Si in South America!: Ziplining through the treetops in Monteverde

Ziplining through the jungle, what a genius idea!

This was my main motivation for visiting the country town of Monteverde. The area was put on the map when a group of Quakers set up shop there in the 1950's. These Quakers are not the people who make tasty oats, they are the group known as the Religious Society of Friends.

First I had to get there from La Fortuna, and there was a big lake blocking my path. In fact it was the largest man-made lake in Central America, created to run enough hydro-electric dams to power most of the country. All energy in Costa Rica is from renewable sources, a surprising fact for a country in this part of the world. Anyway, it was still in the way, forcing me to make a seven hour bus ride. Until I found out you could take a boat across it! Not only did this cut four hours from the journey, it also provided beautiful scenery.

Monteverde has a large amount of nocturnal animals so I went on a night walk into the forest. We saw some monkeys, but I was bored of them by that point, and was glad when we came across this mean snake.

The highly venomous Green Pit Viper, curled up in the attack position, ready to snatch any unsuspecting mouse or frog that may pass underneath it. If you get bitten by this snake you have four hours to get to a doctor. After that you are dead. If you are fortunate enough to get there in under four hours, but after two, you will only lose whatever limb you were bitten on. If you want to come away with your whole body intact, you need to get medical attention within two hours. And not be allergic to Green Pit Viper venom.

Other highlights were this weird leaf-like insect, and a huge tarantula.

The next day was ziplining day - 3.5km of ziplines, 17 platforms, a Tarzan swing and one section that was 880 meters long. Top speed is 50kmph on that bad boy. The brake? A gardening glove with some leather glued to it. Not much needs to be said - it was awesome!

I'd planned to leave the next morning but for some bizarre reason there wasn't a bus until 4pm. I asked the woman on the front desk what I could do to amuse myself for six hours. Walking in the forest - done. Ziplining - done. A monkey house - done! She then half-suggested climbing a huge tree, in an apologetic tone, as though it was the lamest suggestion ever. Little did she know, there are few things that I like more than climbing trees!

Just out of the village there is a huge 30 meter high tree. I say tree, it is actually a strangler fig which once enveloped a huge tree, killed it off and now lives in its place. The result is a huge hollow tunnel, stretching 30 meters in the air. Climbing through it made me feel like a character in The Faraway Tree, probably the best set of children's stories ever written, a dream I'd always wanted to live out. There was no magic world at the top, and I didn't meet Moonface, but I did return with a big smile on my face.

I killed some more time aimlessly wandering around the countryside. Or so I thought until I found the Monteverde Cheese Factory! This would have been special under normal circumstances but in a continent where cheese has as much taste as a piece of laminated paper, I was over the moon. I was not disappointed, they had some sharp Cheddar! I ate the whole block for lunch.