Costa Rica 2026: A Day for the Record (Memory) Books!

Morning View from Our Terrace

I was really looking forward to this day. The morning was technically free, but there were two optional tours offered. The first was ziplining through the Monteverde cloud forest, and that was followed by a separate hanging-bridge tour. We signed up for both, but K later cancelled the ziplining portion, as with her neck fusion, it was not advised. Anna and I were two of the four brave folks who signed up, so we gathered for breakfast with one of the single girls from Miami and Craig, the federal employee from Idaho. We were driven to another facility way up at the top of the mountain, with the highest views of the area. We were the first ones there and were literally the first group to go through. We geared up and met our two guides, who then drove us even higher, ahead of a steep hike to the first zipline platform. We were up over 5,000 feet and the air was thin. Our guides were really hoofing it, and we all stayed up as best we could. We did, however, feel much better when they, too, were winded. The zipline course consisted of 16 separate runs, with the final one stretching more than a kilometer long. Our guides were amazing and, as there were only four of us, we had no waiting. At several points along the way, we had to hike higher, so it was definitely an active outing. The weather was perfect, and we all commented how lucky we felt to not be dealing with rain or clouds. The guides said they average only THREE rain-free days a year in the park, and as best we know, it never rained this day, even after we left. It was just a perfect experience. One I will never forget. We all had so much fun!

The ziplining crowds had arrived by the time we returned to basecamp, and again we felt so fortunate that we were first of the day and had such a small group. Anna and I grabbed a coffee at their little restaurant while hummingbirds flew all the around bushes aside our table. It was a beautiful, warm morning.

Hummingbird in Flight

Hummingbird

Our Post Zipline Coffee

The bus with the folks who signed up for the hanging-bridges tour arrived about 15 minutes later, and I think more than 20 folks signed up. We reunited with K and started to gush about how much fun we had ziplining. Soon we were all reassembled and began following our local guide, a naturalist, who took us on a two-hour hike through the park, during which we crossed seven hanging bridges. As we began the walk, our guide asked what animal we all wanted to see. A member of our group from upstate New York, a HUGE birder, immediately chimed in with Quetzal (pronounded -- ket-zel). We'd never heard of this bird, but he promptly shared that it was his “life bird” and the one he most wanted to see in the world. It is increasingly rare, small, very brightly colored with tail feathers that can stretch almost three-feet long. They inhabit the cloud forest, but usually only during mating season. At other times they nest much higher in the mountains, upwards of 8,000 feet. Our guide said our chances were very low, as they normally don't start to fly down to Monteverde until March or April, but he added that with noticeable climate change, the mating season has shifted earlier. That has, unfortunately, resulted in more unhatched eggs, and the population continues to dwindle. Well, all that said, very early in the walk the guide shrieked, "I see a Quetzal." We all froze while he looked and saw what none of us could. He had a huge scope with him, though which he could take pictures, too. The bird moved several times, but soon perched on a very high branch, from where we could all see him. The major birder in the group was literally beside himself in joy and happiness. His expression epitomizes how much birders love...well, to bird. He had a huge camera lens with him captured some amazing photographs. For the rest of the trip, he kept talking about how his "life is now complete." We all got swept away in his joy, and the bird was SO beautiful. Our next big find was a hummingbird nest. It was literally the size of a thimble and, thankfully, the guide had located it on an earlier tour. He set up his scope and allowed us to look at the nest. Right before we moved on, the mother hummingbird returned, and we got to see her feeding her babies. It was so special to see.

Our Guide for the Hanging Bridges Tour

Hummingbird Sitting on Nest

Hummingbird Feeding Babies

The Elusive and Rare Quetzal

The hike was steep in places, but the views and denseness of the cloud forest were awesome. The bridges were all metal suspensions, and they moved as we walked across. Not for the faint of heart, but no one in our group seemed to have problems. We all really enjoyed the hike. We also saw a newly evolved species of bee on the hike. Normally, bees wouldn't thrive at such elevations, but a new species called Mariolos appeared within the last 20 years and they're now thriving. They are much smaller than other honeybees and do not have stingers. They instead have teeth. They are prolific pollinators but produce smaller volumes of honey. As a defense they have a special internal hormone that, if one of them is squashed, the smell of that hormone leads the bees to swarm into the mouth of any predator. Once inside, they bite, and the sheer volume of bites leads to sufficient swelling to cause death. We saw these same bees later, in a public park in San Jose. Even though they don't sting, Anna -- true to her bee phobia -- steered WELL clear of them!

Our trek brought us back to the visitor center, from where we reboarded the bus and headed to our afternoon tour, which was lunch and a tour of a small local coffee plantation. The few folks who had not joined the morning hike were already waiting for us when we arrived. We started with lunch served in a large open area restaurant and, of course, lots of coffee. The farm focused on small sustainable coffee production and partners with several U.S. universities to help develop disease-resistant varieties of coffee beans. They host regular groups of graduate students from the schools. We broke into smaller groups and had about a 90-minute tour of the entire coffee growing, harvesting, and production process. K and I did this on a coffee farm in Hawaii, but this tour was much more involved. We had arrived at the very end of the harvest season. We learned that they bring in families from Nicaragua to staff the harvest from late November through January. Schools let out during this period and the farm has a housing complex for the families. When harvest season is over, they all go back home. They had hosted a big farewell party for them that very morning, before bussing them back across the border.

This Little Guy Was on Our Lunch Table

Monteverde Coffee Plantation

Picking the Coffee Cherries

By the time we got back to the hotel, we were all tired, especially Anna and me. We rested some, but we wanted to be sure to watch the sunset, before our planned group dinner at the resort. Anna wanted time to decompress, shower, and talk to Austin, so K and I walked down the hill to an overlook to watch the sunset. Several other members of our group joined us and as expected, it was a spectacular sunset. Timing was perfect, as Anna joined us at the very end, and then we all walked a short distance to the main restaurant, which had a beautiful view over a small lake and the fading sunset.

The previous night, a few people from our group had done a night wildlife tour offered by resort. They gushed about it, so the three of us and another couple signed up for this evening's tour. A small van picked us up from the restaurant and brought us to the very top of the resort property, which is closed off as an animal/bird/insect sanctuary of sorts. We linked up with another group of four and met our guide, who was the one recommended by our other friends. It was pitch dark up on top, and each of us was given a flashlight. The guide had an infrared light, a big scope, and his phone was set up to take night photos. We weren't sure what to expect. As it turns out, most of what we saw were incredibly diverse insects, most of which have developed special camouflage, a lot of reptiles and amphibians, and -- for good or bad -- spiders, to include multiple nesting tarantulas. Thank goodness the guide knew where and what to look for, as most of us were clueless to all the life around us. He set up his scope when necessary, so we could see, or brought us in close to see whatever he found. He also took pictures of everything -- so we didn't all try to do the same -- and sent them all to us later, so we'd have them. It was a long tour, almost two hours, and given that we were leaving in the morning, we were all a little anxious to get back to room, pack, and get to bed -- which we did!