Monteverde

You arrive into Monteverde expecting the forest. What you don't expect is the sound — or rather, the absence of it. The mist absorbs everything. Footsteps, voices, birdsong all get softened to a murmur the moment you step past the park entrance.

We spent three mornings on the hanging bridges before the tourist crowds arrived. At 6 am the light filters through the canopy in wide shafts, and if you're quiet enough you'll spot the resplendent quetzal perched at the edge of an avocado tree.

The cloud forest sits at around 1,500 metres, which means the temperature rarely climbs above 18°C. Pack layers. The rain jacket you brought will be your most-used item — not because it rains hard, but because the mist is so persistent that everything gets wet anyway.

The Monteverde Cheese Factory is an oddity worth visiting: Quaker settlers founded it in the 1950s, and it's still the economic anchor of the town. The palmito pizza is better than it has any right to be.

Coming back down to the highway felt like re-entering a different country. The dry Pacific lowlands start almost immediately, and by the time you reach Puntarenas the temperature has climbed 15 degrees.