The Cloud Forest...5/13/16

     Let's get one thing straight, Monteverde is gorgeous. Today, we got to visit one of Monteverde's main attractions, the Cloud Forest. The Cloud Forest is home to a variety of plant, insect ('o'), bird and mammal  species'. 

Hiking trail in Cloud Forest

     Foreigners have had a huge influence on the Monteverde Cloud Forest and its' surrounding areas. In fact the economy of Monteverde is largely based on tourism and agriculture. Tourism is relatively new to Monteverde.  As we rove through Monteverde I saw a lot of signs advertising coffee tours and tours of the area. It also seemed like Monteverde catered more to tourists, not only at the hotel, but in town as well. At hotel El Establo they had english witten next to each of their selections of the menu in the restaurant and at the Souvenir shop in town the prices were mostly in dollars.

     The cloud forest has been in Monteverde forever, but it was the Quakers whom played a big role in its' preservation. A lot of homesteaders (individuals already present in Monteverde) wanted to cut down some of the land and use it for their own uses, but the Quakers sort of brought them out of this deal. Another fact that I learned during the tour was that one of the Quakers had found a unique species of frog, called the Red Golden Frog at a time when the Monteverde Cloud Forest was just a forest. The Quaker ended up sending the frog to a researcher who was so amazed and in awe by the fact that he had never seen one before that he declared that the area needed to be immediately taped off and preserved.

     Unfortunately we didn't get to hear the Quaker presentation, however our Cloud Forest tour guide, Ricardo, whose parents happened to be Quakers had a lot of valuable information to share. It's important to note that the Quakers played a prominent role. Most of them, who had come from Alabama, USA had already had previous experience in dealing with crops. So when they came to Monteverde they already knew how to work the land.