Our destination for the day was the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, which was located very high in the Telaran Mountains, but the bus dropped us off in the nearby town of St. Elena, where caught a taxi to the Hotel El Bosque, which externally wasn’t very inspiring, since it looked like a motel sitting in a pasture.  Fortunately, the rooms were new and attractive.  They cost $30 a night.

    Once we settled down in our room, we discovered that we had left our big blue and white umbrella on the bus, which was discouraging, since we had dragged it around Costa Rica for a week, and had just arrived at a rainforest where it would come in handy.  We walked into St. Elena and bought a smaller black umbrella for $9, and a poncho for $20.  

    For supper, my wife had a hamburger, and I went for the shrimp and rice, both of which were tasty.  The meal cost us $13 US.

    The next morning, we got up at 6:00, during our trip, we couldn’t seem to sleep in any more.  We plodded up hill for three kilometers to the entrance of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve but fortunately the air was cool,.  

    It cost us $10 CND each to enter the park and just when we got to the parking lot, we noticed a guide with a group of tourist point out a Resplendent Quetzal, one of the most visually spectacular birds in the world.  I didn’t see it, but rationalized to myself that at least I did see a blur when it flew away.  Spotting a green bird in a three-dimensional sea of green foliage is not one of my skills.

      View my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca