2019: Costa Rica

Nov 21, 2019: Mora’s Place B&B, Santa Elena /Monteverde ($23)

• 6:30 AM bus to  Bosque Nuboso Monteverde (Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve).  I was the first into the park when it opened at 7, and saw no one else for the first hour or so.  More than 400 bits species have been spotted here - I might have seen one or two birds.  But the trails were great, the forest full of amazing plants, especially epiphytes (which account for 40% of the plant mass) and huge ferns.  A sign on one tree said it supported over 40 orchid species, although I saw none (the park has over 400 species, the greatest number on the planet).  I ran into a couple of very tame coatis sniffing around, and then three sloths in a tree.  All told, I walked about 4 hours, and then another 3 1/2 miles back to my B&B, with lots of orchids and other flowering plants along the way.

• Also stopped at the Catarata Los Murciélagos - but didn’t see any bats.

• Went back to The Frog Pond for the night frog tour (I was the only one, as usual).  Great tour - all the frogs were visible.  Hard to photograph because they were so small, but my guide arranged the most colorful one (five colors!) and took some fine photos of it.

• I just found out that the hiking season in Huayhuash, Cordilleras Blanca doesn’t begin until mid-May.  

So yet another plan:

• Nov 23: Monteverde > La Fortuna

• Nov 24-27: La Fortuna

• Nov 28: La Fortuna  > San Jose > Cartago > A & A’s house

• Nov 29-Dec 1: weekend with A & A

• Dec 1-14: San Isidro > Palmar Norte (last ATM) > Sierpe > Bahia Drake...Bahia Drake > Sierpe > Palmar Norte > Paso Canoas > David > Panama City > Serenity

• Dec 14-25: San Blas Islands aboard Serenity.

• Dec 26 - Feb: Colombia (Barranquilla festival Feb 22-25).

• Feb-May: Galápagos Islands 

• Jan-mid May: Salta, nw Argentina 

• Jan-early Mar: Paine Circuit

• Jan-Apr: Fitz Roy

• May-Sep: Coropuna 

• mid May - mid Sep: Huayhuash, Cordilleras Blanca

• Jun-Jul: Condo

• Aug: Santa Cruz, finish CDT

• Jul-Aug: Iceland

• Finger hurting after tripping and falling earlier today.  If it still hurts tomorrow morning, will take some serious pain relief medicine before doing the zip line.