Our last day in Costa Rica

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Our last day in Costa Rica was spent exploring the area around Alajuela. We arrived and against Trip Advisor advice checked into The Alajuela Boutique Backpackers Hostel - It wasn’t a good end to our time in Costa Rica! Thankfully they had great showers which made up for the rest of the faults with the place. We ended up at another hostel trying to find information on a trip to Poas Volcano and the Waterfall Gardens. The Hotel Pacande B&B was run by a lovely Columbian lady who couldn’t have been more helpful, despite the fact that we weren’t staying there. She even invited us to have free breakfast at her hotel before our trip when she found that our hostel provided nothing. Alajuela was an odd place - the main square was lined with the usual beautiful Spanish buildings but they were all in a sorry state of repair. I don’t know whether it was because it was the Thursday before Easter but everything was closed and even by 6pm on the Wednesday evening all the metal doors and grilles over the shop fronts were pulled down and the city was like a ghost town. We had trouble finding anywhere to eat each evening and our last meal in Costa Rica was a surprisingly good chicken salad from McDonalds!
Up early on our last morning, breakfast at the Pacande Hotel and then our driver arrived at 8am to take us to the volcano. He bought his family along, which didn’t worry us at all. We actually really enjoyed the day out with two small children. A winding drive through farming country - strawberries were in season and people were constantly waving big bags of them which were for sale at the taxi as we drove past. It took an hour to reach the main gate of the National Park where we paid our $10 each to enter. From there it was a kilometre walk along a wide paved footpath to the lookout over the volcano. We had seen photos but the first sight of the steaming crater took our breath away! It is considered to be the largest geyser in the world. Thankfully it wasn’t covered in cloud and we had a clear view of it. It was actually quite frightening as this volcano is still active, though hasn’t caused any major problems since 1989 when it spewed out poisonous gases, There was a strong smell of sulphur in the air whilst we were there. The main crater is 1.5 kilometers wide and 300 meters deep. You could see where the ash had spewed over to one side of it - the ash covered a very large area. A very impressive sight and one we won’t easily forget. From there we walked to the nearby crater lake through a small cloud forest path - it felt a little like we were in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie. We couldn’t leave without revisiting the crater lookout but after that we set off for the La Paz Waterfall Park - very much a tourist park but one that we’d heard constant good comments on. It was another hour away - on the other side of the volcano and as we got closer to it we passed quite a few kilometres of very rough road - an earthquake had destroyed the area two years before with some deaths. The park was spared but must have had some damage as the road damage went right to it’s front entrance. This park has a hotel on site - the Peace Hotel - which is beautifully decorated and very expensive. It’s a privately owned bird park, with snakes, cats, frogs and butterfly aviaries plus five waterfalls flowing through it We were able to get up close (very close) and personal once again with toucans in their walk through aviary. It was all beautifully landscaped and we saw lots of birds. We had a great time there actually and though it was expensive it was worth the money. The toilets were even very fancy - so fancy neither Jerry or I could work out how to turn the sink taps on! Our driver and his family got in for free so they were thrilled - the kids had a ball looking at all the birds and animals. We saw some really interesting frogs, including one that looked like a lump of gold, some stunning blue butterflies, vividly coloured snakes (I hope I never see one in the wild) and of course lots of gorgeous birds and flowers. We finished the day off, after lunch in the restaurant, by walking down the waterfall track before being driven home. A great end to our time in Costa Rica. It was not our favourite country bbut we loved the volcanoes and birdlife that we saw. We weren’t overly impressed with some of the service we received and very surprised by the cost of everything. It was comparable to Australian prices, which after Guatemala came as a bit of a shock. It also didn’t have the local colour of Guatemala though the wonderful birdlife certainly compensated for that. Next day we left for Quito - a very easy transfer through the airport - once we had paid our $26 each departure tax and an enjoyable flight to Quito.

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Photos

Hummingbird Info!
I love these birds!

Go Away!!!
A monkey at the waterfall gardens