Olive Juice Amor: Head in the Clouds...Literally

Hola everyone! So after my not so fun post about real life yesterday...I want to remind everyone (myself included) that with life not only comes learning lessons and scary parts, it comes with some really wonderful adventures and experiences. Obviously my whole time spent in Costa Rica is one big adventure, but within my trip there are many chances to explore the country. I did so with my friends last weekend in MONTEVERDE!
Today was a day when I just felt nervous about everything. Some friends of mine were kind enough to walk me home and we passed some guys just sitting by a house. On the outside I was calm, but on the inside I was freaking out. I wanted to go do something today but I decided to take the day to just chill. I need to stop stressing but I will wait until I'm a little more recovered! In lieu of that, I decided to think happy thoughts and post about The Cloud Forest (hence the title!)

Honestly, I just wanted to go to Monteverde because of zip-lining. I had never done anything like that and was in a major hurry to go! Since that was not one of the excursions included with ISA, my friends Jo, Hilary, Ragha, and I decided to plan our trip (with the help of Jason from Tico Tours) and venture on our own.
Well, I think we did a pretty FREAKING good job :) We all had a wonderful time and plan to go back!

This is just a sample of the craziness during the weekend, this was the Friday night...girl time!

Our weekend plan was to zip-line, do the walking bridges, and then do something on Sunday before we left. Hilary and Ragha wanted to bungee jump, but Jo and I were going to do a chocolate tour instead! Keep reading to find out exactly what we did ;)

Friday:
We left San Jose on a bus toward Monteverde at 2:30p...a 5 hour bus ride. Ugh! It honestly wasn't bad..actually quite beautiful! That is until it got dark and we made our way up the mountain. I definitely had a stomach ache going up a bumpy, dirt road for an hour. But we finally got there a little before 8pm.
A little story for you too...Jo and I are both from Minnesota and we actually met a guy from Olivia, MN while on our trip! We ended up seeing him and his girlfriend (from Norway) all three days! He actually knows someone who goes to BLC..how small is the world!?
So, the hostel we stayed had amazing service. The name is Camino Verde and I would recommend it to anyone who was going to Monteverde. We were picked up and were shown (sort of-it was dark and cloudy ha) downtown and where some of the best places to eat were. But let me tell you, when we got to Camino Verde...all of us were in awe. This place is beautiful! I would put up the pictures that I took (like 500 literally) but oh, some thugs decided to be cool and take my camera including my pics..so I will be showing ones my friends took! Don't worry-they're just as good as mine! But seriously, we all squealed with joy because we were practically in heaven! I want to take everyone there! It may have helped that we were "on cloud nine" ha. Not only did, Jose our host for lack of a better term, pick us up, he booked our tours and bought our bus tickets for us. Camino Verde also had free coffee all day..I don't think it gets better than that!
The rest of Friday night we spent by going to a local soda..the food was amazing...and having girl time just chilling, talking, and maybe having a bottle or two of wine! We live the life!

Saturday:
Breakfast was included during our stay and we woke up to eat (I got pancakes and fruit...and coffee!) before our activities for the day. I was SO pumped to FINALLY go zip-lining! First up though was the hanging bridge tour of the forest. And gosh...it was one of the most beautiful, serene, green places I've ever seen.
And at this time I am going to direct you to Jo Dobrowski's flickr for pictures of our weekend!

Pura Vida!

We booked with 100% Aventura but there were many other companies to go through..that's what made some of the planning stressful! But after the forest was..you guessed it...ZIP-LINING! AHHHH!
All I can say about it-SO.MUCH.FUN. Wow! When we did the longest part of the zip line I was surprised I wasn't scared! I was so high above the ground! And everything under me was green and gorgeous! When on the line, you get going so fast it's kind of a cool rush! Not to mention-we did the superman! It's the longest one in Monteverde I believe..and super high! This poor girl in front of us was freaking out. Going superman that high, and for a minute and a half...holy amazeballs. Plus, the clouds were rolling in so it was like just a line into nowhere. Very sweet! And at the end you think you're going to run headfirst into a tree! But thankfully, they stop you from coming in too hot :P
Some pics of the forest/zipline:

I definitely want to do zip-lining again. It did not let me down! Especially because we did the tarzan swing afterwards! I can't describe it very well but the first two seconds...I felt like I was in a free fall! They strap you in, make you grab the ropes, have you bend your knees, open the gate, and AHHHHHHH! Basically. It was so much fun but I was trembling afterwards.

When we got back to Camino Verde we were tired, but refueled by drinking coffee and hanging out before our next tour. We went on a night tour in the forest and it was interesting to say the least! I was hoping to see more animals but we mostly saw insects and birds. Jo's flickr has pictures of some of the wildlife we saw!

Coming back from the tour, we decided that we wanted to have a chill day the next day and go on a coffee, chocolate, and sugar cane tour in place of bungee jumping. We needed a day to just chill instead of be thrill-seekers. Besides, going back to Monteverde is definitely happening ;)

Sunday:

Woke up. Ate breakfast..today for me was pancakes and eggs! Then we loaded up for our tour with Don Juan Coffee, Chocolate, and Sugar Cane! I will use mostly pictures to explain but wow...the sugar consumption was insane! We got to see coffee at every stage of production..along with cocoa and sugar cane. The processes for each are very interesting..and tasty! We got to taste test at almost every stage as well, hence the sugar consumption. There just really isn't anything like making your own hot cocoa, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, sugar shots, and coffee all in the same day!

Those are some pictures of the chocolate part of the tour..I have yet to get my hands on the sugar shots picture...but I will..and when I do..I'll make sure to post them for ya!

Unfortunately, shortly after our tour we had to pack up and leave :( Our bus left heaven at 2:30p to get us back around 6:15..much faster than when we went to Monteverde! And the drive home was gorgeous..seeing the mountain with all the clouds and scenery was an indescribable beauty. So green and fresco! All of us felt pangs of sadness but knew that in the future..we would once again have our head in the clouds :)