Day 11- Monteverde Cloud Forest

[squirmelia]

As I reached the Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica's most famous bird, the quetzal, flew to a nearby tree.

The photographs I took of hummingbirds are mostly just blurry and slightly ethereal, as if the birds were magical and fairy-like, their presence only temporary and flickering, existing one minute and not the next. Sometimes, in photos, I can see the bright shiny colours of their feathers, but sometimes they just darted away too quickly for me to be able to capture them and that fastness, that hovering, and the fact that if I blinked, they might be gone, made me appreciate them even more.

A guide began to reveal the secrets of the Monteverde Cloud Forest to us, but I remember not really listening to him and instead angling my camera excitedly at an awesome hollow tree in front of me, that was so vast it resembled a cave, or perhaps a labyrinth I should explore more. I think I fell in love with the cloud forest then.

Then after that, was the Sky Trek. Attached to a zipwire, 130m (426ft) high, I soared over the tree-tops and through the clouds, while looking down at the dense forest, basking in mist. I smiled and gasped at least a little, at the trees, so far below me, as I zoomed past.

Then after that, I walked along wobbly suspension bridges, that also hung above the tree-tops and stopped frequently to gaze in wonder at the branches, vines, mosses, think tunks and creeping leaves all combining in an awesome tangle amongst the clouds giving the forest a magnificent feeling of eerieness.

Oh, I stared and stared, beause it felt so unreal, like a weird dream forest full of magic and all kinds of strange creatures and trees.

Photos on Flickr: Monteverde, Costa Rica.

Comments

[nickmurdoch.livejournal.com]

Zip wires gooooood
Wobbly bridges baaaaaad

Looks and sounds gorgeous :)

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

So that's what a quetzal looks like... All that I had known of them, to date, was that 'QUETZALS' is the highest-scoring known word in Scrabble.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Still coming to see Douglas Coupland tomorrow?

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

Yes, definitely!

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

I don't have internet access at home currently, so if you want to get in touch about tomorrow, text me at the number in this post:
Phone number (http://squirmelia.livejournal.com/111105.html).

[tlrmx.org (from livejournal.com)]

It sounds really exciting, I wonder if I'd have been too scared to have as much fun as you did.

I bought Gum Thief on Saturday and tickets for Douglas Coupland this morning. So if you're still going to that I'll probably see you there.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Cool! Yes, hopefully see you there.

[laslandes.livejournal.com]

Are you in the employ of the tour company? You should be :P