After breakfast at the hotel, we drove to the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Preserve for the Skywalk – a 1.5 mile loop trail, with suspension bridges through and over the lush cloud forest – our first chance to tour the canopy from the tops of the trees.
The Sky Walk is a system of six bridges, some with lengths of almost 1000 feet. All along the way, Alex pointed out the unique characteristics of the cloud forest canopy, as well as plants, birds and animals peculiar to this area.
The Monteverde area is renowned for its diversity of natural life. The plateau traps the warm humid air rising from the ocean, creating dense clouds. The clouds wrap the forest in near-constant moisture and support an incredible number of species of plants and animals.
Even us rookies could tell that this forest was quite different from the tropical rainforest we had visited earlier in the trip. The tropical rainforest occurs at 0-2300 feet elevation; the cloud forest occurs only between 2500 and 5000 feet elevation. So: three key characteristics of cloud forest: higher elevation, year-round cloud bank providing higher moisture content, and many more epiphytes (25% of plants here are epiphytes – air plants).We were assured that the bridges were safe and secure – and quite an engineering feat.
Along the way, we marveled at the views – it’s not every day that you walk above the tree tops.
In between bridges, Alex pointed out interesting plants: Giant Elephant Ears, Monstera (Giant Philodendron), Gunnera (Poor Man’s Umbrella), Angel Wing Begonia, and the Hot Lips Plant.
We heard those howler monkeys again and spotted a few birds (the Common Bush Tanager and Common Gray Hawk) and two magnificent hummingbirds: the Purple-Throated Mountain Gem and the Violet Sabrewing.
Next stop was back in the town of Santa Elena, at Sofia’s Restaurant for lunch. We had grilled seabass, coconut rice, mashed plantain with ham, chayote with corn, lemonade, and watermelon granizado for dessert.
After lunch, we headed to the Monte Verde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. This 26,000-acre reserve was founded in 1972 to protect the Golden Toad (now thought to be extinct) and the Resplendent Quetzal (a beautiful and elusive bird that lives only in this area). Today, it is dedicated to scientific research and education. At 5000 feet elevation, this was terrain similar to the area we visited this morning, but this afternoon we are on the ground.The reserve stretches down both the Caribbean and Pacific slopes of the Tilaran Mountain Range and encompasses eight distinct ecological zones. This variety of habitat, combined with a yearly average rainfall of 97 inches, results in a large and diverse plant and animal community. For example, there are over 300 species of orchids, one hundred species of mammals, 400 bird species, and over 1200 species of reptiles and amphibians.
And, miracle of miracles, we had gone only about a half-mile when Alex spotted a pair of Quetzals, munching on their favorite food, wild avocados. There may be more colorful birds, but this one really is dazzling.This was a good place for other birds, too. We saw Striped Tail Hummingbird, Black-Faced Solitaire, Green-Crowned Brilliant Hummingbird, Black Guan, Three-Stripe Warbler, Slate-Throated Redstart, and Purple-Throated Mountain Gem. Pictured here are the Orange-Billed Trogon, Blue-Crowned Mot Mot, and Em
erald Toucanet.
Alex showed us a really huge strangler fig tree. Monkeys eat the figs and drop seeds in tree tops. The seeds germinate and drop aerial roots. Lots of roots – in 100-150 years, the strangle fig completely overwhelms the host tree, which dies from lack of sun, water and nutrients. This one was hollow inside.We hiked through some pretty dense forest to see a pretty waterfall, and on the way out, we saw a hummingbird on its nest – what a sight!
After walking in the cloud forest, we stopped by an art gallery that has a bunch of hummingbird feeders out front. Amazing! We saw Violet Saber-Wing Hummingbird (3 pictures), Green Violet-Ear Hummingbird, Purple-Throated Mountain Gem, the Green-Crowned Brilliant Hummingbird, and others not pictured.
What a day. We walked into town to the Palmeras Restaurant for pizza and sea bass.
