Batteries recharged, we headed north to another 'monte' via commuter bus, up a very windy gravel road towards Monteverde. Known for its eminent cloud forests, Monteverde is one of the best places for spotting the local flora and fauna, including over 14,000 types of butterflies, the local Quetzal bird, and scores of other incredible animals. We checked into a lovely little family owned B&B, set high on the hill over Monteverde. When we arrived at the bus station, it was pouring with rain (as tends to be the pattern come late afternoon at this time of year) and we fought our way up what seemed like vertical hills with our entire baggage to find our accommodation. It was worth it - this place was a lovely little hideaway for a few days, complete with a verandah overlooking the Monteverde forest and valley below. We decided to try the much-publicised Night Tour on our first full day in Monteverde, and boy was it worth it. We headed off with an enthusiastic guide in search of sloth, snakes and Armadillo, and found all three along the two hour trek. We also found two tarantulas, much to Hugo's delight. I didn't share the same enthusiasm and stood at a health distance as the guide demonstrated the tarantulas pattern of striking soft-moving creatures near the hole. As the hairy legs crawled slowly out, I stifled a scream. I'm not much of a spider lover. The giant three-towed sloth was cool though, languishing up high in the tree canopy (we only managed to spot her through decent binoculars, but we managed a decent view - after all, sloths don't move that fast, in fact they remain sedentary for about 18 hrs of the day). Summoning our inner-action heroes, we booked a half day zip line canopy tour in a nearby cloud forest. Over 13 zip lines and a Tarzan swing awaited us. Brilliant! The best bit was the 1km long zip line over rushing creeks and the tree line below. Afterwards we had a relaxing walk around the cloud forest and spotted some indigenous orchids. Part of this (and a reason we signed up) involved the famed hanging bridges, which bring you to the top of the cloud forest in line with monkeys, birds and the like. Parts of some of the bridges had rusted away, and we're in the process of being replaced. How reassuring, when some 30 foot up! The final day, we hired a local guide to take us around the Curl Chancha Monteverde cloud forest, on the advice of our lovely B&B owner. What an incredible experience, and one that is definitely enhanced by the knowledge of a local guide. In a few short hours, we spotted a Toucan (which, incidentally, sounds like a frog when it tweets), a bell bird, porcupine, countless hummingbirds, Wild turkey, giant blue butterflies (twice the size of your hand), and last but not least, the resplendently-coloured Quetzal.
