Selvatura

We’re baaaack!

Ellen and I, and our good friend Marlene, flew into Liberia, Costa Rica on the afternoon of Saturday, December 30th.  It was 14 degrees below zero when we left MSP.  Liberia had a high of 90 degrees the day we arrived.  The sun set quickly, so we weren’t able to see much as we drove the three hours up to the Monte Verde cloud forest.

We settled in for the night after a long day’s travel.  They promised that we would wake up to a view of the Pacific.  It seemed highly unlikely.

The view from our room in Monte Verde

We had booked a tour to the hanging bridges, butterflies, and hummingbirds of the Monte Verde cloud forest.  This area was firsts settled by a group of Quakers who were fleeing the persecution of their young men during the Korean war.  They gradually realized what they had in terms of abundant and rare flora and fauna is unique in the world.  From this start came the birth of eco-preservation in Costa Rica, and eco-tourism.

By the way, part of why Costa Rica was attractive to the Quakers is that Costa Rica had abolished its military in 1948.  They chose to spend on education and healthcare instead.  Today, the adult literacy rate is over 97.6%.  Perhaps this is why the #1 export is technology and technology services.  Hmmmm.

By 7:45, we were are on our way up to Selvatura, a reserve area, 45 minutes away up rocky, pot-holed,  and muddy roads.  We were stuffed into a bus that had jump seats that came down between the rows, so that no space was squandered.

A few factoids about the Monte Verde Cloud Forest Reserve:

• Monteverde houses 2.5% of worldwide biodiversity.
• 10% of its flora is endemic.
• Costa Rica represents the 0.03% of the landmass of the planet and has the 5% of the Biodiversity of the world.

The place was hopping with young families.  Unknown to us, Costa Rica has become a major tourist destination for families.  Out flight was majority families with children.  There was a three family group on the bus with 13 children, all under 10, mostly girls, from Winnepeg.

We took the tour through the forest, and crossed 8 hanging bridges.  It was rainy/misty the entire time, so the butterflies and birds were not out.  It is, nonetheless, impressive.  We also checked out the hummingbirds,reptiles, and amphibians.  Pictures follow (feel free to click on any picture to get to slide show mode):