Day Four – Monteverde, Costa Rica

What an incredible day we´ve had!  After a hearty breakfast at our hotel, El Establo, we set out for the Selvatura Adventure Park to gear up for some extreme zip lining.  Nestled in the dense Monteverde Clould Forest, the Selvatura Adventure Park offers daring folks the opportunity to sail above the tree canopy.   Joined by our Californian friends and with helmet, gloves and gear safely put on, we flew over and through fifteen different zip lines and even launched off of a Tarzan Swing!  The view from the top the tree canopy was like no other and, despite some jitters, smiles and shouts of joy were abundant.  It was truly a highlight of our trip thus far. 

After building up an appetite zip lining, our tour bus took us to the small art town of Santa Elena where students had an opportunity to choose a restaurant in which to have lunch.  Many choose the Treehouse Restaurant and then visited the small souvenir shops to purchase memories of their day. 

Just a 20 minute drive from Santa Elena is the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.  After arriving, our incredible tour director Berny led us on a two hour hike during which we saw various flora and fauna typical to this area.  We even got to see some playful monkeys swinging in the tree tops.  Berny directed us to various beautiful vista points, including a tremendous view of the Continental Divide!  Our hike back to the base camp of the Reserve was intentionally quiet so that we could soak in all of the wonderful sounds of the Cloud Forest.

Now we await a buffet dinner at El Restaurante Las Riendas at our hotel.  After a long day of zip lining and hiking everyone is sure to enjoy the food and to chat about the day´s events.  Tomorrow we are off to the southern part of the country and to our next destination, Manuel Antonio National Park and the beach!!

Emily Cooper