Volcanogirl's Costa Rica Trip Report
Jul 14th, 2008, 05:29 AM
#21
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Enjoying your report vg, sounds like you enjoyed Monteverde more than us! It was more an altitude problem for my husband though.
Sorry to hear about your rough start at the beginning.
When we did Cano Negro in Feb., we stopped at the Iguana Bridge, (the coffee there was awesome), so the "incident" must of happened since then. We also enjoyed all the birds, saw three different kinds of kingfishers that day (which our guide said was rare). That's weird about the tourist hitting on the guide. There are some strange people who visit CR.
When we stayed at the Orquedieas Inn two years ago, we were talking with a "fellow" American from Ohio at the bar. (Easily a man in his 60's). He had worked in CR for years and keeps visiting, without his wife, who he told us is disabled. Anyway, a young CR woman come in who was a "friend" of his, easily a woman 1/2 his age, or maybe even more. I was a little creeped out by this whole scene too.
Sorry I digress....looking forward to hearing more!
Sorry to hear about your rough start at the beginning.
When we did Cano Negro in Feb., we stopped at the Iguana Bridge, (the coffee there was awesome), so the "incident" must of happened since then. We also enjoyed all the birds, saw three different kinds of kingfishers that day (which our guide said was rare). That's weird about the tourist hitting on the guide. There are some strange people who visit CR.
When we stayed at the Orquedieas Inn two years ago, we were talking with a "fellow" American from Ohio at the bar. (Easily a man in his 60's). He had worked in CR for years and keeps visiting, without his wife, who he told us is disabled. Anyway, a young CR woman come in who was a "friend" of his, easily a woman 1/2 his age, or maybe even more. I was a little creeped out by this whole scene too.
Sorry I digress....looking forward to hearing more!
Jul 14th, 2008, 07:51 AM
#22
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Volcanogirl,
Glad you enjoyed MV and saw the quetzal and plenty of other wildlife. We loved MV and I'm always dismayed to see that so many people skip it due to the rough road or whatever reason. I'm not sure why it has such mixed reviews on this forum.
We lucked out and saw five quetzals between the MV reserve and the Santa Elena reserve, so we were thrilled!
Hope you made it to Hummingbird Gallery right next to MV reserve. We saw eight species of hummingbirds within 30 minutes and at dusk, either olingas or kinkajous would climb down from the trees and drain the feeders. The bats came in after that, if there was any food left!
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
Glad you enjoyed MV and saw the quetzal and plenty of other wildlife. We loved MV and I'm always dismayed to see that so many people skip it due to the rough road or whatever reason. I'm not sure why it has such mixed reviews on this forum.
We lucked out and saw five quetzals between the MV reserve and the Santa Elena reserve, so we were thrilled!
Hope you made it to Hummingbird Gallery right next to MV reserve. We saw eight species of hummingbirds within 30 minutes and at dusk, either olingas or kinkajous would climb down from the trees and drain the feeders. The bats came in after that, if there was any food left!
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
Jul 14th, 2008, 08:35 AM
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It sounds like Monteverde has some really neat things to offer. I'm looking forward to hearing about the night hike.
Sorry to hear about the disgruntled woman on your reserve tour. That had to be a little bit of a downer for you. I feel bad for her losing her stuff, but most of us know better than to leave things in the car... I hope the rest of her vacation went better and she was able to gain some enjoyment from it.
It sounds like your guide might have been a tad militant in his protection of the reserve's wildlife, but he's probably right. I'd like to <i>hope</i> I would err on the side of protecting the eco-system over getting some good photo ops at its expense, but it would be hard to stand there looking at a quetzal and not be able to get a good photo of it due to the lighting conditions!
Very strange about the guy hitting on your Cano Negro guide! What kind of wierdo does that?? It has nothing to do with his preferences, but everything to do with the inappropriateness of the situation!
Sorry to hear about the disgruntled woman on your reserve tour. That had to be a little bit of a downer for you. I feel bad for her losing her stuff, but most of us know better than to leave things in the car... I hope the rest of her vacation went better and she was able to gain some enjoyment from it.
