Poas Volcano & La Paz Waterfalls

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Alarm set for 6 am. Woke up at that time. Completed morning duties by 6:40. I rushed upstairs to get some coffee and oatmeal. I am ready for the "Poas Volcano and La Paz waterfalls" excursion($91 - includes entry fee, breakfast and lunch). I was at the lobby by 7 am with poncho, umbrella, backpack etc. The tour van was 10 minutes late. Tour conductor is "tropicale excursions"? I met a couple, mom and daughter (Maria) from Marriott signed up for the same tour. I did not get a window seat. I sat next to a tall Mexican guy (Beliendo). Our first stop was an overlook, that gives an excellent view of San Jose and neighboring areas. Beliendo graciously gave me the window seat after we got back to the bus. It seems he has done this trip before. He is a consultant for SAP who gets projects all over Americas. Very nice guy. Coffee plantation was the next stop (Doka coffee). Before we toured the planation, we were offered breakfast. It was typical Costa Rican breakfast with Pinto Gallo and scrambled eggs with coffee. I bought some coffee from here. After this we stopped in a convenience store. This allowed us buy some souvenirs. Now we proceeded to Poas volcano. As we went up in altitude, I could see clouds rolling in. At some point, we started seeing clouds at our level. We are entering the 'Cloud Forest'. It also started raining! The volcano is at 8800 feet. I could feel walking up is getting difficult. There are 2 big craters here. The main crater was completely covered with clouds. We waited for 10 minutes to see, if the clouds will lift. I had my umbrella with me. No luck. So the group walked to the next crater 'Lagunas'. Here we could the crater and the green water that filled the crater. It was a pretty site. After photographs, we walked back to the main crater hoping the clouds would lift. Nope.

Next stop is Butterfly gardens and la paz waterfalls. This is in a beautiful location. The facilities are similar to how they do in USA. There is a themed exhibit, gift store next to the rest room etc. All the facilities are maintained very well. There were exhibits such as aviary, butterfly, hummingbird, big cats and snakes. After walking through bird area, we had our lunch. There was quite a variety here. I had tamarind juice for drink. Now, I am certain that these 4 items are always in the menu if it is a buffet lunch. Rice, beans, boiled veggies and fried plantains. I have not felt any meat flavor in these items. There is 'rice pudding' for dessert. After lunch, we finished the remaining areas of the park. Time was around 4 PM now. After stopping at the souvenir store, we headed back to the bus for long ride back to the hotels.

About Maria and her Mom: Fascinating folks! Mom has visited 60 countries so far. Every year they plan a big trip outside London (where they live). Next year, they are going to India. Last year, they were in Rhodesia to watch mountain gorillas. Borneo and Galapagos seems to be the exotic ones they have done so far!

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