January 6-8: Paraiso Quetzal Lodge

After leaving the Osa Peninsula, we made our way north and into the Talamanca Mountains.  We could see the aftereffects of Hurricane Nate here-- there were areas where major erosion and bank collapses were visible alongside rivers, and part of the road had collapsed down the hillside in a few spots.  We passed several crews working on the road, but the repairs will take some time.  The other major feature we passed were abundant pineapple fields.
We made our way up into the mountains as the sun set, and arrived at the Paraiso Quetzal Lodge for a late dinner.  The lodge is beautiful- there's a lovely dining/reception area with a fireplace and a back porch covered in hummingbird feeders.  We stayed in several small cabins scattered down the hillside

The early morning of the 7th was the first time that we got to see the area in daylight, and it was gorgeous!  It was classic cloud forest, with epiphyte-laden trees shrouded in clouds and mist.  The lodge's restaurant had coffee and hot chocolate out, and we watched the hummingbirds as we waited for the group to assemble-- a pretty good start to the day!

Once, everyone was assembled we drove to La Esperanza, a nearby community, in search of Resplendent Quetzals.  Our guide from the Paraiso Quetzal Lodge told us about the partnership between the lodge and local farmers that allowed us to view the quetzals that day.  Quetzal tourism is the lodge’s main draw, but habitat loss had been a major threat to local quetzal populations.  The Paraiso Quetzal lodge gives part of their profit to local farmers and educates them about the birds.  In return, the farmers look for Resplendent Quetzals on their properties in the early morning and call in their locations to the lodge, allowing the lodge to bring tour groups to see the quetzals.  The payments and education programs also incentivize the farmers to leave areas of forest untouched for the birds and to plant trees such as wild avocados that the quetzals feed on.  The partnership benefits the lodge, the farmers, and the Resplendent Quetzals.  We were delighted to get to see three of the birds- they were beautiful.

We returned to the lodge for breakfast, and then drove 45 minutes to the nearby peak of Cerro de la Muerte.  Its elevation is 11,322 feet (as opposed to 8,694 at the lodge), so it was by far the highest I'd ever been.  It was high enough that we were dealing with breathlessness after just a little bit of physical activity and a constant dull headache, but it was so worth it for the views.  As we approached the summit, the vegetation switched from forest to paramo-- a more open high-elevation ecosystem dominated by grass, shrubs, and bamboo.  We got out of the van to explore for an hour or two, and enjoyed some really amazing views.  We only had about two hours of sun and clear sky the entire day, and they happened while we were on top of the mountain-- the timing was actually perfect, since the clouds came back in just as we were walking back towards the van.

In the afternoon, we did some more hiking around the lodge.  I have said this too many times already in this post, but it was so gorgeous (can you tell how much I loved the cloud forest?)  There are tall trees absolutely covered in moss and epiphytes, and ferns everywhere.  There are actually lots of oak trees, a hallmark of the cooler climate (it was in the 40's and damp most of the time we were there- you might notice in some of my earlier pictures that I'm wearing a rain coat over a normal winter coat).  There was also a cool waterfall at the bottom of the trail.  The cloud forest was unlike anything I had ever seen before, and Paraiso Quetzal was definitely one of my favorite places that I've visited!