The Human Bamboo
The Man of Monteverde
This is the tale of a man who works in one of the most unique office spaces on the planet. His air conditioning is the cool mist descending from the heavens. His cubicle is a cloud. His work is guarded by pumas and jaguars. His name is Juan Carlos Calvo — and he is the most interesting tour guide in the world.
Juan Carlos grew up in Tilaran, roughly 35 kilometers away from Monteverde. Juan Carlos completed high school as an exchange student near San Francisco. Though he enjoyed the beauty that the United States had to offer, this experience provided a new lens. “When you travel, when you’re out of your own country, you look back and you say, ‘oh look at what we have back home.’” If Juan Carlos had never traveled out of Costa Rica, he would never have truly realized the abundant diversity of the Cloud Forest ecosystem. After graduating from high school in the States, Juan Carlos immediately began to work for the Monteverde Cloud Forest at the front desk selling tickets.
“I knew that one day I would become [a naturalist guide]. That was the first time that I became close to nature, so I said that somehow I have to get there.”
Monteverde provided Juan Carlos with his first connection to the beauty of Costa Rica, and the cloud forest specifically. After his stint in the ticket booth, he quickly moved up the ranks — giving tours for five years as a naturalist guide and then earning his license at the university (in one year rather than the typical three). If you thought you missed your chance to take a tour with this witty, intelligent individual, think again. Close your eyes (or don’t, because you need to read this), and imagine the cool misty breeze surrounding you. It’s a comfortable 66 degrees Fahrenheit. Birds whistle in the distance. Let’s meet Juan Carlos, shall we?
You approach the entrance of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. The private park opened its doors to the public in 1972. You hear that your tour guide is one of the most fluent English speakers of the park’s naturalists. You sigh with relief because your Spanish is not as good as you wish it were. Juan Carlos greets you with his bird scope propped upon his right shoulder. “Monteverde is one of the most diverse forests in the world,” he begins. “We are here to see that.”
He leads you and your group into the famous cloud forest. He calls the cloud forest the “cake” of Monteverde — the best part of it. However, you are told to keep an eye out for the beautiful national bird of Guatemala, the elusive Quetzal. “That’s what I call the cherry of the cake, eh?” Of course, some in the group grumble about how they hope to see mammals here in the cloud forest. Juan Carlos retorts that in his 15 years as a naturalist guide, only once has he seen a jaguar, and it was on a night tour. “The only thing I notice on the night tour anymore is I go in with 8 people…I come out with 7 people. I don’t know why, eh? We’ll never solve that.” Jokes aside, he emphasizes that your focus should be on seeing and appreciating this unique forest. The biodiversity in this forest is unlike anywhere else on Earth.
As a disclaimer, Juan Carlos explains that it would be his pleasure to answer any questions you may have. However, “maybe I have to say, ‘I don’t know.’ Which is ok. If I don’t know something, I will tell you, ‘I don’t know.’ It’s better than just making it up, eh?” You appreciate his honesty.
At your first stop, Juan Carlos explains that the entrance to the cloud forest is called a secondary forest, as roughly 50 years ago there were cows and pastures on this very land. Soon, you will experience the primary forest — the original, uncut foliage.
You walk a bit further and stop at an odd prehistoric-looking plant. You recognize the shape, but you’re not sure from where. This is the monkey tail, Juan Carlos explains. Aha! You think. The plant extends from the stem and then curls into the shape of a monkey tail. A logical nomenclature. It reproduces primitively by spreading its spores that rest underneath its leaves.
You continue along the path past gorgeous plants and tree formations — one in particular is called the Giraffe tree, as has been named by the local naturalists. The tree grows straight up on the left side of the path before extending to the right over your walkway like the neck of a giraffe. The sounds of birds increases in your ear. Then, a distinct sound appears and Juan Carlos springs into action.
