Costa Rica. Day 2. Look at the size of that sphere.

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Day 2. Look at the size of that sphere.
By 8 am we have filled the bus and are off to visit the Poas Volcano. Having been warned that the volcanic caldera, or crater, is visible only 30%!o(MISSING)f the time, we are pleasantly surprised to find an absolutely clear sky guarding an aqua-colored lake—the startling color created by sulfurous fumes. I don’t think I’ll make it to the second crater—a beautiful clear-water lake. The one-half hour trek has me huffing and puffing after only a few feet, a combination of altitude and my recent bout with pneumonia. I am actually sort of mortified that I am having such a difficult time and if I hadn’t been accompanied by a good-looking man who encouraged me to take my time, I might have turned back. Ah. Motivation. The climb is well worth the nausea and shortness of breath (caused by the hike—not the man).

In the afternoon we visit the National Museum in San Jose. I stroll the grounds with two new friends, Maggie from Florida and Kirk from Colorado. It’s amazing how much fun a museum can be with the right people. We howl our way past statues of males with parts rather obviously misplaced, and pre-Columbian granite spheres. It seems ancient people in this area used huge carved balls around the house as a sort of status symbol; we assume that the bigger the ball the higher the status. We stop laughing when we stumble on a lovely little butterfly garden where, among other beauties, we see a transparent butterfly. Transparent. Amazing.

And by evening, after spending the entire day and evening with my new friend from Colorado, it is clear that this trip is going to be even more interesting than an exciting adventure into the rain forest would indicate.

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Photos

Volcanic caldera
The aqua-coloring is created by sulfurous fumes.

Poas Volcano
This second crater is a half-hour hike from the aqua-colored lake.

Relief map
Map of the two volcanic calderas.

National Museum in San Jose
Pre-Columbian people in this area carved these huge granite spheres as a sort of status symbol.