Visible Volcano Crater! It's a Miracle!

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We ended up taking the bus into San Jose for the afternoon of the 2nd. The bus into town was pretty easy to navigate - we got on in front of the hotel and got off at the final stop (the famous "Coca Cola Bus Station" ) downtown. After heading the wrong way we finally got our bearings and set off to explore. Not much to say really. We found the city to be dirty, dull and crowded.
A bus mishap on the return trip dropped us at the airport where we caught a taxi back to the hotel. After some relaxation at the pool I felt pretty ill and spent the rest of the night in bed. Wes braved commerce to bring back Subway sandwiches for dinner (maybe we were back in the US?).
We were up early yesterday to pick up our rented Nissan Sentra from Hola! Rent a Car. They were late. It's funny - everything went reasonably well until we got the Ramada and it has been one problem after another since checking in. Finally we left for Poas, although, unable to figure out the north entrance to the Pan American Highway, wound up back in San Jose first. Then it was a long climb up Poas Volcano. Quite scenic - passing through fields of coffee and covered strawberries. At the the top it was fogged in, but we hiked around anyhow, enjoying mostly solitude. After a snack in the car (we are hopelessly addicted to bread with guava jelly) the weather cleared for a bit and we were able to glimpse about 30 seconds of crater view. Hooray! When we had arrived the park ranger had advised turning around, but we were determined to prove him wrong and it paid off.
Then it was back down the mountain in search of the craft town of Sarchi. We somehow made it to Grecia, 8 km from Sarchi, only to take a wrong turn and end up back on the Pan American Highway. From there to Naranjo and finally into Sarchi for food and souvenir shopping. Wes directed us to a restaurant known for serving burgers and was in heaven.
One more chance to get lost on the way back - I made the mistake of following the hotel airport shuttle which clearly wasn't actually returning to the hotel. Ah well. Then napping and finally dinner at the Italian restaurant next door. Passable, but a huge improvement over the hotel buffet. Then bed.
Today we were up early (as we have been every morning!) and at the airport. Looks like we'll make the flight, although it's two hours delayed. Figures! But we're ready to finally head home.

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