Monteverde, Costa Rica

sat 5, 29th : I wrote the first part of the report in Monteverde.
Monteverde was a typical spontaneous after beer on friday decision. Nobody had time or was up for hiking, so I left San Jose alone for Monteverde.
Monteverde is in the country famous for it's cloud forest reserve but a touristic place. It is located in the mountain chain of Guanacaste and the town of Monteverde itself with about 3000 people is found on an elevation of about 1200m.
I arrived in the afternoon and the weather was unexpected nice, since the rain season starts hitting San Jose now.
On friday I stayed directly in the cloud forest reserve in a really really nice room for just about 8 dollar. That is definitely not normal, but offseason and some begging helped. The reserve, a real paradise for biologists, is just gorgeous and a MUST see in the region. A heavy steady brise (it is very important for this ecosystem as I have heard) makes the canopy sing. In addition are birds and monkeys. This makes it mystic especially if you go there alone meeting hardly any people. The forest is of course very wet.
All in all it was one of the nicest forests I have ever seen.
And what an air, I havent slept that well in Costa Rica so far. Bird sounds, canopy singing, the fresh almost chilly air.
Today was a hiking day. I took of really early in the morning and found soon a hiking friend for the day. A dog and I called him "Knecht Feldspat". I was looking for a trail which would lead to a mountain, about 2000m. Of course I took the wrong one, a tiny one and was difficult getting through the dense forest, climbing over and under trees. I arrived about 3 hours later on the first peek before I realized that I had hiked the wrong mountain and took another path which finally led to the right one, characterized with satellite dishes and masts of the local television. But it was special, because I saw a Jagurundi (like a Jaguar but smaller and totally black). I didnt see the head very well because it disappeared quickly. Another animal was a huge snake, probably not poisonous regarding its head. Finally I came back an checked the local snake farm and a orchidee garden out. Now Iam sitting in a cheap hostel with internet, chilling out the rest of the day.
Afterward:
I hooked up on saturday with some locals and other hikers from the hostel and we drank some beers. Sunday was special. I did one of the famous canopy tours. It is called Sky Trek and you are attached to a strong rope and slid down over the canopy without having ground under your feets. Just check the photos out. The longest rope has 700 m and you are 300 above the ground. I got back in the early afternoon to San Jose and met some nice people on the way. A great weekend all in all.