Central America - Day 12 (Ometepe Island, Nicaragua to Monteverde, Costa Rica)

On Sunday, we left our host families at 6 a.m. with breakfast to go including pancakes, fruit and coffee to take on our journey. We headed to the port and caught the ferry back over to Rivas at 7 a.m. Once we reached the port in Rivas, we took a bus to the border with Costa Rica. 

I am always fascinated by borders because they are all a little different. This one had men exchanging money at a good rate and short lines at both borders.

We had to walk about a kilometer between the two borders today, but the weather was cooperative with no rain and lots of sun. The exit, walk and entry into Costa Rica was relatively painless. We picked up our transportation and headed out for the four journey over to Monteverde and the beautiful cloud forests. Our guide was super happy because this is her home country. 

We arrived, settled in and prepared for our evening activities. We are staying at Quetzal Inn, which is pretty basic, but clean and has everything we need. At first, I was annoyed there was no AC, but the temperature has now dropped into the delightful 60s, so all good on that front.

Night Walk - Several of us decided to go on a night walk in the evening. The night walk is a chance to see all of the various wildlife that mostly comes out at night in the rainforest. To be honest, I was a bit nervous, but the guides were really encouraging and we saw so many creatures! 

Ladybug

Mott Mott Bird (asleep)

Hummingbird (all tucked in for the night)

Tarantula (in her home)

Wolf Spider

Extra large walking stick (about 8”)

Scorpion (through UV light)

Another frog (can’t remember the name)

Leopard frog

Sloth

Sloth

In addition to the above, we saw lizards, katydids and a kinkajou (like a large cat). I really enjoyed hunting for creatures in the evening.