The red bridge jiggles as I step on it. I move across it slowly, leaving the cloud forest floor behind. Someone ahead of me moves faster, and I reach out to hold the wire cable for support as the bridge bumps and sways. Wolf, the man who is leading us on our first day in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, warns us all to walk carefully - no jumping or bouncing is allowed. I keep walking across the bridge but even more cautiously. We are a hundred feet above the ground.

I'm in the cloud forest canopy! Birds call to each other, and I see flashes of color and wings as they fly from tree to tree. Two hummingbirds hover nearby, drinking the nectar of flowers in the treetops. Epiphytes (plants that grow on top of other plants) cover the trunks of the trees so thickly that I can barely see the color of the trees' bark - everywhere I look it's green. There are ferns, bromeliads, mosses, orchids, and plants that I can only guess the names of, growing up and down the tree trunks. Large clumps of epiphytes make their homes on top of branches, too, and I wonder how one thin branch can support their enormous weight. It looks like a garden in the sky.

The next trail we take climbs upward, into the elfin, or dwarf, forest. The trees are much shorter here. I stand on the high mountain ridge that is the Continental Divide. Any rain that falls on the west side flows into the Pacific Ocean, and any rain that falls on the east flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The wind pushes up the east slope with a wild howl that sucks my breath from my mouth, and tries to push me to the ground. I can stay standing but only with effort. The wind pushes the clouds, too, and soon heavy mist falls on the trees and on us. The cloud forest depends on the misty moisture. I zip my raincoat and pull up my hood.

Cloud Forest Sightings:

• A male and a female Resplendent Quetzal. Their shimmering green and red feathers catch our eyes; the male has four long green tail feathers that extend up to ten inches beyond his body.
• Thick vines hang straight down from the canopy of the tallest trees, often more than fifty feet. When they reach the ground they'll root into the soil.
• A row of tiny, brownish-red leaf-cutter ants march across the trail, each of them carrying a piece of bright green leaf that's four or five times as big as they are.
• The loud, deep call of the howler monkey fills the air, surprising and delighting me. I want to see him, but he's hidden in the trees.
• The biggest ferns I've ever seen - tree ferns - have thick trunks and enormous fronds growing from their tops. It looks like Jurassic Park!
• Moonlight shining through the mist creates a large arching "moonbow" at night. It's like a rainbow but ghostly white, with just a pale hint of colors.

Team Stats

12 Powerbars eaten
18 rolls of film shot
36 chigger bites

What does a Resplendent Quetzal eat?
(Answer given in the next Teachers Log)