2-1-10 Monte Verde, Costa Rica

I awoke early and set off on a coffee tour. I was the only one in the group which allowed for some leeway when it came to the tour.  We went to a coffee finca and saw tons of different plants in different stages.  The higher the elevation, the more flavor in the red coffee berries.  The red berries are picked then run through a little machine which removes the red, fleshy part of the berry and spits out a white coffee bean.  The coffee bean is then roasted in what looks like a bucket with a blow dryer in the bottom as well as a heating element.  The beans fly a few inches above the rim of the bucket before falling down to the bottom where they are roasted briefly before rising up again.  The difference between dark and light blends is a matter of seconds.

I later went hiking by myself in the cloud forest and saw, well, lots of clouds and forest.  Though atop a mountain, no scenic views were to be had as the mist cut visibility to maybe 50 feet.  I hiked along a ridge and never really saw the ground to either side as it was always covered by dense jungle, but by looking at the tops of the trees one could approximate the contours of the land.

I hit a butterfly garden the next day which was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. No, I didn't bring a fly swatter.  I sat down and watched many variety of butterflies fly around.  I still don't know how they can navigate with any precision though they seem to know what they're doing.  It's like they're in a constant state of bouncing and falling through the air.  Being that I was the only person at this place as well I got some special treatment and was showed a host of huge bugs which would take several stomps to kill.

During the night I took in a night tour in Monte Verde National Park which was delayed due to the guide having a burned out bulb in his flashlight.  Perhaps 10 of us went around looking for critters which we then pointed out to the guide who identified them for us.  The most impressive were a huge tarantula and a phosphorescent mold that glowed brightly when we cut off our lights.  I spotted a huge moth that had landed on the back of some French guy.  I told him in English then Spanish but he spoke neither so I let the bug crawl all over him which I didn't feel too bad about as he was French, after all.