from treetops Toni Dabbs Conn A spark of electric blue among the trees caught our attention. As it flickered then fluttered gently toward us, it coalesced into a pair of iridescent wings reflect- ing what littie sunlight penetrated the cloud forest canopy. “A blue morpho — the tional buttertly o! buting Writer Lodge. Wearing buttock ging harnesses over our shorts and T-shirts, we were hiking through the lodge’s private reserve, gradually ascending toward the high point front which we would begin our canopy tour. Canopy tours, found throughout the Central American country, have become de rigueur for visitors to Costa Rica. Most are based on the rope-and-putley system devised by American biologist Donald Perry for studying the two-thirds of the jungie’s plants and animals found 20 to 30 metres above the ground. Under the supervision of expe- rienced guides, tourists attach pulley wheeis to their harness- es and ro cables strung berween elevated platforms, then glide along the cables among the treetops. Members of our group rep- resented various levels of fit- ness and ranged in age from 11 to 65. None considered the adventure too difficult or stressful, and all found it exhil- arating. However, tor visitors who prefer to have something solid beneath their feet, other Options exist, One is the Rain Forest Acrial Pram, also a Perry ere- ation, iocated at the edge of Braulio Carrillo Nation, north of San Jose. Tes J gondolas give passengers an hour-long ride through hush veyeration, highlighted by glimpses of exotic birds, bats, monkeys and other canupy dwellers. Another is the Sky Waik, 1 complex of five suspende bridges built within the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, north of Pauntaren near the southeastern tip of Lake Arenal. ft gives tourists a chance to stand sll while admiring the orchids, mosses, ferns, lichens and bromeliads that sprout from upper tree branche: Costa Rica’s abundance of torests (cloud, rain and dry, dong with their associated wildhte) is the country’s biggest tourism asset. Its be til beaches are a close sec- ond. That the pvo sometimes coincide seems almost coo good to be true. I was visiting Costa Ri a Signature Vacations package, dividing my week-long holiday berween the Lake Coter Eco- Lodge, ar the northwest end of Lake Arenal, and the Caribbean Village Fiesta all- inclusive t (actually on the Pacific coast), just out- side Puntarenas. I fell in love with the clo forest my first evening at the lodge. As I walked trom the main building to my cabin after dinner, wisps of mist curled through the trees and unseen jungle creatures made unfamiliar sounds. At my cabin, | found a hand-sized aes cane Photos Toni Dabbs A visitor glides high among the treetops on a tropical forest canopy tour using the rope and pulley system. spider on the window screen above the front door and a tree frog halfway up the back porch wall. The cabin had an unobstructed view over Lake Arenai to the pertectly conical — and very active — Arenal Volcano at the far end. Optional tours and activi- des available from the lad include an excursion to see the volcano’s lava tlow up close after dark, with a stop en rou! to enjoy the volcano-heated mineral waters at the ‘Tabacon Resort. The lodge also offers hiking, canocing, fishing, windsurting (Lake Arenal is one of five top places in the world to windsurf), river raft- ing and horseback riding plus excursions to the werlands of Cano Negro National Wildliie Refuge and Palo Verde National Park. Whether done as part of another activity or on its own, birdwatching is popular among visitors to Costa Rica. Even those with no interest in birding on arrival often find themselves attracted to one of MANUEL Antonio Fark combines humid tropical forest with white sand beaches. the country’s 850 spec betore departure — whether it’s the cloud fore: Resplendent Quetzal with its half-meter long tail or the low- land’s flame colored Pygmy Kingfisher. The lodge could have offered 2 course called “Birdwatching Made Easy, Guests only had to sit in the Rica, while a feathered rainbow descended on the feeding platform cach morn: ing. “The day that I transferred rom the lodge to the beach resort, I spent the carly hours of the att a poal the complete palor-teeed is shine and inactivin lous, but my mind kept returning to Costa Ri ural wonders. By mid-after- noon, [ was at the rour desk arranging excursions to Manuel Antonio National Park and The sun- River that would still leave me ample time to enjoy the resort. Manuel Antonio, Costa ica’s first and smallest nation- al park, created in 1972, is a combination of humid tropical forest and marine reserve sepa- rated by white sand beaches, After an uphill hike fora panoramic view ofa secluded cove, We returned to the heach for snorkeling and refresh- ments, where a colony of white-faced capuchin monkey in nearby trees looked long: ingly ar the fresh fruit on our picnic table. Park rules prevent ors from feeding the wildlite but make no restric- tions on che animals pirating whatever they can. Even betore the monkey moved on, a metre-long igua- na approached our table from the forest, a pair of agoutis (rodents that look like a cross benween a large rabbit and a small deer) foraged in a clear- ing nearby, and a sloth hung motionless in a tree beside the trail. Although more than 270 species of birds potentially may be observed in Manuel Antonio, we arrived too late in the day to spot much more than the Brown Pelicans and Magnificent Frigate Bird: fished in the warm turguo’ Water, Vhe birding was much be ter during my evening cruise of the Tarcoles River, where our guid s identify dozens of s irs Scarlet Macav migration from the inland Carara Biological Reserve to the mangroves at the river’s mouth. Roseate Spoonbills dred shoreline for the dinner. Yellow Crowned Night Herons wandered perilously close to young crocodiles stretched on the sandilar. Watching the sun dive beneath the horizon as our boar drifted between the Tarcoles and the Pacific, 1 knew I had chosen the right way to spend my last evening in Costa Rica. A white-faced capuchin monkey keeps watch in Maruel Antonio National Park.