Monteverde Cloud Forest
My daughter/husband/grandson have joined me for 10 days holidays in Coco. We are off to Monteverde so I can zip line (a Christmas present from them). We take the main highway from Liberia then turn off at Las Juntas. It is gravel road all the way up & over the mountains dotted with houses & farms. Spectacular views...we can see the ocean in the distance. We think maybe we are lost as we are the only ones on the road but we sure can't turn around so keep on going. We pass livestock, makeshift homes, life in the hills.

We finally arrive to the town of Santa Elena and it is bustling. The sun shines thru clouds as they float by you: it is pretty chilly. We check me into the zip line office and then drive up to the site. It is rainy & cold: I am not dressed for this so purchase a rain poncho for $1 and Cheryl gives me the pants she is wearing. The kids leave to walk the skywalk: Chason is only 5 mths. They will pick me up in 2hrs.


There are 8 people in my group aged 13 to 70. They harness us & give us thick gloves. First we do a practice run then take a cable car to the top of the forest. It is scary: we hear howler monkeys but can't see them. There are 10 runs in total. Once off the cable we have to climb a tower to run #1. It is so windy I think I might get blown off. I'm right behind the guide & getting more nervous by the minute as I don't care for heights. I keep telling myself I can do this. I'm clipped on and I push off. Knees up, head down to block out the wind & rain; I'm afraid I'll crash at the end. It is very fast and too cloudy to see anything. Whew! I'm safe. Onto run #2, another high tower climb. For 3 of the runs they double us up as it is too windy: so I'm partnered with a heavier set man. Once we get the hang of it we relax and enjoy the ride. The sun came out for 2 minutes on my 5th run so I got to see the forests below. When we finally get to the last run The wind is so strong & cold I think I might blow right off the tower.  My fingers are numb, my face is covered in mud. But I'm happy to have done this and can check it off my bucket list. The guide hands you a wet facecloth back at the lodge. The kids pick me up and have hot coffee & a snack for me. Once we head down the mountain I can change back into a tank top & shorts.Quite an experience.
ps. I have no pictures of zip lining as I did not want to worry about holding a camera