Monteverde was originally settled in 1951 by several dozen Quaker families from Alabama seeking to avoid the draft into the Korean war. At that time, Costa Rica had abolished its national army, so purchasing land in Costa Rica seemed fortuitous. At 1440m above sea level, Monteverde today is most famous for its 'cloud forests', primarily the popular Monteverde Cloud Forest and the less developed Santa Elena Reserve. In these reserves, visitors can witness the impact on the forests of close proximity to clouds, which, as Monteverde Info tells me, provides ample moisture, often in the form of fog, which catches on the branches of the tallest trees and drips down to the other organisms below. This helps to support a complex and far-reaching ecosystem, one that harbors over 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, tens of thousands of insect species, and over 2,500 varieties of plants, 420 of which are orchids alone. I chose to visit the Santa Elena Reserve early in the morning, and was one of handful of people in the reserve. A 4-hour hike led me down into misty valleys and up to observation towers that really enabled me to see the clouds rolling in, which was quite an incredible experience. The entire forest is covered in a moist green fungus, sheltering a huge array of plants and insects. Beyond insects I didn't spot much wildlife, although did catch a glimpse of an elusive quetzal!
Aside from the visiting the reserves, Monteverde is known for its canopy tours, or ziplining, something I've been looking forward to doing for months! I chose to go to the Selvatura Park to zip through its course of 18 ziplines, with lines over 1km long sending you soaring over forested valleys or through lush rainforest - it was awesome. I also visited the Monteverde Butterfly Garden and got up close to a tarantula, of which I'm told there are 'tonnes' in Costa Rica... great!
From Monteverde I moved to the town of La Fortuna, situated at the foot of the giant Arenal Volcano. Until 2010, Arenal was Costa Rica's most active volcano and one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world, with spectacular displays of eruptions every night. Unfortunately, the volcano is going through a quiet period, so I didn't see any lava or eruptions. Aside from the volcano, La Fortuna is famous for its stunning waterfall. I visited early one morning and was privileged to have the waterfall and its rock pools to myself for an early morning dip.. heaven!
The close proximity to Volcan Arenal means that La Fortuna is blessed with natural hot springs. While there are some natural pools around, most visitors to La Fortuna access the hot springs through three or four large resorts and spas. I chose The Springs Resort and Spa, which has 21 pools of different temperatures, all with a stunning view of Volcan Arenal (yes, that is an infinity pool bar!).
I'm told that rooms at The Springs range from $350-3000 a night - slightly out of my price range. Luckily for me The Springs offered day passes, and 2 days for the price of 1 - a deal I couldn't turn down! So I thoroughly enjoyed 2 full days of luxury and positively pickled myself in thermal mineral waters. I even managed to wangle a lift back to La Fortuna each evening in the employee shuttle bus, saving myself a hefty taxi fare - now that's what I call a bargain!
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