Sean: Last night I was in and out of sleep. Monteverde was having another big windstorm and we could hear it quite well in our room. It was very fun to listen to and when I woke up at 5:45, I lay in bed for about 40 minutes just listening to the wind. Eventually I wrestled myself out of bed and made my way down to the hotel breakfast.
At 7:20 we checked out of the hotel and headed back up to Selvatura Park to do their hanging bridges. I was surprised to find that we were the first people to arrive at the park and thus we had the bridges all to ourselves. Even though the cloud forest had not yet been disturbed, we found it very hard to spot wildlife without a guide! We spent about 2 hours walking the 3 kilometer loop and we many butterflies, a few birds, a pair of beetles, and a cuoti.
After the hanging bridges we decided to check out the Selvatura Serpentarium. It was very similar to the other exhibits I have visited. They had the famous species of snakes and frogs in terrariums for public viewing. Though I hate the saying, I think it applies: Once you have seen one Costa Rica Serpentarium you have seem then all. I find it much more rewarding and exciting to find these creatures in the wild!
Done at Selvatura we left the Monteverde area and began the long drive down the mountain. Upon reaching the Pan-American highway we headed north toward Liberia (the city). We got there at about 2:00 and decided to stop for lunch and look for a place to stay for the night.
Less than impressed with the town, we changed our plans and decided to forgo a night in Liberia. I would compare it to a smaller San Jose (those who have been know this is not a compliment). Instead, we kept on driving north toward Santa Rosa National Park, our desired destination for the day.
Sadly, there were no hotels en route and we had to go about 30km past the national park to a town called La Cruz. It is just a few km south of the Nicaraguan border! After finding a midrange hotel in the sleepy town and dropping off our bags we began the drive back to Santa Rosa NP.
We arrived at the park at approximately 4:30 and were ready to do some hiking. After a bit of driving I figured out where we were (I camped here 5 years ago with my CIEE classmates). We took a small trail near the “museum” called the Naked Indian trail, named after a tree common to the area that often sheds its bark.
The trail was filled with life! Almost immediately upon entering the dry forest we heard the crashings of a crested guan overhead. A short while later I found a small snake slithering through the underbrush. We later stumbled upon columns of army ants. They are one of my most favorite creatures to watch, as almost every ant is carrying something. We even found them swarming a nearby log, perhaps to make a nest?
Almost as soon as we were done inspecting the ants we heard more crashing overhead. Initially I thought it was another pair of guans. To my delight, I was wrong. The noise was being made by a troop of Spider Monkeys making their way across the canopy. We watched the monkeys swing from the trees for a good 15 minutes before moving on. Ohh and one of the females was pregnant (I think) or very fat…
About forty minutes after we started we had completed the trail and circled back to the museum. Not ready to leave, we headed toward the old, rundown building. Sitting next to the wall was a massive Ctenosaur (a relative of the iguana). As I explored the perimeter the bats started to come out. Our guidebooks says there are more than 60 different species in the national park.
As the bug spray began to wear off it was time to retreat to the car. After a quick drive down to the campsites we began the journey back to our hotel. On the drive we were lucky enough to spot a few dear, a fox, and dozens of birds alongside the road.
Upon returning to La Cruz we grabbed a quick bite to eat (arroz con pollo) and headed up to our room. It is a small town with not much going on and no internet! Though it is only 8:15 I will be heading to bed soon so that we can get a jump on tomorrow!
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