The gravel road snaked up the steep hillside. Motorcycles and cars pass by infrequently creating the all to familiar chattering noise that a vehicle makes on a poorly grated road.
"These gravel roads are just like the fire roads in California. The only difference is that this is their road," exclaimed Chet.
"Yeah, the forest is also quite similar looking. The climate feels like a California Spring."
"There is so much more wildlife in these forests though. There are monkeys, toucans, and other stuff in the forest. Our forests are so tame," said Chet.
Chet scanning the poorly drawn paper map we received at our hostel says, "we should almost be there."
Looking down at the map, it looks as if someone handed a toddler a pen and paper. It looks like nothing more than a bunch of doodles with landmarks written on it.
Continuing on the gravel path, I see a little unmarked trail that darts off into the jungle.
"Hey! I think that's it! We were told it's an unmarked trail."
"I don't know... Why don't you walk in a little ways and check it out."
Listening to Chet, I eagerly saunter off into the forest. The twigs cracking under the weight of my boots, I scan the trail for the thing we've been looking for. Determined to find it, I keep walking deeper into the forest and begin to lose myself in my thoughts. Maybe it's because I miss California, but I can't help but draw parallels between the cloud forest in Monteverde and the Redwood forest back home. It's the same forest litter, same forest patterns - tall trees that let in little light with sporadic undergrowth. Hearing a crashing noise to the right of me, I instantly snap out of my thoughts.
Trying to find the noise that startled me, I find a bunch of raccoon, weasel like animals jumping out of the trees fifteen feet away from me. I later found out these are called Coatis. Watching them for a minute, I turn back and head for the road not finding what we are looking for.
Making it back to the road, Chet and Karen finish talking to person in a car.
"What did they say?"
"They have no idea what we are talking about..."
Slightly defeated, I suggest hiking back through the forest since it was a beautiful trail. Their interest spiked when I told them about the raccoon weasels.
What we are searching for are trees called strangler figs. We have been told that they are trees that have grown together and created a mesh like network of branches that create the tree trunk. It's a natural phenomena that is created by a normal tree. With time and careful placement, animals hide strangler fig seeds in the bark of the tree. Forgotten seeds sprout and begin to climb the tree like ivy. Eventually the strangler figs out compete the host causing it to die. Over the course of many years, the host tree rots away leaving a hollowed out tunnel created by the strangler figs.
Trekking past where I saw the Coatis, we stumble upon the first strangler fig. Excited, I immediately drop my bag and tuck my body into the hollowed out trunk. Standing up inside, my shoulders almost span the diameter of the tree trunk. Peering upwards, I contemplate if I can climb it.
Grabbing the first rung of the tree, I find it's easy to climb because of the cage like structure of the tree. Pulling myself up higher and higher I eventually make it to the top. Like looking through an airplane window, I peer out of the tree and see that I'm in the canopy of the forest. Bromeliads, mosses, and tilandsias float on the tree branches around me. Birds sing as the tops of the trees reach for the sky to compete for the sun's energy. In the distance, I hear a gust of wind blow through the leaves which starts to crescendo as the gust reaches me. Tucked inside the tree, my stomach begins to turn as the tree begins to sway in the wind. Momentarily I feel like John Muir in the Yosemite tree tops. It's just a fleeting feeling as the tree sways again sending vertigo sensations through me. I eagerly scramble downwards like a dog cowering from lightning.
Upon reaching the ground, I excitedly tell Chet and Karen what I saw and that they too have to climb it. Chet pulling himself into the tree climbs upwards somewhat discouraged from his fear of heights. From part way up the tree, I can hear Chet quoting Smeagol from Lord of the Rings.
"Up, up, up, up, up the stairs we go..."
After both Chet and Karen climbed the tree, they talk about other trees they saw further ahead.
"Wait until you see the one over the cliff!"
Walking down the slope, I could see the ominous tangled trunk in the distance. It was arched like the leaning tower of Pisa over the hill side. Looking into the cavernous trunk the beginning of it looked like the rib cage of a whale. Climbing higher and higher, the trunk got tighter and tighter. But each step upwards was a step closer to the canopy top. I could only think of Chet quoting Smeagol.
"Up, up, up, up, up the stairs we go..."
Reaching the top, I yell down below and wave before scurrying back down from my fear of heights. Karen hopping into the trunk begins climbing upward. Chet points up into the canopy at the Capuchin monkeys climbing around. A curious monkey hops onto the tree Karen is in. With the monkey poking it's head into the tree where Karen was, I was momentarily scared until the monkey scurried away. For an instant, all I could think about was Karen getting attacked by a rogue monkey eighty feet in a tree.
As Karen reaches the top, she pokes her head out and waves at Chet and I. After a few minutes of enjoying the view in the forest canopy, Karen begins her descent to the ground. As she descends downwards, I sit and stare at these grouping of trees and admire them. It only made me excited to be back in the familiar Redwood trees back home in Mendocino.
On our last day in Monteverde, Karen and I went to an orchid garden. Here they contain species of orchids found in Monteverde and specialize in miniature orchids.
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