Exploring the Cloud Forest of Costa Rica.

I've only been in Costa Rica about 3 days, but I'm already getting the sense that I'm 15-20 years too late.   I'm having a blast racing around in my rental car.  But I would give that up in a second, and walk to these places,  if I could see them before they were overcrowded, overpriced, and overdeveloped.

But in today's world, beauty means big bucks.   And like the exotic animals that live within the forests, foreign investors are spending lots of money to capture a slice of heaven for themselves.

Don't get me wrong the cloud forest of Costa Rica, is a beautiful beautiful place.  The moss growing on the trees, the clouds rolling through the canopy, and the amazing biodiversity of the place is mind boggeling. 

Thanks goodness the Quakers who bought the land, were graceous enough to turn it into a reserve and not cut down the forests  like the lower hillsides.  Biologists are still discovering new species and learning more and more about the place every year.    Nights can be a bit nippy, so dress warm. 

Since people will visit Monteverde, no matter how crowded it will get, I recommend one place you can't miss, besides hiking in the forests.   While in the town of Monteverde head to the The Bat Jungle. www.batjungle.com

If you want to learn something about an animal that most people don't care about. Pay the price of a tour and spend about and hour being completely blown away with facts and info about bats and their importance in our world. Our ignorance as a civilization, will someday be our down fall.  Plus toucans like to land in the trees across the street from the place. 

I would love to have spent more time exploring the forest around Monteverde and Santa Elena, but after two days in the area, all the billboards, buses,  shops, and expensive tours,  were starting to kill my travel buzz. and eat at my travel budget. Since, there was no place for me to escape the crowds.  I needed to leave the place, to the cruise line mentality, and make my own tracks somewhere.  

Looking at my map,  my sights were set on the endless beaches and dirt roads of Nicoya Peninsula.  I am heading back to the blue Pacifc Ocean.