It was a lovely surprise after driving up the mountain to reach a slightly cooler climate! The views along the way were impressive, but every time we stopped to take a picture the clouds would roll in and cover the mountains!
Assorted activities were available in this small town including zip-lines and hiking mountain trails. We opted for a day at the Monteverde Cloudforest Reserve. We caught a local bus to the entrance and being grey haired, the cashier gave us the seniors discount without us asking. Bonus! We were looking for sloths, in particular but didn’t see many animals, but it was a great walk around the various tracks which took almost three hours.
After leaving Monteverde, we caught a bus, then a water taxi and another bus to La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano. The approach was spectacular, with the volcano looming in the distance.
By the time we reached our hotel we were ready for a swim, but first we searched for the elusive sloth, rumoured to live on the property. Our wishes were granted, and lounging high in the lychee tree, blissfully asleep we had our first sighting. Not much to report on the first viewing, but this morning we were in luck and there it was, just hanging about. (It had moved trees in the night!)
There was also an excellent trail on the property and we saw a great variety of plants. It was a beautiful walk.
Chris Godman 
That hummingbird is beautiful. You could make a nice cake out of it!! The sloths look pretty chilled. Beautiful plant pics. I have a cutting of the bottom right purple metallic leaved plant growing well in my back yard. Now I know its origin.
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I’ll have to get a piece from you! Some of the other plants I have seen in Australia, but don’t know the botanical names…another research project for me!
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Beautiful photos, Chris. Hummingbird and sloth – how wonderful!
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I love the sloth pics. That’s my goal. Hanging in a tree 💖
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The sloth looked so relaxed, we looked again this morning and he had moved trees…must do that at night.
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Spectacular volcano! When did it last erupt? I want some of that beautiful purple plant too!!
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Can’t remember when, but it was a while ago! I will get Brett on the case with the purple plant…he has it growing.😊
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The colours on the hummingbird are iridescent! Sloths are such weird creatures….
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And there were many varieties, but they flit about so quickly, I was pleased to get a decent shot!
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Love the sloth! You were lucky to see one – they are such unique creatures. I think that hummingbird should be your totem bird – it’s your colours 😅
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The hummingbirds were gorgeous, and waiting for them to stop flitting about was a challenge! Barb’s camera has really been an asset to taking close-ups.
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