3rd April Manuel Antonio

Another early start and another visit to a Cloud forest at Monteverde. We were a bit sceptical after last night but our guide was brilliant and his passion contagious. We saw so many beautiful birds and the piece de resistance- a quetzal, the sacred bird of the Mayans. They tried to take the bird to Mexico but it perished and they built the Chichen Itzá Temple in such a way that when they stood directly in front of the stairs and clapped, it made the call of the quetzal. Also at certain times the sun lit up the stairs in such away to simulate a serpent sliding down. The Quetzal has a very long tail and flies in an undulating style which has given rise to the feathered serpent symbolism.

We felt very privileged to have such an interesting guide and we really got value from the walk plus we ended up at the humming bird cafe where there were lots of hummingbirds freely flying. They are hard to capture in photos because they are so fast! They flitted about the nectar trays so fast they were almost swooping our heads.

After this experience we bundled into the trusty bus and set off for Manuel Antonio on the coast. It was a five hour journey through the mountains to the western side. What a contrast. From green to brown. The mountain ranges that divide Costa Rica divide the climate just as dramatically.

After 2 and a half hours we pulled into a place for lunch. We were curious about why people were on the bridge over the river. After we ate we set off to see and we were really surprised to see a large caiman. Then we crossed over to the other side and found a float of caiman(group in the water). We counted 13!

There was a heron standing in the water near the caiman and one detached itself from the group swimming towards the bird. It quietly walked up onto the bank. The caiman submerged. The heron returned to the water. It was a waiting game.

Back on the bus and in another hour we hit civilisation again, finally arriving at our hotel at about 5 pm. A long drive but a day packed with interest. We headed for the beach to relax with a cool drink. We discovered a troop of cheeky white faced monkeys in the trees around us. We decided we were too tired to go any where for dinner but the hotel. We are getting to the end of our trip. Only 4 more days.