Let the fog roll in

Tourism publications often tout sweeping views that make you think you’re living in a postcard. And with good reason, of course: The beach is better when you can see all the way from the encroaching mountains to the setting sun.

Mother Nature doesn’t always let this happen, however. Especially in highland cloud forests. There is something deeply relaxing about sitting on a porch and watching the fog roll in, its vaporous embrace shrinking visibility until everything around you disappears. It’s otherworldly.

Check out this time-lapse video of what I’m talking about, from Costa Rican Nature Photography’s Youtube page. Imagine the cool air moving in, and how good that Costa Rican coffee tastes as it does. Note that the normally vibrant tropical colors have been muted, almost to a black-and-white setting.