Monteverde Off The Beaten Path

After we had enough of the Reserve, we stopped by the Cheese Factory. Two reasons - it was FREE, and I was interested in whether the cheese making vats would be Confined Spaces (some were). I took pictures for work.

You can observe cheese making in Monteverde Costarica from a window in the sales room.

We didn't buy any locally made ice cream and cheese, but you can order it over the internet at the website below. The site is in Spanish, but you can point to an item and it will be described.

HOURS: Mon-Sat. 7:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.

Sun. 7:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.

Tarantulas are plentiful in the forests and jungles of Costa Rica. They are big animals (for invertabrates) and will feed on lizards and even very small mammals. But tarantuals are little concerned with people. They are nocturnal and you are not apt to come across a tarantula unless you stick your hand into a burrow in a tree or under some roots. Really, there is no telling what you are likely to come across if you go poking around under stones or fallen logs--it's best to use a stick to examine the dark, leafy places where creepy crawlies tend to hang out.

The cloudforest is surprisingly devoid of active creepie-crawlies. Looking at the thick jungle like atmosphere, it seems as if hordes of multi-legged, biting, venemous creatures should be making a bee-line for the hiker's exposed skin. But in reality, insects, milipedes, slugs and other creepie-crawlies are seldom seen. Part of the reason is that many of these bugs are nocturnal and are sleeping the day away and another reason is that they are scared to come into the open. Irrational humans may be scared witless by a large menacing insect, but birds, lizards, frogs, spiders and other insects just might find that same insect a delicacy that is impossible to resist.