Cloud Forest

So off to the rainforest. Wrong, in Monteverde it's called Cloud Forest because 80% of the 2.5 m rainfall / year doesn't fall vertically but horizontally from the clouds. That's what the ranger explained to us. 3 hours of briefing on fauna, flora, nature and species conservation. On site, in the middle of the forest. It's very well organized. You'll hardly get to see the famous Quetzal bird, there's just too much going on. After that, I went on my own and explored the park as much as possible within 3 hours. Most of it is inaccessible. Highlights were the watershed between the Pacific and the Atlantic (what a view) and a hummingbird feeding (beautiful, but impossible to photograph). After that, I was pretty groggy. But also satisfied. Nature, green, full. It stormed again overnight, so there was a draft in my hut. Now I have the sniffles and a nasty cough. OK.

Today's drive was great. Very good roads from Tilaran. On the way there, I had 2 thoughts. 1. The green hills with the dairy farming look very beautiful, but they used to be cloud forests. Due to the many micro-climate zones, the country is different every 2 hours of driving. And humans have already changed it greatly. For cheap meat and cheap milk that are exported. 2. The telephone and data lines are laid on wooden posts. But why is there occasionally a post hanging in the air and being carried by the cables? Solution: The roadside is maintained by slash-and-burn. Sometimes it costs a post. But if the two next to it still hold everything up, there is no reason to change anything. That's typical here. The main thing is it works. Then the road leads around Lake Arenal, through a rainforest (beware of coatis causing traffic jams), to Fortuna and over a dry plain to Ciudad Quesada. Just before Quesada, I meet my first sloth. It's using the telephone lines as a highway. Cool.

The news on CNN from Ukraine is terrible. I should avoid that. It got me down yesterday. I feel powerless. What else is coming?

What am I grateful for today? For the fortune to love and be loved.

Tomorrow a bigger hike is planned. A total of 6 hours, 12 km, from 1600 m here at the Hideaway to 2100 m. We'll see...