He says it is quetzal mating season, and there are two very close to you. You all go silent as Juan Carlos pairs with another naturalist guide whistling the mating call of the quetzal. Over time, Juan Carlos grows weary saying, “They’re green and the forest is green too, so it’s kind of difficult to find green on green.” Then, another sound. The car alarm bird (the azure-hooded jay) whines in the distance, earning its nickname. As, the car alarm dies down, the sound of a “squeaky door” grows louder. Juan Carlos identifies this as the black-faced solitaire. To the left of the path, a small black bird flutters down onto a branch. You instantly grab your telephoto camera lens and silence the group. You take slow, quiet breaths and snap the perfect shot. Juan Carlos is impressed. In his opinion, “it all depends on how positive we are and how good charged batteries we got and then we can see this kind of thing.” Seeing him jump at the chance to see the birds of the forest, even after 15 years, is true evidence of how this man’s love for the natural beauty of Costa Rica is unwavering.
Juan Carlos then asks the group where you want to go. Scamper to the left to a waterfall or dogleg to the right to the hanging bridge?
Off to the hanging bridge you walk. Along the path, Juan Carlos stops and knocks on the hollow cecropia tree — the sloth tree. Ants live inside providing a symbiotic relationship as the trees produce nectar and the ants protect the trees in the lowlands. We find this parallel in the cloud forest and its visitors. The cloud forest provides majesty and breathtaking landscapes, while the money from tourists directly protects the forest through their contributions to preservation and research. It also provides a living for Juan Carlos and his two daughters, Stacy and Tracy. “I say if we have another one, it’s gonna be Crazy.”
“You’re having a wonderful day today. Some people come up here and say, ‘why is it called cloud forest?’ We can hear the water dripping from the treetops to the cloud. You can feel it. So cool, so fresh, so much oxygen. The best we can get from nature.”
On the ground sits a prickly pod. Juan Carlos picks up the pod tentatively, but forbids you from following suit. Small hairs stick into his finger, but he reacts with a laugh — clearly he’s experienced with these briars. He holds the little porcupine-looking pod and poses for a photograph with a macrolens.
Around a forest bend lies a fallen birdie. “Did somebody have an accident?We call this bird cuatro ojos, the four-eyed bird, because of the white spot behind each of its eyes. The common bush tanager.”
What happened? We ask.
“Maybe somebody tried to haunt it and he dies. So many questions, no answers.”
You finally cross the hanging bridge, which Juan Carlos refers to as the “Baby Golden Gate Bridge.” From the hanging bridge, you get a new perspective of the forest from the treetops.
You elect to power on to reach the edge of the Monteverde property along the Continental Divide.
Squashing through muddy puddles, slipping and sliding up a steep, narrow path, and wind progressively buffering your ears with more and more power, you soon reach the cout de gras…the legendary Continental Divide. You can feel the energy of the mountains that extend from the Rocky Mountains of the United States. The clouds and the mist blow from your left — the northeast. You continue up until you reach a fork in the trail. On the left is a small patch of ground. On the right is a larger deck held together by wooden planks.
Juan Carlos sits on a bench to the right. He’s a Pacific person he tells you. A calm silence surrounds you and him. A small breeze grazes you, but it’s nothing substantial. You are standing on top of the world. Blustery winds blow from the Caribbean across the trail on the left. Humidity from the lowlands have reached the heat of the Tilaran mountains, and this develops clouds that rise up to the peak where you stand. “It’s like different worlds in the same world,” he says. On a clear day, you can see the UGA (or oo-ga, as the Ticos pronounce it) Ecolodge.
The enchantment of the Continental Divide leaves you unsatisfied when Juan Carlos tells you it’s time to march back down the path to your taxi cab. He walks in the middle of the group, as you return home. A 45-minute trek brings you back to the starting line. The group disperses into the gift shop, but you stay behind. You shake the hand of Juan Carlos Calvo — the Man of Monteverde. He leaves you with one piece of parting advice:
“When you love it, you just do it naturally and things come out good. Whatever job you do, just enjoy it. It’s fun!”
