Monday 12/6/04 -
Photos from the Cloud Forest

This is a cloud forest because it's high up in the clouds and isn't constantly raining like in a rain forest - but there still IS RAIN and condensation. So you need to wear a sweater, raincoat and waterproof hat. I found it funny that the Swiss woman complained about the rain and hoped it wouldn't rain on her afternoon forest hike. That's what it does! It's a cloud forest, it is rainy in there :)

Each guide has a walkie talkie and keeps in touch with the other guides. That way if one spots something interesting, everyone converges to see it. This is not a zoo where you see a ton of animals the whole time. The guide will spot things up in the canopy or far off and you need your zoom camera or your binoculars to really admire it. The guide carried a spotting scope with him to help us see things. But bring binoculars. The walking is gentle, but it is pretty constant, so keep that in mind too.

We got a lot of discussion about the ecosystem of the forest, how everything relies on everything else for the right mix of nutrients and seed distribution and such. The canopy of the trees here is not as high as in a rain forest, but it is still pretty high up. There are creatures that live only in the tops of trees and jump from treetop to treetop, never coming down.

We began by seeing a racoon :) Then some howler monkeys high in the trees, and lots of mosses and vines and orchids (no flowers)

The entry booth

orchids on a dead tree

more orchids

more orchids

The path we walked

giant trees, vines and roots

roots came down from the canopy, for the planets that lived up there

lots of ferns

soothing grassy softness all around

Further In the Cloud Forest

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