Photos by Nanci Blog

One of three Jaguars at the  Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary  Their story below. This is our last day in Monteverde , we're heading back to San Jose later today; some of our group will be heading home on Sunday and the rest of us are continuing on to Manuel Antonio National Park  for a few days. We'll be leaving the cool air of the mountains and traveling south towards the Gulf of Nicoya and the hot and steamy weather for a visit to the  Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary . So it's suitcases outside our doors and breakfast at 7 a.m. (we're getting used to this schedule). We enjoy a nice buffet breakfast at the  El Establo Hotel  then head to the coach for our 8 a.m. departure.   Before we head out I get to say goodbye to a tour guide I was hanging out with on my zip line adventure on Friday. We have about an hours drive to the Sanctuary and the landscape is pretty rugged. Eric finds a pull off and we stop for a group photo. The view here is beautiful. We drive t...

It's a beautiful morning in Montverde. The air is cool and not too humid. The views from our tree-top room are gorgeous. Today's I'll be zip-lining in the tree tops. Breakfast is at 7 AM and we leave at 8 AM to plant trees and hike the Santa Elena Reserve. After a nice breakfast at the  El Establo Hotel , we head into town to help plant some native trees. We are assisting a local school that is working to replace the invasive/non-native trees and shrubs in the area. We split up into groups and start planting. Back on the coach, we're heading up into the clouds to hike around the  Santa Elena Reserve . Because we are on a schedule, and frankly some of us are a bit "old" were' taking the Youth Challenge trail. We are definitely in a rainforest. The foliage is lush and some of the plants are very curious looking. Our "slow" walk is still pretty fast, especially trying to look for small things, but something off color catches my eye. I zoom in a bit ...