Day Twelve Cloud Forest

(Happy Birthday Marcel and Pierre!)


This morning, we went to the Centro de Educacion Creativa ( aka Cloud Forest School), a private, innovative, bilingual K-11 school serving Monteverde CR. Founded in 1991 by local parents responding to the need to increase educational opportunities for local children, Cloud Forest School emphasizes an environmental education, integrating ecology in all facets of the curriculum. The campus sits on a 106-acre parcel of pastureland and rainforest in the Tilaran mountain range. Several students shared their field class work with us then we hiked up a mountain to view the valley below. Much of the staff consists of American teachers who come to CR for a few years to work as teachers or education consultants. (Anyone interested? I have contact names!)

A visit to the Monteverde Conservation League followed. A few facts:
-25% of Costa Rica is now under some type of protection.
-much of the protected land has been purchased with money that the government was able to keep after certain debts were “forgiven” by other countries (including the US), who agreed to swap debt to protect land.
-another large swath of land was paid for by children, starting in Sweden, then from across the world, who donated pennies and other change for the rainforest cause back in the 1980’s. This is now the Bosque Eterno de Los Ninos, B.E.N., or Children’s Eternal Rainforest.
-in 1961 , 53% of CR was deforested
-B.E.N. contains 6 of the 12 life zones that exist in CR
-the cloud forest (BEN and MV) is the water source for many communities in the area

Later in the afternoon, we took a hike in the Monteverde Cloud Forest in the Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde. This was truly a fantastic hike! We walked through forests with giant ficus trees (that grow as parasites on other trees, eventually wrapping completely around the host and killing it), long and thick vines (just like in the Tarzan movies!), and the beautiful music of birds and insects. We walked through showers, and then we walked into the clouds! At one point, we reached “the window”, the top of a mountain where the Continental Divide is. Imagine being on a somewhat narrow mountain ridge and being able to look on one side and view the Caribbean coast, and on the other side, the Pacific Coast. It was cloudy so we could only see part of the forest on either side, but we could definitely see the fast-moving clouds coming from the Caribbean Trade Winds and our guide pointed out the different plants that grow on the Pacific side. Pretty neat!

I was exhausted and even a bit nauseous Wednesday night after having had two mountain hikes during the day, so when the bus dropped us off at our hotel, I headed straight for bed. It was only 6 P.M.! Our days have been filled with a variety of lectures, hikes, and sightseeing tours, and we have had very little free time. Tonight was to be a free night, but my feet and stomach were dictating the need for a rest.