A full day of wildlife in the Cloud Forest and Monteverde

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What a day! I started the morning with an early tour of the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Our little group had a guide, Andres, and it looks like most groups go out with guides. I think unless you are an experienced birder and otherwise well versed in finding wildlife amongst the greenery, it is best to go with a guide. According to Andres, we were hoping to find a quetzal or two, and we might be in luck because it was getting close to their mating season. The pictures below are of quetzals and they were taken by Andres, using my phone and my bigger camera because I could not see the flaming things. They really are beautiful birds. It was a team effort to find them with the guides sharing information and groups of tourists sharing the space and the experience.





After we got out of the trails, there is a little cafe with a hummingbird garden. I have never seen so many hummingbirds in my life, so many different colors. These are my photos. 










Our guide in the morning was so good and knowledgeable he mentioned that he also did night tours for another company. The lodge helped me book a tour with the company, Kinkajou Night Tours for that evening. Andres was again my guide and I was in a group with some travelers from Canada. This hike was a little more vigorous than the morning, and added points for doing it in the dark. It is hard to take good photos in the dark, at least for me, and sometimes it's hit or miss. I don't know if other guides offer to do this, but Andres took pictures for me and one of the people from the other group. His photos look like something out of NatGeo, mine look like something out of a Rohrshach test (I have left those out, but take my word for it). It was also helpful because sometimes only Andres could get close enough to the little creatures of the night.



He looks so grumpy. 
Is it a leaf or a bug? Look closely.

Oh my gosh, this is really a tarantula. I think that was the third I had seen on the whole trip in the wild. 

This little guy is a salamander, I believe. Andres didn't want to keep the light on longer than necessary. 

Okay, this is Andres using my Canon CoolPix to get a picture of a viper way up in a tree. He took about 8 photos, but it was hard because it was dark, far away and freestanding. It's still pretty cool and I know what it is. Mucho gracias Andres.

I was so tired after the long day that I could only eat toast for dinner. And no dessert - THAT is worth noting.

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