It sounds like your guide might have been a tad militant in his protection of the reserve's wildlife, but he's probably right. I'd like to <i>hope</i> I would err on the side of protecting the eco-system over getting some good photo ops at its expense, but it would be hard to stand there looking at a quetzal and not be able to get a good photo of it due to the lighting conditions!
Very strange about the guy hitting on your Cano Negro guide! What kind of wierdo does that?? It has nothing to do with his preferences, but everything to do with the inappropriateness of the situation!
Jul 14th, 2008, 09:57 AM
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Absolutely! Regardless of preference, that's just poor judgement any way you look at it. Geez.
vgirl, as a birding destination, you and your hubby would love Rancho Naturalista. It would be a perfect combination with a Pacuare trip as well. We're doing RN for 3 nights this year after BdC. LOTS of birds, free guide twice a day (well, maybe not FREE, but included in the price of $130 per person per day). Excellent food. Very quiet, nice views. Horseback included as well. Also near to C.A.T.I.E, which is interesting in and of itself and has good birding opportunities as well.
Also, La Selva, of course, and the Caribbean side. We've seen some really nice species at Dominical also. And the Wilson Botanical Garden near San Vito. . .Las Cruces station, I think. . .OTC. Lots of trips to plan, huh?
vgirl, as a birding destination, you and your hubby would love Rancho Naturalista. It would be a perfect combination with a Pacuare trip as well. We're doing RN for 3 nights this year after BdC. LOTS of birds, free guide twice a day (well, maybe not FREE, but included in the price of $130 per person per day). Excellent food. Very quiet, nice views. Horseback included as well. Also near to C.A.T.I.E, which is interesting in and of itself and has good birding opportunities as well.
Also, La Selva, of course, and the Caribbean side. We've seen some really nice species at Dominical also. And the Wilson Botanical Garden near San Vito. . .Las Cruces station, I think. . .OTC. Lots of trips to plan, huh?
Jul 14th, 2008, 10:15 AM
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We had a similar experience in MV--we saw TONS of quetzals--6 or 7.
And we had a hyperannoying person on our night tour--kept on making noise to scare animals, telling people at the back of the tour group (12 people on one trail) that "you're taking too long" and asking stupid questions like "is that rare" when the guide pointed out a COMMON possum.
And we had a hyperannoying person on our night tour--kept on making noise to scare animals, telling people at the back of the tour group (12 people on one trail) that "you're taking too long" and asking stupid questions like "is that rare" when the guide pointed out a COMMON possum.
Jul 14th, 2008, 02:59 PM
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VG,
Great, great trip report – want to jump on a plane and go now. Sorry about your rocky start, but for a few years now, every time I ask about advance time for check-in, they say 3 hrs for international, 2 for domestic. I think it is excessive (for both kind of flights), but we try to follow the rules. It seems though that all the problems ended after you boarded the flight…
Good to hear all the good comments about Eco Termale, Sunstet Tours’ Cano Negro and their morning birding tour – they are all on our list. Please tell me you have pictures of all those birds and the wildlife you saw – please post a link to your pictures, I would die to see them.
It seems that you did not do the Hanging Bridges (since this was a repeat visit, you probably did it last time). Do you remember, did you use Sunset for the tour, too? Or just hired a guide from Lost Iguana before it?
Although we’re not going to MV, I’m enjoying that part of your report, too. Maybe we’ll plan that for a future trip. A quetzal would be a wonderful thing to see…
Great, great trip report – want to jump on a plane and go now. Sorry about your rocky start, but for a few years now, every time I ask about advance time for check-in, they say 3 hrs for international, 2 for domestic. I think it is excessive (for both kind of flights), but we try to follow the rules. It seems though that all the problems ended after you boarded the flight…
Good to hear all the good comments about Eco Termale, Sunstet Tours’ Cano Negro and their morning birding tour – they are all on our list. Please tell me you have pictures of all those birds and the wildlife you saw – please post a link to your pictures, I would die to see them.
