Vacations To Cabo San Lucas

It’s early Saturday morning in Santa Elena. The local farmers market is in full force. I’d normally be there early in order to get first pick of the organic veggies. The local kids race about all through the marketplace. This morning I’m just kicking back at the house drinking coffee and making this journal entry. A bit later I’m planning on taking a yoga class and then probably going to play Ultimate Frisbee down at the school.

If you’re ever around on a Saturday, come visit the local schoolhouse and play Frisbee with us. The real young kids just climb about on the playground while the older kids and the adults play frisbee. It’s a great way to get to know the community. Families come from different aspects of the community: hippies, Quakers, businessmen, students, biologists. It’s always fun, and it keeps us in shape.

I have some friends from California here visiting. They’re due to arrive on the morning bus, so they’ll miss the game, but I have an exciting plan for them when they arrive. After dropping their luggage off at my place, I’ll take them for a hike into the cloud forest. I know of some hikes through here, ones that only the locals know about.

Afterward, I’ll take them on the Canopy Tour. When I first arrived here years ago I used to do freelance work for a couple of the zipline operations. I can’t think of a better way to introduce these guys to Monteverde. Observing the forest from a birds eye view, and having the means to soar over and through the dense canopy, was an experience that really opened my eyes and sparked my curiosity.

There is something so primitive in the experience of being up in a tree, higher than you would typically climb if you were just out climbing trees in the park. To be at the top of a tall cedar tree that itself is located at the top of one of the tallest mountains in Central America, 5000 feet is simply unforgettable. When a cloud wisps by and the view opens up , there are fantastic views looking down over the forest, down into the lowlands and to the Pacific Ocean beyond.

Then, you connect to another cable with your pulley and harness, and zip across to another tree platform, and youre standing in a Swiss Family Robinson/Tarzan setting, moss covered branches all around, the sound of a small creek running below, and small birds darting in and out of view From miles away you can hear the daunting call of the howler monkey.

At another platform you can see that each branch up here has a plethora of life surging on its surface. Small orchids, practically microscopic, cover large swaths of branches, and hanging moss provide a moist substrate for an array of multicolored bromeliads, each one a natural pitcher to capture the moisture in the air. Some of these provide shelter and protection for growing tadpoles.

The cloud forest is a magic place. Darkness and Light merge into a something similar to an underwater seascape. Its as if you are floating across an ocean of jungle at incredible speed, stopping at each platform to explore the endless lifescape of each parcel of jungle.. Each branch is brimming with life. Army ants, Stingless wasps, vicious toucans raid nests of blue warblers. The cloud forest offers much to be discovered.