The Dark Side

We’re now in Monteverde, famous for its cloud forest and tourist friendly attractions. Again, lots of adrenalin inducing opportunities to zip line or bungee jump on offer, and again we decline.

Sadly it’s our last full day in Costa Rica so we squeeze in two longish walks. Firstly a meandering 4 hours around the Curi-Cancha Reserve.  It’s pleasant enough in the forest but wildlife is thin on the ground. We’ve been spoilt by the numbers of exotics that have crossed our path in the last fortnight, so are a little disappointed. How dare they not show their faces for our entertainment?

In a blatant effort to maintain TripAdvisor ratings, the owners have rigged up some bird-feeders at the end of the trail to attract a few colourful visitors.

It’s cheating but effective. In 15 minutes we see hundreds of hummingbirds. The challenge is to photograph them while cropping out the plastic feeders. Then we can pretend we happened across them in the wild.

 

This works…

…but only to an extent.

We make our way back to the car grumbling about paying twenty bucks to see a few birds when this bundle of fun scurries out of the bushes. 

He’s an Aguti. A weird hybrid of beaver, guinea pig and squirrel and he's very, very amusing. Suddenly it feels like twenty dollars well spent.

For our second hike we sign up for a night walk in another reserve. Wend is terrified of the dark, and it's pitch black, so this is a big deal for her. We’re not alone of course, we have a guide and six others in our group, but it’s impossible not to feel vulnerable when brushing shoulders with stuff that only comes out at night.

It’s great. The guide uses his powerful torch to pick out loads of craziness in the trees and undergrowth.

A mahoosive orange kneed tarantula.

Three-toed sloth enjoying a late night feast.

A ‘walking-stick’ stick insect who's fully 9 inches from head to bum.

Contrast this with his cousin. A tiny specimen hanging out by our front door when we return to the hotel.

You’ve got to love Costa Rica.