Monteverde - Part II

On day 2 at Monteverde we visited a part of the cloud forest with Sky Adventure, one of several tour operators in the area providing guided access to the forest. Our guide was most helpful in identifying several species of birds, huge millipedes, various trees and plants. Close to the end we started to hear howler monkeys close to us. Freaky sounding monkey, the guide took us on a quick jog through the forest trails trying to catch a glimpse of the them. Unfortunately all we manage to find was their poop, much to the amusement of the girls. Still, a thrilling chase!

One of the bridges on the tour, very high and spanning deep valleys. the views on them where amazing.



Our new official family photo! Thanks to our French friends for the day for taking the picture.



The density of the foliage is pretty intense, plants just grow one on top of the other.



We managed to spot a Quetzal up in the trees. With the help of the tour guide i managed to get a photo using the binoculars. Hidden by the leaf bellow is it's long tail feathers.



But the Quetzal is no match for the dazzling beauty of this gorgeous bird :-)



Amazing view from one of the bridges.



After the walk in the forest we took the tram to the top of the mountain. Here we see our handsome son in a good mood :-)



One of the platform at the top, i liked the tree and the setting, it felt ancient and foreboding.



From the mountain top we could see Arenal Volcano, only 20 km away by air, but 3 hours of winding roads by car... we'll go on another trip when Willem is older, too much road for him.



That night we got to help out on the farm with the feeding of the calves. The girls had a blast and the farm hands had their hands full managing the dozen or so calves with only 2 milk bottles to work with. That morning we got to see a calf that was just born, it was still wet and trailing his umbilical cord.



Next post, day 3 in Monteverde.