by Anne Watcher on Sunday March 30th, 2008 at 1:06pm
The village of Santa Elena is a treat in itself to visit. With it's cobblestone streets, cute shops, good food and of course any tour for the area available, it is well worth a couple of days stay. The only downfall (if you want to call it that) is that the streets all follow the ups and downs of the mountain side on which it is built. Only the one main street is on the level!!
There are endless hotels, B&B's and guest houses in town and along the road to the reserves. The Monteverde Cheese Factory, Butterfly Gardens, Orchid Garden and the Frog Pond all can be found along the road to Monteverde. There is also a museum showing the history and influence the Quakers had in developing this area. Beware though only the roads actually in town are paved the rest are dirt, rock and bumpy!!
So when you visit this part of Costa Rica by all means enjoy the natural beauty of the cloud forests but also take some time to enjoy the quaint town of Santa Elena.
Main Street, Santa Elena
This shows one of the steep dirt roads leading to many of the hotels and B&B's
Souvenir Store, Main Street
Pension Santa Elena were guests stay and socialize
We walked along the streets at night window shopping, getting a coffee
and chatting with the locals. Green light in the background is our hotel
the Tree House.
by Anne Watcher on Saturday March 29th, 2008 at 10:36pm
We were told, by some people, when we are in Costa Rica not to expect to see a monkey in the wild. So we didn't really expect to see this fellow during our visit to the Cloud Forest at Monteverde. What a pleasant surprise to see him moving around up in the trees, jumping from one to the other.
This monkey is quite large and is often heard before he is seen. His howl can carry for over 1km, even with the denseness of the jungle. They don't travel a lot and prefer to live in groups of about 10 in a 10 hectare area. Leaves, fruits and flowers make up most of their diet. They weight between 5 and 8 kgs. and are approximately 1 -1.25 m. in length, half of which is a very strong tail. They like to be up in the tree tops, scurrying along the branches like trapeze artists.
In June of 1976, this monkey was placed on the endangered species list as a result of being threatened by habitat destruction, rainforest fragmentation and natural disasters. Apparently there are around 1300 individuals left of this legally protected tree dwelling Central and South American animal.
He was telling us who's boss.
Notice his coiled tail, carried this way until he needs it to prevent him from falling
or to help propel him to another tree. It was amazing to watch how quickly and
accurately he maneuvered the moss covered branches.
by Anne Watcher on Saturday March 29th, 2008 at 10:30pm
If you want to go for a day or just a few hours there are trails to accommodate you here in the cloud forest. Covering over 10,000 hectares, it offers elfin woodlands on exposed ridges, swampy terrain in poorly drained areas, clear rivers and waterfalls and of course the tall moss and vines covered trees of the rain forest. The varieties of animal and plant life are endless. The well marked trails cover a large area of the reserve and it would take several hours to walk them all and enjoy the sites and sounds. Two of the trails bear the names of two men responsible for the establishment of the reserve, that being scientist George Powell and long-time resident Wilfred Guindon.
Monteverde Reserve is about 7 km from Santa Elena and can be reached by taxi (about $5.00) or by public bus (c550 - $1.10). Beware though some websites give bus times as every hour starting at 7:00 and last return bus at 6:00 pm. In reality the buses going are at 6:15, 7:20, 9:20, 11:20 am and 12:20 pm. Return buses are 9:45, 11:00 pm, 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00 pm. Prepare for a bumpy ride! Park is open from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm. daily. Entrance fee is $15.00 USD for adults with children and students less. Guides are available for an extra cost.
Point of Interest: Although Costa Rica is home to hundreds of varieties of mosquitoes, the guides at Monteverde told us that they were not a problem at the reserve. It was a moist damp day when we were there and even though we didn't use insect repellent neither Rob or I were bitten.
Entrance to the Park
The trail we took on our trip to Monteverde Cloud Forest
Well maintained trails make for a pleasant walk, majestic vegetation enhances the experience.