It seems that you did not do the Hanging Bridges (since this was a repeat visit, you probably did it last time). Do you remember, did you use Sunset for the tour, too? Or just hired a guide from Lost Iguana before it?
Although we’re not going to MV, I’m enjoying that part of your report, too. Maybe we’ll plan that for a future trip. A quetzal would be a wonderful thing to see…
Jul 14th, 2008, 04:32 PM
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Hi, all! Shillmac, thanks for the great suggestions - you know you're just making my life harder right?! I was all set to follow you to Belize, but now I see even more great CR suggestions!
C, I agree with you. I think you have to go with what the guide says - he's out to protect the wildlife, so I have to respect that.
I love hearing about everyone else's experiences - especially all the quetzal sightings!
xyz, you're completely right; we did the Hanging Bridges on our last trip. We did not hire a guide, and I think that was a mistake on our part. It ended up being just a nice hike and we didn't see any wildlife other than ants! If I did it again, I would definitely hire a guide. Arenal just has so many great activities that it's hard to pick just a few when time is limited. I did take a lot of pictures, but I don't know how to post them. I am determined to figure it out though!
C, I agree with you. I think you have to go with what the guide says - he's out to protect the wildlife, so I have to respect that.
I love hearing about everyone else's experiences - especially all the quetzal sightings!
xyz, you're completely right; we did the Hanging Bridges on our last trip. We did not hire a guide, and I think that was a mistake on our part. It ended up being just a nice hike and we didn't see any wildlife other than ants! If I did it again, I would definitely hire a guide. Arenal just has so many great activities that it's hard to pick just a few when time is limited. I did take a lot of pictures, but I don't know how to post them. I am determined to figure it out though!
Jul 14th, 2008, 04:42 PM
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VG,
Regarding posting pictures, there are a few threads here discussing it.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=134
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=134
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
There a quite a few sites that offer free photo sharing options – read the threads above to get some ideas.
I use smugmug for all my personal pictures, but that is a paid site. For all the pictures I want to share with the world, I use picasa. I am very happy with both of them.
Hope to see your pictures soon
Regarding posting pictures, there are a few threads here discussing it.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=134
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=134
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
There a quite a few sites that offer free photo sharing options – read the threads above to get some ideas.
I use smugmug for all my personal pictures, but that is a paid site. For all the pictures I want to share with the world, I use picasa. I am very happy with both of them.
Hope to see your pictures soon
Jul 14th, 2008, 04:47 PM
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Okay, so on to the night hike! I was a little nervous about this one, but once we got rolling I loved it! Monteverde offers several night hikes - Santa Elena, Monteverde, Selvature, Hidden Valley - it was hard to choose which one we wanted to do, but I had read good reviews of Hidden Valley on this board, so that's the one we went with. The cost was $20 per person and included pickup and dropoff at our hotel. We ended up being put with a very fun group from the UK. Coincidentally they were our next door neighbors at the Lost Iguana in Arenal/La Fortuna! It's funny how you see the same people over and over again as you move from city to city.
It had been beautiful weather all day, so we knew we'd have good weather for the hike. Decided to leave those pesky ponchos at the hotel because we were tired of carrying them around. When we got to Hidden Valley, we paid our fee, and were given 2 tickets. I noticed that the tickets came in different colors, and that's how they separated us into groups - blue with Carlos, green with Oscar, pink with someone else. We ended up being assigned to Lisette, and she was really funny and nice.
When you get there, they give you a flashlight, and each group heads off on a certain trail. The guides have walkie-talkies that they use to communicate with each other about different sightings. We saw a lot of wonderful things - a gray fox, an agouti, porcupine, banana spiders (20 times more venomous than a black widow!), a snail-eating snake, racoon, 2-toed sloth, walking stick, and birds like a blue-crowned mot-mot and chachalacas. Part way through our hike, we started hearing the rumble of thunder. No! The one time we didn't bring the ponchos, the sky erupted - serious downpour; it was kind of funny all of us standing there in the rain! We just kept on going, but it was really chilly and we were wet, so take our advice and bring the ponchos!
