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Published: March 22nd 2015
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Alajuela, Costa Rica
On the way to the Poas Volcano National Park. This is the second part of the Combo Tour we took in Costa Rica. After the visit to the Doka Coffee Estate our party of 13 with our guide and driver, continued to the Poas Volcano National Park. Again, the journey was mostly uphill along winding roads. I thought to myself at that time that I wouldn't want to do this on foot!
On the way we stopped at a store where we were offered free samples of the local wine and fresh strawberries. Although I am not much of a wine drinker I opted for it. It was quite good but didn't really slake my thirst as they were served in tiny cups! Anyhow, after the usual restroom visits we got back into our van and reached our next destination, the Poas National Park in less than an hour.
There were a lot of tour buses in the parking lot. Hernan our tour guide told us that we were free to explore the park by ourselves and told us to be back at the parking area by 12 noon. It was only around 10:30 then, so we figured that we had a lot of time to
Alajuela, Costa Rica
We had a stopover at this shop. discover and explore. We headed straight for the trail that led to the volcano. It was a good ten minute walk but there were signs and directions everywhere, so it was impossible for anybody to get lost.
Hernan had informed us earlier that we might not be able to see the crater of the volcano as a mist was already forming in the vicinity, but he half jokingly said he was praying for a "miracle" to let the clouds clear.
For your information, the Poas volcano is an active composite volcano with a height of 2708 meters or around 8885 feet. It emits a lot of sulfur gas, sometimes so much that we heard the park has to be closed to visitors from time to time. The volcano's last known eruption was in 2009 when it killed about 40 people in the Central Valley.
Whe we arrived at the viewing terrace there were already a lot of people with cameras and video recorders ready, looking down at the huge crater. The view point gave us a bird's eye view of the crater but unfortunately the miracles that our guide was praying for didn't happen,
Alajuela, Costa Rica
Fresh strawberries for sale at the shop. at least for the next 10 minutes or so. But lo and behold, the clouds lifted suddenly with the shift of the winds, and there were whoops of delight from the crowd combined with the clicking of cameras! Then, we could actually see almost all the edges and parts of the vast active crater.
We hung around there to take more pictures until it was time to leave. Some of the people in our group wanted to take the long way down via the Botos Trail where there is a cold water lake, naturally called Lake Botos which is actually in an inactive crater.
Near the parking lot (with ample parking space) there is an exhibit hall with a small museum, and an auditorium where audio visual presentations are given on weekends. Upstairs is the Heliconia Nature Store run by a non-profit foundation, plus the pleasant Café Botos, serving hot/cold drinks and snacks. To sum it, this park is well maintained, but here again, the trip there was part of the Combo Tour we took which combined three tours in one.
Our next and final stop: Lunch and La Paz Waterfall Gardens.
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