Rainforest/Cloudforest number one, Monte Verde. Incredible experience. On the drive up, up, up we stopped at a teeny cafe on the edge of the mountain. Stunning view, great empanada and then the owner gave us a tour of the sugar cane processing done on the premises. I made a new friend, tiny little dog who stuck to me like glue.

Finally, the cloudforest was reached after much climbing up and down and up and up. Word of warning, the roads are not only winding, on the edge and scary, but they are also in terrible condition due to, yup, you guessed it, the rain. And the locals drive super fast, weaving in and out because they are accustomed to every twist.

At the top, we did the self guided tour as it gave us more time to explore. Still zero sloths sighted but an abundance of amazing flora and walking inside a cloud is fantastical. I used the term, “just like the movies” a few times. The suspension bridge was near the top of the canopy so we were able to look down on some of the tree tops that have not reached the height of the bridge yet. Breathtaking view looking down. I was disappointed we didn’t see any animals but we definitely heard them. The climbs felt like 90 degrees in some places going up and down. All in all, after three hours exploring we were graced with the rare sighting of, wait for it……a fucking squirrel !