From Arenal volcano we drove to Lake Arenal, and crossed in a boat. Then the drive over the mountains to Monteverde. All very rutted dirt road, not paved by the residents' preference to keep the traffic down. We walked through the cloud forest at Selvatura, traversing 8 hanging bridges, some over the canopy, then went to the hotel for a gorgeous sunset. Dinner was with ex-pat naturalist Debra Hamilton, who runs a conservation foundation helping preserve habitat for the Three-wattled bellbird.
The following day we let the "kids" sleep in while Manny took us for an early morning hike in the Monteverde reserve. Toward the end of that we (OK, a bunch of other folks, really) spotted a resplendent quetzl in breeding plumage. We went back for lunch with the kids, then zip-lines through the canopy at Selvatura - very exciting, check out the videos. Also at Selvatura we visited the reptile and insect museums and the hummingbird garden After that we took a night walk with guide Juan Carlos and saw huge leaf-cutter highway and nests, tarantulas, agoutis, raccoons, and coatis, among other fauna.
Next day we set off for the Pacific.