Learn To Love Yourself Through Nature: Our Journey to the Cloud Forest

You are nature itself.

No adrenaline rush to boast about this week. We immersed ourselves in nature at our next stop, Monteverde.

We didn’t rent a car in Costa Rica and were very glad we didn’t. The Costa Ricans, aware their roads are perilous, fondly refer to them as “special.” That’s code for horrible. There are huge potholes, bottomless craters, blind curves, and crazy drivers galore.

We took a van from La Fortuna to Lake Arenal with a forty-five-minute boat ride to the other side. Our van driver, Rollo, one of the more fun-loving drivers, took us the rest of the way.

During the hour-and-a-half ride, Rollo told us that we would be able to tell that we were in a town by the presence of these three things: a church, a school, and a soccer field. Notice he never said post office, grocery store, hospital, or police station.

Not even a CVS.

He drove our van over the “Oh-My-God” bridge, which looked like a flimsy plank over a ravine. I squeezed my eyes shut for the five seconds I thought we would die.

Rollo also drove us through a river, which we were only able to do because it was the dry season. During the wet season, you can’t drive through it and must make your way around a 2.5-hour detour to get where you’re going.

Monteverde, sitting on the continental divide, means green mountain. It is 4,662 feet above sea level and hosts the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

The main town is Santa Elena.

The weather was mild, with highs in the 70s and dipping into the 50s at night.

When we arrived, we had to wait a bit because our room wasn't ready. We decided to lay out by the pool.

The strangest thing happened while we were reading on our chaises. The sun was warm in the blue sky, yet we started to feel like we were getting wet. Barely perceptible, it was raining but not in the way we were used to. We felt moisture, but we didn't need an umbrella.

It wasn't until the next day that I discovered that type of cloud forest rain was called "cat hair" because of its shape.

To get a good visual, here is a Santa Elena cat showing off its rain-hair. I wouldn’t dare do it, but if you pulled out one tiny little hair from sleeping kitty, you’d have a good idea of what each rain droplet looked like that day by the pool.

Thankfully, no one wanted to buy the items serving as our model’s pillow.

Being that high up in the clouds meant we were subject to getting wet at any given time.

On our first evening, we took a night tour in the rain—the pouring down kind. We went at night because diurnal animals are hunkering for their evening rest, so they’re easier to find.

If we hadn’t had a guide, we would have seen zero, zip, nada. We simply weren’t equipped to find the animals ourselves. With his help, we saw sleeping birds, snakes, and spiders. Our guide took photos with our cameras using his telescopic lens.

The most amazing animal we saw was the toucan. I always believed the toucan was a congenial bird that mostly ate fruit pulp and, when available, cereal. Unfortunately, our Fruit Looped feathered friends eat lizards and raid other birds' nests for eggs and baby birds. They’re kind of ruthless that way, like blue jays.

But look at its spectacular bill!

Nature never ceases to amaze.

The next morning, I woke early to go to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Our group was rewarded with a spectacular show of several Resplendent Quetzals, an endangered species. The word "quetzal" means precious or sacred in several Mesoamerican languages.

Resplendent and sacred-just like you!

Our guide Eliar said he had been there the day before with another group and hadn't seen any. Lucky for us, we saw several.

Some other discoveries were the slingshot spider, stingless bees, and a snake. Oh, and this beast. ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

Did I mistakenly say there was no adrenaline rush in Monteverde? This tarantula is the size of a lady’s fist. It was huge.

Eliar said she wouldn’t bother us if we didn’t bother her. We let him get up close and take the picture. She lives on the side of a hill, and her home looks like a little cave.

At the end of the tour, we visited a hummingbird sanctuary. A lady on our tour wore a bright red T-shirt, a favorite color of hummingbirds. They were zipping all around us, and she got nervous. She tied her curls into a ponytail and zipped up her jacket so they wouldn’t see her alluring shirt.

We got so close to them! They weren’t skittish like the ones in the States and put on a spectacular show.

In the afternoon, we took a Don Juan coffee tour.

On the plantation, they grew coffee beans, sugar cane, and cocoa beans. There was one surprising thing I learned there that I’m going to share with you.

HERE IS THE SHOCK OF MY LIFE:

Espresso has way less caffeine than a regular cup of coffee. By a lot.

That’s right, and that’s why people can drink espresso all day and sleep soundly at night.

Unbelievable, no? I always thought espresso would wire me up, which is why I avoided it.

The coffee with the most caffeine is the one I like the most—light roast brewed coffee. Light roast has more caffeine than medium or dark roast.

There’s even more caffeine if you make it using a French press, one of my favorite methods. Suffice it to say I like my coffee to jack me up in the morning.

Overall, I loved this place.

Monteverde is one of the most beautiful and pristine spots on the planet, but it is in danger of extinction because of the damage we have been causing to our planet.

I know I’m preaching to the choir when I say that when we harm nature, we harm ourselves.

Can you do one thing today to help the environment? Earth Day is coming, but we need to take action now.

We owe future generations the right to witness beautiful rain and cloud forests.

Thanks for reading. Next week, I’ll tell you about our final destination.

"Yoga is like music: the rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life. When we practice yoga in nature, we can tune into the sounds of the world around us and find our place in the symphony." - B.K.S. Iyengar