Monteverde National Reserve

Monteverde was settled in 1951 by Quakers who were leaving the US to avoid the draft.  They chose Costa Rica because the government had abolished the army. They chose this region because it looked like a good place to raise cattle.  But 20 years later they decided that too many trees had been cut down by loggers and the natural beauty of the land needed to be preserved.  They established 4,000 acres for the reserve and added over 20,000 more that was then leased to the government for the reserve. Many scientists and conservationist study the flora and fauna. 

Our naturalist, Donald, was very good at spotting the birds native to this area and then directing us to  look in the trees for each one. He also had a spotting telescope for the times our binoculars were not good enough.  We walked about two miles total and saw the Costa Rican national bird - the  Resplendant Quetza - a green toucan, a blue bird of some sort, and macaws or parrots,a sloth.and an anole (lizard).  He lured a oranged kneed tarantula out of his hole and gave us lessons on the symbiotic nature of the trees, the need for water and bromiliads and orchids. 

Even though we are not huge birding fans, it was a very informative and interesting tour of the cloud forest. Near the entrance to the reserve was an area set aside for the hummingbirds of the forest and for coffe or hot chocolat for the humans.