Head in the clouds

My third stop on my Costa Rica trip was Monteverde — a cute little town, but also home to the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

I didn't even know cloud forests were a thing.

They most definitely are.

Monteverde is where the warm Caribbean air hits the cooler Pacific air, at the top of a mountain range, and condenses - forming clouds.

These clouds are low lying (think fog) and envelop everything in the surrounding area.

So, with my group, and a guide, we set off into these otherworldly forests.

Our guide was called Nacho and was ridiculously handsome, and - somewhat annoyingly - charismatic too.
Everyone - regardless of their persuasion - was attracted to him.

When we decided to focus on the forest again, we noticed something: how eerily quiet it was.
I'm not sure if the wildlife here is shy, squirrelled away, or creatures simply don't like the moisture, but very little could be heard, bar the odd bird call.
There was a strange stillness.

Moisture was everywhere.
It wasn't raining, but all you could hear were trees dripping onto the canopy of smaller plants beneath them.

Moss covered all trunks.
In fact lots of things covered all trunks.
Plants grew out of plants.
A single tree - we were told - could have up to 200 other plant species growing out of it.
These were mainly epiphytes.
They grow on the surface of other plants, but they're not parasites - instead of feeding off a 'host', they get their nutrients and water from the air.

It was strange.
It was cooler (than the Caribbean coast) but not cold.
There was still humidity.
The air was thick, for want of a better way of putting it.

We traversed the many hanging bridges.

We were close enough to touch the trees.
And we were fully within the clouds.
A quick scan, when looking out, and you could see those clouds moving past - just like you'd see them doing so higher up, on a windy day.

It was like being within the pages of a fantasy novel.

None of us said a word.
We were lost in another world.