Costa Rica

Return to Day 6 - to Monteverde

Up early to try and see the hummingbirds at the lodge. I fell in love with the hummingbirds on the trip, I'd never seen one before and was keen to see them - they didn't disappoint and we were fortunate to see them at a number of stops, particularly in the Cloud Forests.

Green Violetear (I think)...

A male Violet Sabrewing...

After breakfast we headed to the Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso for a walk in the virgin cloud forest.

Not sure what these are, but we saw a lot of them in Santa Elena and the photo doesn't do them justice...

View from the top of a spotting tower of distant hills in cloud forest...

 

Large flower only visible by looking down from the 30 foot tower...

 

The shoot of a new fern leaf emerges...

Orchid...

This sign is in braile, but I'm sure reading the word for Tarantula in braile would send a shiver down your spine...

After the walk we headed to Selvatura, a canopy, zip-line and display park.  We passed on the zip-lining and headed to the 1.9 miles of canopy walkways - suspended high in the trees (at times as high as 510 feet).

Miche on one of the early walkways...

Fern...

More colourful fruits...

Another pretty Heliconia - flower & bracht combo...

A large black & red Weevil...

Large (over a foot) hanging seed pods...

Impressive leaves...

After lunch we toured the Reptile and Butterfly houses.

Alas, I can't remember the name of this chap...

Off to the Butterfly House...

The dull underwings of an Owl and Blue Morpho butterflies...

The more colourful topside of a Blue Morpho - over 4 inches across - this one was in the butterfly house, but we saw lots during the trip in the wild...

Slightly less glamorous caterpillar stages...

The second photo shows where the chrysalises are stored waiting for them to hatch - these are swapped with other butterfly houses in the area to prevent in-breeding...

While we were in the Butterfly House, the heavens opened and we thought that the Hummingbird Garden would be deserted...

However we were informed that if they didn't feed when it rained, they'd barely feed at all.

The outdoor garden was alive with wild hummingbirds darting between the many feeders and literally buzzing past your ears...

Female Magnificent Hummingbird (centre)...

Resting Violet Sabrewing...

Green Violetear...

Silhouette views...

Next Stop - Day 8 - to Manuel Antonio