The tour lasted 2 hours; the Brits were very cute, instead of flashlight, they called it a "torch" - "shine your torch on it!" And they got really excited to see the raccoon because they'd never seen one before. I loved seeing the fox, and I had been dying to see a snake. The one we saw was only about the size of my pinkie though, not the big viper I had imagined. This was a great tour, and I'd really recommend it. I don't know why I thought it would be creepy wandering around in the dark; it really was awesome.
I asked Lisette if she had ever seen any big cats because they have 5 kinds in Monteverde. She said that one time they saw a puma/cougar! She was leading a group of elderly ladies, and one of them said she saw a puma, and all the guides were joking and making fun of her, but when they checked it out, she was right! It was in a tree, and everyone got pictures. Can you imagine?!
At the end of the tour, Lisette said she was sorry that we hadn't seen more, but I was thrilled with everything we saw and so happy to be with a fun group.
We got dropped off back at the hotel and prepared for ziplining the next day. Monteverde is where ziplining began, so we figured this would be a good place to give it a shot.
It had been beautiful weather all day, so we knew we'd have good weather for the hike. Decided to leave those pesky ponchos at the hotel because we were tired of carrying them around. When we got to Hidden Valley, we paid our fee, and were given 2 tickets. I noticed that the tickets came in different colors, and that's how they separated us into groups - blue with Carlos, green with Oscar, pink with someone else. We ended up being assigned to Lisette, and she was really funny and nice.
When you get there, they give you a flashlight, and each group heads off on a certain trail. The guides have walkie-talkies that they use to communicate with each other about different sightings. We saw a lot of wonderful things - a gray fox, an agouti, porcupine, banana spiders (20 times more venomous than a black widow!), a snail-eating snake, racoon, 2-toed sloth, walking stick, and birds like a blue-crowned mot-mot and chachalacas. Part way through our hike, we started hearing the rumble of thunder. No! The one time we didn't bring the ponchos, the sky erupted - serious downpour; it was kind of funny all of us standing there in the rain! We just kept on going, but it was really chilly and we were wet, so take our advice and bring the ponchos!
The tour lasted 2 hours; the Brits were very cute, instead of flashlight, they called it a "torch" - "shine your torch on it!" And they got really excited to see the raccoon because they'd never seen one before. I loved seeing the fox, and I had been dying to see a snake. The one we saw was only about the size of my pinkie though, not the big viper I had imagined. This was a great tour, and I'd really recommend it. I don't know why I thought it would be creepy wandering around in the dark; it really was awesome.
I asked Lisette if she had ever seen any big cats because they have 5 kinds in Monteverde. She said that one time they saw a puma/cougar! She was leading a group of elderly ladies, and one of them said she saw a puma, and all the guides were joking and making fun of her, but when they checked it out, she was right! It was in a tree, and everyone got pictures. Can you imagine?!
At the end of the tour, Lisette said she was sorry that we hadn't seen more, but I was thrilled with everything we saw and so happy to be with a fun group.
We got dropped off back at the hotel and prepared for ziplining the next day. Monteverde is where ziplining began, so we figured this would be a good place to give it a shot.
Jul 14th, 2008, 08:11 PM
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Another great post, VG. I'm glad you made it through the night hike unscathed! We did the night walk at BdC with Phillip last year. It was just a quick 30 minutes around the frog pond and grounds, but I thought it was quite fun! You had a veritable cavalcade of wildlife, didn't you!? Excellent!
Do check into posting your photos. Like xyz, I use smugmug and love it, but there are several free sites you can subscribe to. I think shillmac and tully both use Kodak and as far as I know, it's free.
RAC, your tale of horrible hiking companions reminds me of a trip to SeaWorld a few years back. We were admiring the beautiful white beluga whales in the Wild Arctic exhibit, when a very <b>loud</b> family walked up and started exclaiming, "Oooh, there's the polar bears! Wait, those aren't polar bears! What are they? Sharks?? Manatees?? I WANT TO SEE THE POLAR BEARS!!" And then the presumed father of the group very indignantly demanded to be shown where the polar bears were kept of a nearby park employee. He seemed quite put out to be wasting his time looking at the beluga whales! To this day, it's a family joke to randomly ask "Where are the freakin' polar bears!?". ;-)
Do check into posting your photos. Like xyz, I use smugmug and love it, but there are several free sites you can subscribe to. I think shillmac and tully both use Kodak and as far as I know, it's free.
