Notes From The Travel Journal--Monteverde, Part One

I'm currently deep in the throes of a lovely stomach flu and desperately trying to flashback to happier, less nauseous times during our trip to Costa Rica last week.

Simon spent a year there during college as part of a study abroad program and when we were scrambling to book a warm weather destination, a direct flight to Liberia, Costa Rica kept popping up as a cheaper alternative to Mexico and the Caribbean. Simon was excited to revisit the country he studied in and I was pumped to make my first trip to Central America.

There was some drama with the rental car when we landed at the Liberia airport, but we got things squared away amidst the shocking 95 degree temps and headed off on our drive to Monteverde. Three quarters of the way was smooth highway sailing then we hit the dirt/rock/boulder path that began the final 30km climb up to Monteverde. The views were simultaneously terrifying and beautiful as we wound our way up the mountainside road, finally arriving at Hotel Belmar.

Ahh, this place! We walked into our room and just marveled at the space...everything was a deep shiny wood, with sunshine streaming in from huge floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the mountain and down to the Nicoya Peninsula. It was stunning. And the crazy shower made of windows perched off the side of the room, also with views to the ocean.

We were really in awe and kind of shocked that it really wasn't all that pricey for something so peaceful and beautiful and just what we needed after the long trip there. We explored the hotel's grounds, popped into their hot tub, and retired early after a yummy dinner at the onsite restaurant.

Maybe it was the time zone difference but I couldn't sleep past 6am on this trip. The next day, I awoke to soft pink light in the sky and slowly watched as the sun rose and a rainbow formed as the mist from the clouds off the mountain met the sun on the other side. We gobbled up breakfast, ignored the chilly winds and mist (we were ill-prepared for the coolness on the mountain), and took a short walk through the cloud forest on the hotel's property before boarding the turismo shuttle to Selvatura Adventure Park where we planned to experience the hanging bridges hike.

It was raining so we rocked some one-size-fits-all ponchos and set off on the trail. 8 suspension bridges in all, varying in height and length. This was a personal challenge as heights and edges aren't really my thing, but it was amazing to see the forest from above the trees. Everything was so lush and deep green with such unique vegetation compared to other forests I've seen. Our lovely phone photos will try to do the explaining (on the plane, we realized we neglected to bring our actual camera). Stay tuned for more from our time in the forests...award-winning i-phone snaps of critters are up next!