We´re now in Monteverde in the cloud forest of inland
Costa
Rica where the weather is sunny in the mornings
and currently bucketing it down all afternoon. Today we went on a zip-lining
tour over the forests and through the trees, which was great fun once I realised
I could control my speed and it wasn´t that scary. We then went to a hummingbird
garden where they left special birdfeeders out to attract the birds. We were the
only people there and the birds were all around us. They are mesmerising to
watch and the air was filled with the purring sound of their wings. Trying to
take photos was pretty funny too. We took several pictures of nothing when the
birds moved quicker than we could press the button!
After that we went to a Jewels of the Rainforest
exhibition of insects. It was part of the collection of an amazing American
called Richard Whitten who has been collecting insects and spiders for 60 years.
The displays were partly educational and partly what they like to call
"bio-art". The butterflies and other specimens are arranged in patterns in big
cases with flowers or feathers to show off their amazing colours and textures.
It´s difficult to describe so it might be best to look at the
photos.
Yesterday we went up into the cloud forest to see some of
the wildlife in its natural habitat and to look for an elusive quetzal. The
quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala but most easily spotted in
Costa
Rica. It also has a reputation for exceptional
beauty due to the males´ long green tail feathers, crested head and red breast.
In Monteverde they have some nesting at the moment and we managed to see two; a
female and a juvenile male. Unfortunately neither had the impressive green tail
but they are a lovely emerald colour and very rare.
This part of the trip has definitely been
educational, and we now know more about bugs and insects than we care too. Next
stop is La Fortuna via a truck / horse / boat....
