Monteverde

I expected Monteverde to be a lot less monte and a lot more verde. That is not to say that there wasn’t a lot of green there, but I was expecting vast expanses of greenery and high and spacious canopies. I also expected the canopy to be a lot higher than it was, but that could have just been because I have very poor judgement in regards to how high things are. The hike through the Reserve of Monteverde was a lot of fun, even though we did not spend a lot of time looking for wildlife, but more watching our step because we chose not to get a guided tour this time. There were some very scenic overlooks and it was a little chillier than it gets in San Jose, but after all of the walking the temperature was a lot more bearable. There was a part of the trail that we took that was labelled the continental divide and it was stated that on one side, on a clear day, you could see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Later in the day, the group took a tour of some hanging bridges, which I was not too crazy about because I am afraid of heights, but the bridges were very secure and didn’t do as much movement as I thought they would. The next task was the one that I was most afraid of, the zip line. As previously mentioned, I’m not a big fan of heights, nor am I a big fan of zipping along the tops of trees on a wire. Both were things that I got over in order to take a zip line tour of the canopy. Although I was apprehensive, the experience turned out to be very fun with some zip lines running over the canopy, some running through the trees, and others being very high or very long. I felt safe the whole time, which is great, but I also felt a strong sense of accomplishment after conquering my fear and looking around the entire time we were zip lining. We were all very exhausted by the end of the day, considering we estimated having walked anywhere between 8 and 10 miles that day. In the end, it was all worth it to be able to get away for a weekend and enjoy the natural beauty of Costa Rica without being at a beach.

-Nicole Olavarria