We went to one of my new favorite places in Monteverd, Natasha’s Pizzeria and Pasta (we went here with our GAP group and got some very “heavy” aka fatty and cheesy pasta). This time my dad and I split a pizza.

When we finished eating we made a quick return trip to the frong pond (you get two entrances with the purchase of a ticket) because they told us the creatures were much more active in the dark. Armed with a couple of flashlights we went back through the exhibits and watched a few frogs bounce around.

From there it was back to the room to plan the next days adventure! The day sof reliving the GAP tour are over, we are heading for a few new and exotic places!