Thursday, February 17, 2011

Monteverde and the Costa Rican Cloud Forest

One would assume that since distances in Central America are not large, then travel times would also be relatively short.  However, anyone maintaining such an assumption would be greatly mistaken and today’s marathon 12 hour commute would have been proof enough.  Especially were one to consider the last 38km
 which took us 1 ½ hours by bus. 

Our journey started bright and early in Cahuita.  We wanted to catch the first bus to San Jose because the guidebook warned us that the connecting bus to Monteverde often fills up and needs to be pre-booked.  Since there is only one bus in the afternoon, and since we did not want to be forced to spend the night in San Jose, we left Cahuita at 7:00am.  We got to San Jose shortly before 11am and were glad not to be staying in the city any longer.  From what we saw just driving through it, the city really did not have anything of appeal.  It looked drab, rundown and unwelcoming.  So instead we spent the next 3 ½ hours waiting at a dinky bus station for our connecting bus.
At 2:30pm we started the second leg of our journey bumping into the first fellow Polish travelers on this trip who had just come from Tortugero and were also heading to Monteverde.  The first 2 hours of this ride were relatively uneventful, proceeding down the Inter-American Highway.  3 hours in we picked up a large group of backpackers on the side of the road, 10 or so of whom turned out to be a Polish group traveling I think from Nicaragua on a very intense itinerary.  From that point onward the bus started a serpentine climb that would put the old Sea-to-Sky highway to shame.  The bus navigated the narrow turns at a snail’s pace, both upwards, since it didn’t have enough power to go faster, but also downwards, simply because of the danger of losing control.  After about 15 km of this road, the pavement turned to gravel and continued its steep ascent. For vehicles to pass one another, either one of them would often be required to back until a suitable spot could be found.  By this point we were high above the remainder of Costa Rica.  The surroundings were absolutely picturesque: rolling hills with occasional palms on top of them, like spiky hairdos, descending downwards towards the coastal areas where the Pacific Ocean was met by more mountains silhouetted against a gorgeous red sunset.  This was truly an amazing and unexpected view.  I had somehow pictured Costa Rica to be all jungle and forests, and yet these hills were barren.  They had only the occasional trees and palms and instead were this velvety green color.
We finally made it to Monteverde at 7pm, quite tired and even a bit cold and ended up calling it an early night.
Monteverde ended up playing host to us for two full days.  On the first we headed up to the Cloud Forest Reserve for a 3km stroll through this amazing forest.  However, unlike in Cahuita, wildlife seemed to be quite scarce, at least we weren’t able to spot much.  The spectacular views also proved to be a bit elusive since the intercontinental divide was completely shrouded in clouds.  We were left to imagine what the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea would like from this particular spot.
In the evening we headed for a guided night walk through the Cloud Forest at Santa Maria.  This proved to be quite impressive. Our guide could spot things in the complete darkness that I could only see once fully zoomed in on my camera.  We saw three two toed sloths high up in the trees.  We saw a variety of insects all impersonating the trees and leaves.  The most insane of these was the walking stick – an insect that truly does look like a stick.  This one apparently is the largest known one in Costa Rica and was close to 30 cm long.  However, even when pointed out it did not look much different from all the twigs that it was sitting in.  If I were to post a photo of it online, it would be the most difficult “Find Waldo” assignment ever.  Might actually be a worthwhile game – anyone that can identify the correct “twig” on their first try should get a prize.
We saw coatis, lizards and a green viper about 20 meters above our heads.  Even when she had the laser pointer on the viper, it was still hard to spot.  How she did it by simply scanning the trees with her flashlight is beyond me.  We also got to see a gigantic and insanely harry tarantula.  Probably not the kind of things you want to come across in the woods, but still impressive to see.
Today was our adrenaline day.  We headed out to do our Zip Lining through the Cloud Forrest.  There were 13 lines, the longest being exactly a kilometer in length, on which we whizzed between and above the trees and branches.  Quite an entertaining expedition and I think the Whistler zip line might look quite pathetic in comparison.  The highlight however was the Tarzan swing at the end where you jump off a platform and sing out 30 meters over the jungle.  
It is on this excursion where I found my life’s role models (with the exception of their sexual orientation).  They were two elderly men who have been together for the past 32 years.  One is a divorce attorney (oddly enough given the length of his relationship) and the other a psychoanalyst.   When they go to art galleries they will pick out the same painting as their favorite.  When they say, lets go out to eat, they’ll both name the same restaurant at the same time.  From what we saw and heard, they are truly one another’s soul mates.  However, that aside, their main accomplishment has been traveling for a week of every single month for the last 19 years.  They work, or rather the lawyer works, for 3 weeks of the month and they pack their bags for the 4th.  If they are going somewhere more distant, they will do the trip on the cusp of two months to make it into a two week excursion.
They have been to Europe 75 times.  They travel to Italy every single year because it is the lawyer’s favorite country.  They were in Finland on 9/11 and in Morocco when Obama was elected.  They were escorted at gunpoint off of a Bosnian train during their civil war.  This month they are in Costa Rica.  Next month they are flying to Spain.  In April they are going on a cruise whereas in May they are heading to the Amalfi Coast of Italy.  In June they will be going on a long weekend to New York and on another extended weekend to Las Vegas.  On the brink of July and August they’ll be jetting off to South Africa.  That’s as far as they’ve planned so far but they said that if their family is going to inherit anything from them, it will be simply due to bad financial management on their part.
19 years of ravel every month for a week!!!! WOW!  Oh – and did I mention that they fly first class?  The psychoanalyst said that his job now is to make sure that his partner earns the money.  He had once been a chartered accountant so now runs his partners books, papers, managed their properties and plans their trips while the other brings in the income to support their lifestyle.  Every year they throw a smallish party for all their friends – this past year they had about 250-300 people over at their house for it.  When the psychoanalyst’s mother was still alive, they would often take her with them.
19 years of travel for a week every month is 228 trips.
To find ones soul mate and to maintain such a lifestyle is more than most of us can hope for, but we can still dream for it. I don’t think I will ever forget these two individuals.  Our meeting was short, but they were truly inspirational. 
(Maybe I should go into the family law practice instead?  Now all I need to do is to find my soul mate in the next couple years, then make enough money over the next 10 to be able to maintain this lifestyle.) 
For now I have to satisfy myself with my form of travel (not that I’m complaining).  Tomorrow bright and early we’re catching a bus down to the Inter-American Highway from where we hope to catch a passing bus to the border of Nicaragua.  Our next post should be from the next country.

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