RAC, your tale of horrible hiking companions reminds me of a trip to SeaWorld a few years back. We were admiring the beautiful white beluga whales in the Wild Arctic exhibit, when a very <b>loud</b> family walked up and started exclaiming, "Oooh, there's the polar bears! Wait, those aren't polar bears! What are they? Sharks?? Manatees?? I WANT TO SEE THE POLAR BEARS!!" And then the presumed father of the group very indignantly demanded to be shown where the polar bears were kept of a nearby park employee. He seemed quite put out to be wasting his time looking at the beluga whales! To this day, it's a family joke to randomly ask "Where are the freakin' polar bears!?". ;-)
Jul 14th, 2008, 11:56 PM
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LOL! Cam, that is hilarious. We have a similar family joke relating to an experience at the San Diego Zoo. It has to do with the inadvertent (or not) release of gas by one of our family members. I will NEVER tell who, but the person had strolled over to the area of the rhinos thinking to isolate him/herself a bit. Just then, a family walked up and the woman exclaimed, "Ooh! Smell those rhinos!"
To this day, as you say, it is a family joke when in the presence of anything that offends the nostrils, to say, "Smell those rhinos!"
To this day, as you say, it is a family joke when in the presence of anything that offends the nostrils, to say, "Smell those rhinos!"
Jul 15th, 2008, 06:24 AM
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Dear Volcano Girl,
You write well and your narrative is interesting and informative. It is very hard to follow or even find 'midst the comments, however. Could I make suggestion? Maybe after you have finished the report, you could gather up all the parts and post it in its entirity, non-stop, beginning to end.
You write well and your narrative is interesting and informative. It is very hard to follow or even find 'midst the comments, however. Could I make suggestion? Maybe after you have finished the report, you could gather up all the parts and post it in its entirity, non-stop, beginning to end.
Jul 15th, 2008, 08:33 AM
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volcanogirl -- Welcome back! Sorry to hear about that first day...always a bummer but such a great trip afterwards! I'm impressed of your birding list as well! Glad to hear you enjoyed Eco-Thermales as much as we did. I can't compare it with Tabacon so it's nice to have someone who can. 
I'm having a rough time myself deciding where new to add next trip...so many choices...reading trip reports help a lot!
I'm having a rough time myself deciding where new to add next trip...so many choices...reading trip reports help a lot!
Jul 15th, 2008, 05:46 PM
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hip, thanks for you tip on EcoT. We really loved it. Michelle, I'm glad my reports helped you; I've gotten so much great advice on this board.
So another day in Monteverde - there are a number of zipline outfits to choose from in MV, but both of our guidebooks recommended The Original Canopy Tour, so that's how we made our choice.
I won't lie; I was nervous to do this, but once I met the guides I felt comfortable. We got picked up at Fonda Vela, and they drove us to the office. There they put us into harnesses and helmets and gave us big work gloves to wear. I was looking at a framed picture in their office of an older man on a zipline, and I realized it was Jimmy Carter! He had done their tour a couple of years ago. I figured if he could do it, then so could we!
The day starts off with a hike uphill, just keep hiking until you get to the first zip. I think the guide was taking pity on us because he would stop occasionally and say things like, "Let's look at this nice butterfly..." Once we got to the first line, they gave us a little lesson in how to brake, etc. I learned a few little helpful hints. On this type, we had to brake by pushing our hand down on the top of the wire; don't push too hard or you will stop short. Also when the guide is trying to hook you onto the line, get up on your tippy toes to make it easy. Also we had to hold one hand over our head and on the line for stability, it helps to put your arm all the way back or you will flip around and end up going backwards.
