Head in the Clouds

We leave Arenal ready for the next adventure and the sat nav  (let’s call her Gladys) has mapped our route suggesting 3 hours should do it.  The route is painful on the joints with unmade roads up hills and down again with amazing drops and the side of the road.

Just like home...

Luckily I drove the first part which wasn’t too bad but the last 35 kilometers took us an hour and a half and included me legging it into a bar in a small village for a banos break. Walking into a bar full of Ticos who all turned and watched me, I wasn’t sure that I would get out in one piece but when you’ve got to go you’ve got to go! John sat outside with the engine running.

Eventually we arrive at the Trapp Family Lodge on roads that made us long for Arenal.  One wrong turn has Gladys recalibrating to a dirt track which was akin to a scrambling course.  This is the worst yet and John refused to go out again after we got to the hotel and hit the bar before I could argue.

Cloud + Forest = Cloudforest

Very early the next day we head across town to the Santa Elena cloud forest back along our previous route.  We’re met by Enar, our guide for the morning’s trekking and we are immediately caught up in a frenzy as a young grey hawk has perched in a tree overlooking the car park.

Juvenile Grey Hawk

The walk is a little less strenuous than we are used to but the cloud forest is fabulous  and Enar points out birds and plants.  He also helps coax a large female tarantula from its deep hole - John insist on poking her with a stick till she pokes out her head and looks threatening

Be careful what you poke into holes..

You never know what's going to pop out

We enjoy a leisurely afternoon in the town of Santa Elena before heading back up the bumpy creek.

Not at home...

We are only 10 mins walk from the Monteverde cloud forest but not being big believers of local estimates of time and distance we take the car.  Good move – as it takes us 15 mins and mostly uphill avoiding pot holes. We decide to dispense with the services of a guide and after some clear instructions from the park ranger about the different treks we set off.

Alone in the forest

We see hundreds of interesting butterflies and birds and even catch a glimpse of a coati 

Glasswing Butterfly

Unfortunately the forest is full of people with loud annoying voices and after telling John to ignore them I can’t stop myself while on one of the hanging bridges turning to tell a loud mouth t…t to shush. He marched on at a pace and misses the gold prize.  

A minute later John spots the bird we have been trying to spot, a resplendent quetzal. We get some great shots before word gets round and we’re surrounded on the bridge in a ruck of telescopes, tripods and big Canon lenses all vying for the perfect shot.  The bridge has a sign very clearly stating a maximum capacity of no more than 10 people – no one bothers but we move cautiously from the bridge.

Bridge of Shsssss

Resplendent Quetzal

After the walk we head to a coffee shop to watch the humming birds.  The café has a number of feeders and there is a huge number of humming birds / fly catchers and other birds that buzz around.  It is spectacular and after an hour of watching the spectacle we head back.  Hardly anyone else seemed to know about the café.

Bronzy Hermit

Blue Sabrewing

Room for everyone..

On the way back John gets stopped for a document check by the police.  Ooops we don’t have any identification but in our best British style we claim no entiendo and the policeman waves us on our way.

Next day we are off on the 4 hour drive to Potrero.  Unfortunately, before we can really get going we have to retrace the first 35 kilometers of dirt track before we hit roads with tarmac. The drive is not to bad until we have to negotiate getting onto the Pan-American Highway.  I don’t know what I was expecting – Mad Max meets  the Good, the Bad and the Ugly but its actually quite tame, not least because most of the highway is dug up and under reconstruction.

Road signs are unclear and when I eventually join I am convinced I am driving up the road the wrong way and panicking a lot before another car overtakes us and  somewhat relieved we press on. The navigator for this stretch is excellent and we reach Potrero where we intend to relax for the next 5 days on a beach.

Potrero Beach

The place is lovely. The Pacific Ocean is like getting into a warm bath, The brown pelicans are dive-bombing the water and emerge with bills full of fish.

Dive dive dive

We quickly settle in to the beach bum phase and enjoy a good few refreshments at the Shack, a local bar where one night a live band is playing  and we end up dancing the night away

The sunsets are amazing and last from 5.30 to 5.45 unfortunately we share the  event with the local mosquitoes who seem impervious to our combinations of bug sprays that have no effect on them whatsoever.

Blog again when we get to Manuel Antonio – for now I’m hanging loose!

Cheers