Incredible Waterfalls and more

La Paz Waterfalls and Gardens

High off the tremendous views of the volcano and the terrific luck we had with the weather (as written in the last blog, “Our Volcano Adventure” - I was thinking we should title this one our waterfall adventure. Although people may believe our lives are one big adventure, most days are just the regular routine - wake up, hustle the kids off to school, worry about what to make for dinner and so on. Then, of course, rainforests, mountains and beaches are all not far away.), we hopped in the car for the quick trip over to La Paz Waterfalls and Gardens.

In hindsight, I think it was actually better that the volcano was all fogged in when we got there - not only was watching the clouds lift neat to see, but it helped build the anticipation and make the final view that much better. Anticipation is something the kids are learning a lot about. Unlike in instant-on America, lots of things in Costa Rica take longer than they are used to - waiting for the bus, service in restaurants and so on. Ari is starting to understand the concept of anticipation, but that doesn’t mean he’s suddenly grown a reserve of patience.

The drive over to La Paz took about ½ an hour. We weren’t really sure what to expect except what we’d seen in the brochures - 5 big waterfalls, a butterfly garden and some nature trails. As we pulled into the crowded parking lot, it was clear whatever we were going to see would be shared by plenty of people. We paid our admission - most places have a tourist price and a much less expensive Tico price - a price for Costa Ricans, that is. I am happy to report that most places, including La Paz, accept our status as residents of Costa Rica. It may help that, as long as Dara doesn’t say anything to give away the fact that her Spanish is definitely not native, she does look like a Tico - so she does the look pretty part and I do the talk part.

We have noticed that many of the Costa Ricans take advantage of the sights, wonders and tourist attractions of their native country. This is very different than we’ve found in Belize, Mexico and other Central American and Caribbean countries. When you visit a tourist site here, it’s not just the “gringos” out taking in the sights, there are many Ticos as well - I suppose that is because there is a large middle class that has the means and time to take advantage of them and the discounted prices don’t hurt.

At La Paz, from the time we set foot in the door to the little reception area/gift shop, I was impressed with the attention to details that was evident throughout. The light fixtures on the ceiling were wrought iron, the railings on the steps were made to look like they were made out of branches, even the bathrooms played the part - instead of faucets, there were little waterfalls and the knobs were cleverly disguised to look like frogs (I didn’t figure it out at first).

Then we headed out onto the trails and after a quick walk, we arrived at the butterfly garden. The plants and landscaping were fantastic. Although it didn’t have quite as many butterflies or the diversity that we saw at the Butterfly Farm, the plants and garden were much nicer.

From the butterfly garden, the path led us to the hummingbird area. This was another beautiful garden filled with heliconias and other flowers that hummingbirds like. These flowers and the copious hummingbird feeders strung up throughout ensured plenty of little birds flitting about. From there we walked through the serpentarium, where we saw snakes of every size and shape (well, I guess all snakes are pretty much the same shape), including the very poisonous Fer de Lance and Coral snakes. Then we went on to the very cool ranarium, or frog house. It is great to see how the kids really enjoy these displays and how much of the information sinks in. From delicate flitting butterflies to slimy, creepy crawly things, they love to look and touch and discover. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ari grows up to be a zoologist or insectologist or some other kind of bug-oligist.

After these displays, we headed through the woods down a steep path to see the waterfalls. The trail led along the river and, sure enough, there were 5 thundering cascades in a series, each one between 75 and 120 feet high. The concrete path and metal walkways lead to the first 4 of them. One of the falls, nicknamed Magic (or something like that), provided an optical illusion. If you stared at the falls for 15 seconds, then moved your gaze over to the lichen-covered rocks next to it, it looked like the wall of rocks was moving up. After the fourth waterfall, we got a bus ride back to the parking lot (whew!) then we got into the car and drove down to see the last fall. This one was equally as spectacular as the others. And it had the bonus of a narrow little path that led behind the waterfall. The waterfalls engendered another “This is sooo cool!” from Ari.

So between the volcano and the waterfalls, it was definitely a great way to spend a Sunday.

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