The Riches of a Private Preserve

In Costa Rica, there are national parks and reserves, and there are dozens of hotels and eco-lodges that advertise acres of "private preserve," miles of hiking trails, and rainforest or cloud forest flora and fauna.

My friend Ann and I spent three nights at "Valle Escondido Nature Reserve and Farm." Whew. A mouthful. In fact, it was a fairly ordinary hotel with two exceptions: the second-floor restaurant was completely outdoors, with views of the surrounding ridges, and the trails on the hotel's property were representative of the biodiversity for which the country is known. 

As soon as we arrived, we took advantage of the $5 happy hour price for passion fruit margaritas, at the hotel's open-air restaurant. The orange of our drinks reflected the hues of sunset.

By day, the views from the restaurant and from the trails surrounding the hotel are stunning.

In the gardens surrounding the hotel, we encountered coatis...

colorful motmots...

angels' trumpets...

orchids....

and fruiting banana trees.

Deeper in the forest, we discovered trees with protective spikes....

... and leaf-cutter ants, cutting and carrying chopped-up leaves to their nests. There, the leaf pieces become compost to grow fungus that nourishes the Queen, soldiers, and rest of the colony. The march of the anys can be viewed in my video, at: https://m.youtube.com/shorts/aZojVW4VT1I

As always in rainforests, the hotel's private preserve encompasses some beautiful cascades. 

Day turned to night, and we retraced our steps, this time with a guide to help us find the elusive denizens of the dark.

We tiptoed past sleeping birds, with their heads tucked under a wing...

...and an owl butterfly (notice the "eye" markings).

We stumbled over roots and rocks, examining clusters of leaves and shining flashlights in the treetops, looking for monkeys and sloths. 

Once again (as in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve), our guide failed to find a big cat such as an ocelot or puma.

Nevertheless, we were satisfied that the hotel's private preserve harbored an abundance of flora and fauna and that we had nicely sampled what the cloud forest had to offer.