Monteverde was the second location that our group stayed at, and it was undoubtedly my favorite part of the trip. At first, it was the weather that I fell in love with. This high-elevation lodge was much cooler in temperature than where we had just spent several days on the Pacific Coast. Here at the mountaintop, the air was crisp, there were no mosquitoes, and it was almost necessary to wear long pants at night to avoid being too chilly. While there wasn’t air conditioning here either, none of us seemed to notice that like we did on the coast. The only thing that was immediately apparent was the fact that solar water heaters do not work too well in the middle of a cloud forest. The icy showers, however, were my only complaint at Monteverde, and they still make for a good story about my time abroad. Our target bird here was the Resplendent Quetzal, as is the case for birders that travel there from all over the world. Our group was very fortunate to see the beautiful green bird on our first rainy hike through the clouds, as some people spend days there without ever having the opportunity to observe it. At the time, I certainly did not appreciate it enough, but having talked to friends and family back home about the trip, it was just one of many experiences that are unique to a journey to Costa Rica. Along with the plethora of birds that we were able see, Monteverde was where we had a coffee tour, went zip lining, and got to visit the UGA satellite campus. For these reasons and many more, Monteverde was my favorite location of the three-week trip.
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