Day 6 Santa Elena, Monteverde

These two are one big world for me!!!

There always will be similarities between animals and humans

High above on our way to Monteverde Cloud forest

Due to its high altitude – some 4,662 ft (1,440 m) above sea level – Monteverde is privileged to receive a steady supply of clouds and the life-giving moisture that they contain. This moisture, often in the form of fog, catches on the branches of the tallest trees and drips down to the other organisms below. This helps to support a complex and far-reaching ecosystem, one that harbors over 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, tens of thousands of insect species, and over 2,500 varieties of plants, 420 of which are orchids alone.

4 hours later, coming in from San Jose through different weather conditions of sun, heavy, heavy rain, thick fog, clouds, humidity, cooler regions and 18 km of dirt road, smaller one way bridges and big holes filled with water, we arrived finally in Santa Elena, this unbelievable beautiful and surreal place. We drove about 140 km from which were 22 km windy but easy roads, 18km dirt road and pretty steep in between and 100 km of "Highway". The Panamerica Highway is for the most part a two lane street (one lane for each direction) and occasionally you have the chance to by-bass trucks and tourist buses.  The average speed is 60 km/h (approx. 40 mph). Sasha was sleeping for the first 1.5 hours and then Max managed to take care of her for another hour. THANK YOU MAX!. 

Street is paved, interrupted with small, wooden bridges (no crocodiles yet)

For the other 1.5 hours (towards the end) she was sitting on my lap while Max was figuring out the gears (he did a great job here too), driving up these 40 km to Santa Elena. I think she will be soon a racer. She managed to honk without being asked and was trying to copy Max shifting gears. Just with her little feet instead of hands. We were lucky as we could not go faster than 15 - 20 km/h anyway. So we three had it under control and Max was the happiest dude on earth. Shifting gears. Wow!!! 
Of course Sasha has been throwing up when we arrived (big puddles in a cafe) and Max sat longer than his anyway usual long stay on the toilet. 

I was super happy that I believed all these write ups to actually rent an SUV for Monteverde!

It would be really hard to make it without one. 


As a treat we stopped at a cafe which had excellent cappuccinos and a big Brownie for Max.

Sitting in a cafe as tropical as it can get ;-)

Mmmmhh

He left this little crumble for me. Isn't he sweet!?!?!

Later at night we walked into downtown Santa Elena to find out that this must be one of the most touristy spots  in Costa Rica. English, German, Swiss and in between Spanish. Anyway, we managed to order our dinner in Spanish in a Treehouse Restaurant! Our first big Treehouse! Picture will follow. Sasha fell asleep in my arms and we had a nice walk home listening to all the different animals coming out at night. Will see what awaits us here. It is definitely not one of the cheapest places. The cappuccino and a Brownie where $4,80 and for dinner we shared a Quesadilla with Pollo for $12!!! Tourists have money I guess.