Sid’s Visit and Monteverde Cloud Forest

Our friend Sid arrived in Tamarindo Friday afternoon Sept. 2 by air. After a quick introduction to the village and beach of Tamarindo, we drove back to Playa Grande. Before we left Tamarindo, the rain began. Before we had reached Playa Grande, the water was pouring down in 50 gallon drums full.

So a few little problems. First, the reservation that we’d made for Sid at the RipJack Inn had been inadvertantly given to a group of surfers who had pulled in during the day. In the downpour, we got a little wet checking out the problem. The power was flickering as we left. We darted back to the car to install Sid at the Cantarama hotel in the Palm Beach section of P.G. We got a little wetter. By the time we got back to our lighthouse we were a little wetter we had two problems: the lights were out, and our bedroom was 2 inches deep in rainwater. It was probably good luck that put out the lights before we electrocuted ourselves! The hotel owner, Louis, offered to put us up in a nearby room, which sounded pretty good at this point.

Between all these extra visits in and out of the ‘cruiser, we we pretty soaked. And, for the first time in weeks, actually chilly! We dried out and went to dinner at the Cantarama. Chef (and owner) Manfred cooks some outstanding cuisine. By morning, the storm was past and we had clear skies and sun. After a great breakfast at Cantarana, we set out for Monteverde, a mountain village in the cloud forests.

Sid’s a great bird watcher, so we went on a couple of guided nature hikes in the Cloud Forests of Monte Verde. This area is nearly all primary forest, in its original form. Here’s Sid with his camera aimed at some very cool birds. We saw the elusive and magical Resplendant Quetzal that every guide wants you to see – and for good reason. Its tail is long and the bird is large and colored in every tropical bird color you can imagine! Here’s Sid with us on his last night before flying home (and then on to Australia and New Zealand a few days later!)