We spent our morning at the famous Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve — make that a very wet and sometimes muddy visit.  All the guidebooks suggested getting there just after it opens up at 7am because they cap the number of visitors plus the parking lot fills up fast.  So we were up at 6am, enjoyed breakfast at 6:30am and made the drive to the park entrance and yes! we got great parking.  But it was miserable weather and that probably scared away most of the die hard early visitors.  We braved on and were equipped with a poncho and my umbrella. 

And for the next 3 1/2 hours we hiked up and down through the trails, hoping to spot some wildlife, but knowing in reality that this park wasn’t about the fauna, it was all about the flora.  And the wet is why there is such an incredible diversity of plant and tree life.  We are in the Cloud Forest, so of course we are going to get wet!  But after hiking up and up and down and down to the mirador view points and seeing nothing but white, impenetrable clouds, we were disappointed that we couldn’t see out to the Pacific Ocean or admire the trees and lands below.  So we put on our ‘Pura Vida’ attitudes and enjoyed the park for what it is, grateful for this time and this experience because hey, we are on vacation and we paid $44 to enjoy this and that is what we will do!  Pura Vida!