Monteverde Park- Day 29

Violet-eared hummingbird nest

This morning we enjoyed one of the best breakfasts we have had in Costa Rica, courtesy of Camino Verde. A full plate of pancakes, fruit, eggs, rice and beans awaited us in the morning. The 7am shuttle to Monte Verde Park picked us up. At the entrance there was hummingbird nest in a young tree.

We turned down all offers of tours and guides and walked the outer trail loop to the lookout and hanging bridges.

Waterfall at Monteverde

 The day was wet and disappointing in terms of reptiles and amphibians. The trails limit where you can walk and the cold wet rains kept most things in hiding. The forest was gorgeous in the green and the mist but.. it was more silent than I have ever seen.

Despite the 161 species of reptiles and amphibians recorded for the reserve, we only saw one species of reptile that day. Along the trail a small anole almost blended into the colours of moss and leaf litter. 

Anole sp.

Anole sp.

Monte Verde is known to be extremely diverse in terms of orchids and many were blooming while we visited the park today. The region is known to have at least 420 species. These are six of the orchids I found blooming in the reserve. I can't claim to be an expert on plants and even less so on tropical plants so here is some of my best attempts at identification.

Oncidium sp.

Masdevallia cf chontalensis

cf. Maxillaria sp.

Epidendrum cf parviexasperatum

Pleurothallis cf cardiothallis or oncoglossa

I did notice a spider crawling on these Pleurothallis flowers. To me it almost looked like the spider was nectaring the way it walked over the flowers and stopped at a few of them. I have never heard of this before but I guess in the topics anything is possible.

Pleurothallis cf rowleei

Pleurothallis cf rowleei

The view from the highest lookout point is truly cloud forest and looks very different from the rest of the jungle. Trees are shorter and wind blown. Clouds blow across Costa Ricas continental divide quickly and give the air a humid misty feeling. It is just the right temperature for a long hike her. Everything is very lush and green.

View from the continental divide in Monte Verde

Chris and I at the lookout

The Monte Verde hanging bridges

The rains did bring out a lot of blooming flowers and many were bright colours that attract hummingbirds and insects in the forests.

Unfortunately one of my favorite parts about visiting Monte Verde Reserve had decided to start charging admittance for what previously used to be free. The hummingbird gardens attached to the cafe outside the gates now charges two dollars to stand outside and watch hummingbirds.The cafe there is one of the only places to get empanadas at the reserve but they basically push you out of there unless you pay the extra cash to sit and have your meal. In angered protest I took as many shots of hummingbirds as I slowly walked away from their doors with my lunch.

Green Hermit female

The shuttle was going to be a while so we walked along the road a bit. We figured that maybe the park was over traveled and getting around the outskirts might prove luckier. A few blobs of yellow and blue quickly perked our interest and we saw a new species for the day.

Slate-throated Redstart

That night we walked around town again looking for things in creeks and ditches. We heard a few things calling but mostly on private property where we couldn't see. Dinner at the Tree House Restaurant and Cafe was a nice change to cooking ourselves and it was a very unique restaurant. There was a very nice old tree growing in the middle of the restaurant which must have been built around it.

Tree House Restaurant and Cafe, Monte Verde