I thought zipping would be scary, but it wasn't at all. It was easy and fun, and we enjoyed it. I thought they might give me that sick feeling like on a ride that drops really fast and it feels like your stomach is dropping, but it was more like just flying along horizontally. Thanks to everyone who convinced me to try it!
Ours consisted of 8 ziplines and also 2 rappels - we didn't know about those going in, but we ended up enjoying that even more than the zips. I really think everyone should do the ziplines at least once - don't be scared! I really liked this tour because we zipped through the trees instead of hanging above them, so it felt like we were still in the forest.
One amazing thing happened while we were on one of the platforms; we were about 100 feet off the ground, and I turned around to be face-to-face with a resplendent quetzal! It was gorgeous and amazing, and being up on the same level with it was so cool! Then I looked the other way, and there was a second one! Never did I dream we'd see those! They live primarily in avocado trees, and I guess this area had a lot of them. This was really just icing on the cake for us.
The repels were easy too; you just hold the rope at your hip and can completely control your descent just by opening and closing your hand. The last one was 100 feet, and they said we could free fall if we wanted to, so we did! We only had 4 people in our group, and I think that added to the enjoyment of the day because we never had to wait long to hit the next line.
After we finished, we headed to Pizzeria de Johnny for lunch - we had a great salad there and some pretty good pizza. I was surprised by how nice the place was; I was imagining more of a pizza joint, but it had nice linen table clothes, great service, etc. It's undergoing a big remodeling project, but still open. There's a nice little patio out back.
We went back to Fonda Vela and hiked around the grounds until it started to pour rain. We saw a beautiful emerald toucanet; this is really a great spot for birders if that's one of your interests. We saw gorgeous birds every day. The new junior suites that we stayed in were nice. My husband liked the fact that they had a t.v. where he could check sports scores. I liked the bathtub, which seemed like a big luxury in the jungle. Our room had a huge window that looked out on the garden and a tree where toucans would land. Also saw lots of colorful birds I couldn't identify. I almost wish I could perpetually have a guide with me because I see so many great things, but I have no idea what they are!
We ended the day with a casual dinner at the bar since we chowed down at the pizzeria, and we were in a drenching rain. The next day we had plans to head off to the Peace Lodge one of our favorite spots. Overall we really enjoyed MV. I still have a very soft spot for Arenal and think we will continue to go back there, but I'm glad to have gotten to experience MV and especially to have seen the quetzals, that was one of our favorite things.
So another day in Monteverde - there are a number of zipline outfits to choose from in MV, but both of our guidebooks recommended The Original Canopy Tour, so that's how we made our choice.
I won't lie; I was nervous to do this, but once I met the guides I felt comfortable. We got picked up at Fonda Vela, and they drove us to the office. There they put us into harnesses and helmets and gave us big work gloves to wear. I was looking at a framed picture in their office of an older man on a zipline, and I realized it was Jimmy Carter! He had done their tour a couple of years ago. I figured if he could do it, then so could we!
The day starts off with a hike uphill, just keep hiking until you get to the first zip. I think the guide was taking pity on us because he would stop occasionally and say things like, "Let's look at this nice butterfly..." Once we got to the first line, they gave us a little lesson in how to brake, etc. I learned a few little helpful hints. On this type, we had to brake by pushing our hand down on the top of the wire; don't push too hard or you will stop short. Also when the guide is trying to hook you onto the line, get up on your tippy toes to make it easy. Also we had to hold one hand over our head and on the line for stability, it helps to put your arm all the way back or you will flip around and end up going backwards.
I thought zipping would be scary, but it wasn't at all. It was easy and fun, and we enjoyed it. I thought they might give me that sick feeling like on a ride that drops really fast and it feels like your stomach is dropping, but it was more like just flying along horizontally. Thanks to everyone who convinced me to try it!
Ours consisted of 8 ziplines and also 2 rappels - we didn't know about those going in, but we ended up enjoying that even more than the zips. I really think everyone should do the ziplines at least once - don't be scared! I really liked this tour because we zipped through the trees instead of hanging above them, so it felt like we were still in the forest.