It's not only birds that make this area interesting. These two little creatures where
battling for position on this leaf.
Ferns, vines, mosses and tall trees all dwell together.
Bird watchers paradise
Suspension bridge crossing a gorge allows you to see the tree
tops hundreds of feet below.
View from the lookout on the Wilfred Guindon Trail, Lake Arenal in the distance with the
mountains of Arenal behind it.
This Coatimundi decided to wonder through the visitor's center.
by Anne Watcher on Saturday March 29th, 2008 at 10:06pm
As the crow flies Arenal and Monteverde are only about 17 km apart. However if you are going to drive from one to the other it is 136 km. because you have to drive around Lake Arenal. The lake was enlarged to 3 times it's size to form a basin for hydroelectric power. Also La Fortuna sits at an elevation of only 350 meters whereas Monteverde straddles the Continental Divide at 1500 meters. The faster way than the required 8 hrs of public bus ride, is to take a "jeep-boat-jeep" trip and cut your traveling time down to about 3 hrs.
The trip from Arenal to Monteverde consists of a 1/2 hr drive to the lake, 1/2 boat ride across the lake and then another 2 hr. drive from the other side of the lake to the villiage of Santa Elena. The views as you are traveling across the water are gorgeous, with the volcano behind you and the mountains of Monteverde in front of you. Small isolated farms dot the countryside and the hills seem to go on forever.
The road from the lake to Santa Elena is dirt and rocks, twisty, windy and as always the scenery makes all the bumping worthwhile. Actually they use tourist vans now quite often because they say the road is "much" better now then in the past. Another alternative is to take horses (between 3 and 4 hrs. depending on the season) for the section from Monteverde to the lake.
Costs: $15.00 - $25.00 USD per person
View from the dam which enlarged the size of Lake Arenal
Volcan Arenal fades behind us as we cross the lake, clouds help to disguise
it's majestic presence also.
Rob and I enjoying the ride
The hills and mountains offer a spectacular backdrop for our trip.
Safely on the other side.
by Anne Watcher on Saturday March 29th, 2008 at 7:49pm
You can't open a travel book or tour guide schedule without seeing something about "Volcan Arenal", one of the 10 most active volcanoes in the world. It truly is a spectacular sight even if you don't see the lava, which flows regularly, coming down the side. There are endless things to do and see in this area, all of which you can find out about before you come or from the almost endless businesses offering tours. They range from, hanging bridges, zip lines, rain forest hikes, white-water rafting, boat tours and so on.
The one I had never read about however was a trip around the mountain at night to the side where the lava now flows. In 1992 Arenal blow up again this time opening a crater on the side of the top which now makes the lava flow towards the lake and away from most of the hotels that line the road. The trip consisted of a 10 km drive on pavement, an 8 km drive down a dirt road covered in rocks (yes I mean rocks not gravel) and potholes big enough to get lost in and then a 2.5 km hike up to the closest observation point, about 700 m from the volcano. This was a decision we certainly do not regret.
The hike along the well maintained trail was a treat in itself as you listened to the night sounds of the rain forest immersed in total darkness, except for your flashlight to watch you footing with. Our guide was telling the sounds we were hearing as we went along. You could hear a puma off in the distance (glad he stayed there) and the sounds of popcorn popping as Arenal spit out rocks. The last 70 m of the hike was up, over and along lava rocks spewed from the volcano in 1992.
We sat and waited for the show. Unfortunately clouds had moved over the top so we couldn't see but we could hear the boom of the explosion, then the sound of rocks falling, then the cloud would start to light up and soon you'd see the red lava coming down the side of Arenal. It was really something to see but also the sight of tiny bugs lighting up around you as sat up there it was TOTAL darkness. An absolutely great experience, do this hike if you get the chance!!
Volcan Arenal as seen from La Fortuna
The bull ring in La Fortuna with Arenal in the background. They were painting and cleaning
everything up to get ready for their big festival in April.
Main street of La Fortuna, the closest town to the volcano.
