First impressions of Monteverde


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	First impressions of Monteverde Anna: Strangler figs, buttress roots, and vines were my first impressions of Monteverde. I had flown halfway around the world from Australia to discover that the forest around Monteverde and the rainforest in Daintree could have been painted with the same broad brush strokes. Later, I would see my tree fern buddies up in Monteverde's high elevation cloud forest and would spend hour upon hour drawing epiphytes (another Australian favorite.) 3-3-01 The roads are dusty --- clouds of particles are whipped up by the wind or passing cars and blown into our eyes. I find myself wishing it was the wet season so at least soil would remain earthbound mud. We walked the country roads around Monteverde and Cerro Plano, dodging "too many cars --- darn tourists!" (wrote this tourist). But trails were everywhere, and soon I was happily settled amid the greenery, sketchbook in hand. There, I saw that though the rainforest's structure matched that in Australia, the details were all different. Mixed in with pantropical families were North American immigrants, like the raspberries Maggie and I picked and bravely ate without proper identification --- they tasted very similar to the ones at home. I wouldn't be bored during my stay in Costa Rica, and the forest was already easing my fears of murder and mayhem. 3-4-01 We pick up dogs half the time as we walk by. One, which Maggie calls Amigo, is my favorite --- he's endlessly faithful and stays with us all day. Maggie: 3-4-01 This morning I walked so far. When Anna and I go on walks in the woods, she tends to stop early on to sit in the middle of the path and draw. Meanwhile, I explore the area. The dog who came with us to Bajo del Tigre was equally tired, I am sure. I gave cheese to the dog Amigo for my purposes since he kept showing up. Want to be notified when new comments are posted on this page? Click on the RSS button after you add a comment to subscribe to the comment feed. RSS comment 1 I was glad to see this comment about Amigo being faithful. I totally agree. Comment by Maggie — Thu Jul 15 15:11:13 2010 Remove comment Costa Rica dogs It's funny what prominent characters those dogs were in our journals! I remember thinking that they seemed like "wild type" dogs --- definitely working mutts, not pampered, well bred pets. Comment by anna — Fri Jul 16 16:29:34 2010 Remove comment Dogs in Quaker Meeting One day which happened to be Easter, the dogs followed us to Quaker Meeting. I do not know if you recall, Anna. But I think the Friends would have preferred silent worship minus the dogs. One of them left and walked "our" dogs home. Comment by maggie — Sun Aug 8 11:00:45 2010 Remove comment Ashamed Yup, I remember that day clearly, and am still ashamed... Comment by anna — Sun Aug 8 13:49:04 2010 Remove comment Add a comment