One amazing thing happened while we were on one of the platforms; we were about 100 feet off the ground, and I turned around to be face-to-face with a resplendent quetzal! It was gorgeous and amazing, and being up on the same level with it was so cool! Then I looked the other way, and there was a second one! Never did I dream we'd see those! They live primarily in avocado trees, and I guess this area had a lot of them. This was really just icing on the cake for us.
The repels were easy too; you just hold the rope at your hip and can completely control your descent just by opening and closing your hand. The last one was 100 feet, and they said we could free fall if we wanted to, so we did! We only had 4 people in our group, and I think that added to the enjoyment of the day because we never had to wait long to hit the next line.
After we finished, we headed to Pizzeria de Johnny for lunch - we had a great salad there and some pretty good pizza. I was surprised by how nice the place was; I was imagining more of a pizza joint, but it had nice linen table clothes, great service, etc. It's undergoing a big remodeling project, but still open. There's a nice little patio out back.
We went back to Fonda Vela and hiked around the grounds until it started to pour rain. We saw a beautiful emerald toucanet; this is really a great spot for birders if that's one of your interests. We saw gorgeous birds every day. The new junior suites that we stayed in were nice. My husband liked the fact that they had a t.v. where he could check sports scores. I liked the bathtub, which seemed like a big luxury in the jungle. Our room had a huge window that looked out on the garden and a tree where toucans would land. Also saw lots of colorful birds I couldn't identify. I almost wish I could perpetually have a guide with me because I see so many great things, but I have no idea what they are!
We ended the day with a casual dinner at the bar since we chowed down at the pizzeria, and we were in a drenching rain. The next day we had plans to head off to the Peace Lodge one of our favorite spots. Overall we really enjoyed MV. I still have a very soft spot for Arenal and think we will continue to go back there, but I'm glad to have gotten to experience MV and especially to have seen the quetzals, that was one of our favorite things.
Jul 16th, 2008, 04:48 AM
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colibri, we didn't make it to the Hummingbird Reserve - we didn't even know about it. It sounds like it would have been wonderful! I can't believe something slipped past me after all the years of reading these boards!
Jul 16th, 2008, 04:56 AM
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Thanks for another great instalment, VG! Sounds like Monteverde is definitely worthy of a visit. All the birds sound wonderful, and how cool to get such a good look at the quetzals! I'm glad you had a good zipline adventure as well. For some reason, I was thinking you had done Sky Trek in Arenal...
Looking forward to your Peace Lodge report.
Looking forward to your Peace Lodge report.
Jul 16th, 2008, 06:47 AM
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VG,
I loved your quetzal story - how incredible to be face-to-face with them on the canopy tour!! Just that alone would make MV a great destination - you really lucked out!
Hummingbird Gallery isn't a reserve, it's actually the art gallery/gift shop/coffee shop up the hill right next to MV reserve (but not part of it). Generally the guides will take groups up there. They keep about 15 - 20 feeders out and hundreds of hummingbirds are zooming in and out all day long, but particularly at dusk when they stock up on energy for the night.
Your report is making me wish that I would have scheduled a return trip to MV for February, but we are trying out new places this time - Tortuguero, Selva Verde, Orosi/Cachi and Poas since our last trip was MV and Guanacaste.
There is too much to see in such a small country - looks like another trip will be down the road!
Enjoying your report, looking forward to more.
I loved your quetzal story - how incredible to be face-to-face with them on the canopy tour!! Just that alone would make MV a great destination - you really lucked out!
Hummingbird Gallery isn't a reserve, it's actually the art gallery/gift shop/coffee shop up the hill right next to MV reserve (but not part of it). Generally the guides will take groups up there. They keep about 15 - 20 feeders out and hundreds of hummingbirds are zooming in and out all day long, but particularly at dusk when they stock up on energy for the night.
Your report is making me wish that I would have scheduled a return trip to MV for February, but we are trying out new places this time - Tortuguero, Selva Verde, Orosi/Cachi and Poas since our last trip was MV and Guanacaste.
There is too much to see in such a small country - looks like another trip will be down the road!
Enjoying your report, looking forward to more.
