Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica

Our second stop in Costa Rica was Monteverde where we were to explore the cloud forest. A cloud forest is essentially what it says on the tin- a tropical forest which is cloaked in a consistent cloud. This moist environment is ideal for thousands of different types of animals, making Monteverde the perfect place to go searching for some interesting little beasties...

Our hotel, the El Establo Mountain Hotel, offered us the first surprise. They'd set up bird tables in the trees outside the main reception area, where beautiful brightly coloured birds could be seen to flit amongst the branches.

One evening, a coati paid us a visit, slinking out of the trees to steal a banana from the bird tables. It happily sat on a branch, peeling its prize and gobbling it down... Before moving onto another banana!

Our first activity was a night walk. We donned our raincoats, picked up our torches and delved into the forest in search of some animals. Despite the rain, we spotted a surprising amount. Two little birds had made tunnel nests in a muddy bank and another tunnel housed a baby tarantula! We also saw a green toucan with bright blue head feathers napping in a tree and a tree climbing porcupine, as well as all sorts of creepy crawlies...

The next day saw us clambering in the treetops. We were off on a hanging bridge tour to meet the animals that inhabited the tree canopy.

All the different plants were simply stunning. Huge vines hung down from the trees while lush ferns and soft mosses sprung up everywhere. Tiny flowers peeked out from behind bright green leaves and unidentifiable fruits grew in clusters. There were birds everywhere and we even spotted a little hummingbird in its nest! We were really lucky however when from one of the bridges, we saw a troop of howler monkeys!

Monteverde was also home to some brilliant food. We ended up visiting a little restaurant called Café Orchid twice, where we had the most fabulous crêpes and some delicious yet interesting drinks such as a pineapple and basil juice!

On our last evening, we also found a lively restaurant near our hotel called Don Luis, where we were entertained by a guitar player while we munched on some more traditional Costa Rican food. If that wasn't the perfect way to round off our short visit, I don't know what would be!