Monteverde Cloud Forest

The weekend after Arenal Volcano we went to the Monteverde Cloud Forest. It was about a 5 hour bus ride, the last hour of which was on a gravel/dirt road on the edge of the mountains, it was a little nerve racking to say the least. On the way to our hotel we stopped at the actual Monteverde National Park where we hiked and explored for an hour. Since we didnt have that much time I didnt get to see the hanging bridges or anything that cool but the hike was very pretty and we got to see a small waterfall. We arrived at the hotel and it was beyond beautiful, the rooms reminded me of cottages up in the mountains and everything was so nice. From our balcony you could see all the way to the coast and we were able to watch the sun setting over the pacific ocean both nights. On Saturday we had a day full of activities, early in the morning I went horseback riding through the mountains and later we went zip lining. The horseback riding was a lot of fun but it definitely gets uncomfortable and a little painful being on the back of a horse after a couple hours of going up and down the mountains. The zip lining was SO MUCH FUN. It is actually a lot scarier than I thought it would be and a little bit more challenging, each time you zip across the line you have to stop yourself at each plank by grabbing the line and pulling down fairly hard. After thirteen different lines my arms were killing me, and the next day I was so sore from the zip lining plus the horseback riding. The last line was really really long and I can't deny I got a little nervous when I started to slow down thinking I was going to get stuck out on the line hundreds of feet above the canopies, but everything was great. The view is absolutely amazing, pictures or stories don't do it any justice, you have to zip line yourself to understand what it's like. At the end of the zip lining we all the option to do the “tarzan swing” which I can only explain as a bungee jumping, swinging rope type thing (the video of me doing it is on facebook, check it out, and excuse my language, it was a little scary). You have to walk to the edge of a hanging bridge that is at least 300 hundred feet in the air, they clip you to the rope swing and tell you to jump, it was hands down the scariest thing I have ever done in my life (I had been planning on going bungee jumping while I was down here at a really popular spot, but after the tarzan swing I changed my mind lol no more bungee for me). The first 3 or 4 seconds is a straight free fall where you feel like you're not connected to anything at all, then after that you feel the rope grab you and swing you back and forth. It was a once in a lifetime experience, but I don't know if I would ever do it again. After our day of adventures, we ate a big lunch at the hotel and spent the rest of the day relaxing in the sun and exploring our huge resort. I would love to return to Monteverde to be able to explore the National Park more and of course stay at the same hotel (although I doubt I would ever be able to afford a place like that anytime soon lol). It was a very fun weekend away from the city and it was our last excursion with the ISA program staff or in other words, it was the last weekend we got to stay in a nice hotel with fun day trips, from here on out it was time for cheap hostels and public transportation.