Blogs from Volcán Poás, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

Today we went to see the Poas Volcano (almost 9 thousand feet elevation). We were warned that it was cloudy on the mountain today, and we might get wet. But we got lucky and the weather turned out to be beautiful. Because of the sulpher fumes, the clouds, the humidity and the elevation, you often cannot see the crater at the top of the mountain. At first, we saw only clouds, so we hiked up another trail to see a mountain lake. The trail is in the Escalonia Cloud Forest, and is a steep ½ hour hike. The air is a little thin up here, plus we are not in the best shape, so we had to stop to catch our breath a few times. The mist rising off the trail was interesting to see. All ... read more

So before our last group excursion, we decided to do something awesome and hilarious for Nneka. Nneka has become pretty famous among us for her outrageously funny statements. So, the rest of us secretly made t-shirts that said "I Love Nneka" on the front, and then each one of us had a different one of her quotes written on the back. We all wore the shirts Friday morning on our excursion to Volcan Poas and lined up in front of the bus to reveal them to her. She loved it and thought it was both touching and hilarious! On our way to Poas "Don't Stop Believing" came on the radio and we had an epic karaoke sesh which I caught on video :) when we finally arrived at Poas, it was freezing cold and completely fogged ... read more

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 ... read more

Het plan voor vandaag: naar Volcan Poas! Daarvoor moesten we vroeg op (6u30 - en wonder boven wonder - dat is hier geen probleem voor mij :D) om om op tijd aan de bushalte te staan om de Tuava bus te nemen. Auwkes met de rugzak op mijn verbrand. Onderweg gestopt bij de warme bakker voor ons ontbijt (lekker brood en een pizza'ke). Onze rugzakken mochten mee op de bus, maar die van mij paste juist niet in het vak erboven (eerst dachten we van wel, tot hij er bij de 5e bocht terug uitdonderde). En dan een busrit van 5u .. tot aan de Lagunillas Lodge. Of toch tenminste de poort aan het begin van de 1km bergaf dirt road tot aan de lodges. Enkel toegankelijk met een 4x4 (en dat was echt wel nodig), ... read more

An early start. Up at 06h10, packed, bar bill paid and in breakfast by 06h50. Down by the dock for the short boat ride to the airstrip for our flight back to San Jose. Whilst others were taking their bus on the long road trip, we'd arranged our own flight and, climbing out of the boat, we walked the short distance to the landing strip where our plane was waiting for us. Greeted by the pilots, they took our luggage and stowed it in the cubbyholes and invited us aboard. The ten of us filled the plane! Sitting behind the pilot, I had a first hand taste of the pre-flight checks and the take-off. Whilst the co-pilot keyed the flight plan into the Garmin (yes … Garmin!) the pilot was gaining permission to take-off from the ... read more