It is 10:50am on Monday. I am settled on a lounge chair under roof of the poolside bar as it has started to drizzle after being partly sunny for my morning hike, breakfast Buffett, animal feeding, etc. I have NOTHING scheduled until a deep tissue massage at 3pm. I wasn’t planning on one but my body ached yesterday after hour waterfall hike, 2 hours horseback riding and 2 hours white water rafting. The bartender has starting setting out placemats and ketchup (Heinz 57, Salsa de Tomate). Tomorrow I just have a few hours of zip lining/jungle canopy scheduled so can hopefully get blog up to date before leave here for airport at 10am Wednesday morning. 2 hour layover in Atlanta and in Buffalo at midnight Wednesday. I saw SNOW on my Nest cam from yesterday in backyard.
Before starting to blog I read for a while. I finally finished Jungle and have started “The Costa Rica Reader”I liked it but the details of jungle survival were pretty awful, better option is probably to watch the Daniel Radcliffe movie from 2017. It’s worldwide gross was only $1.9 million which probably barely covered Radcliffe’s salary! It gets 6.7/10 on IMDB, I will watch it, Amazon Prime.This 2004 book was out of print but i got a “used” one on Amazon cheap and in perfect condition. It is an anthology of 50 works about CR each with an intro by the authors that ties it together into a thorough history of the country from pre-Colombian times to modernity.
Saturday morning I woke up at 5 before my alarm went off. My driver wasn’t taking me to the airport in San Jose until 8am so had some time to relax and read and blog before heading down for breakfast at 7am. It was sad to see only 3 place settings at the table. 5 people had left way before dawn to catch morning flights home.
I went for the avocado toast for my breakfast, no one was there at first so i read my Kindle but then a few others trickled in.They had also packed me a lunch for the ride 🙂Goodbye Mango treeGoodbye Kalon Surf. An amazing week. Will give them a 5 star review on Trip Advisor when I get home.Goodbye ocean viewLeo (one of the surf instructors) would drive me the 3 hours to the airport in San Jose where I would switch to my guide Inez for the hour to Poas Volcano National Park and then onto Peace Lodge.Near the bottom of my last 15 minute trip on the steep, twisty road from Kalon to the coast Leo spotted a Toucan. It was a black-mandibled one like i had seen at breakfast the other day, also called the yellow-throated. Largest of 5 or 6 kinds in CR. They live up to 20 years and are omnivores, eating small birds, reptiles and insects as well as fruit, berries, etc. The route back to the airport was the same but the weather was nicer so I saw a lot more of the coast road than a week ago. This is a palm oil plantation, we also passed the large refinery where it is processed. Leo is 30, he has only been working at Kalon for a year. Before Covid he was getting an advanced degree in natural resources management and working for an NGO that managed some large reserves. After Covid the NGO laid everyone off as foundations funding was cut back. He worked as customer service rep for Amazon for a few years which he said he was glad to have as a salary. He is still working on line to get his degree. Very smart guy. We discussed issues of environmental and economic policies of CR and rest of Central America.Sorry for blur but they were moving fast 🙂 We saw several groups and individuals on road bikes. It was Saturday and sunny. Almost no shoulder on road though so a little scary.Typical mid-sized towns I saw a lot of. All seemed clean and safe looking.Jaco is a much bigger surf town, has tall apartments and hotels along beach.Leo said there was a life-sized crocodile statue soon and rolled down his window so I could shoot a good photo. On the stretch up to Jaco there were a lot of signs for wildlife viewing, reptile shows, zip-lining, etc. Economy of CR is very tourist dependent now as opposed to just Coffee, fruit and flower exports 20 years ago. They also have a lot of large global manufacturers businesses. Their stable government and educated population is good for corporations.Some of the businesses at Crocodile Bridge. It was busy as a fun place for Ticos to bring the kids on weekends. The river was a little lower and I could see a lot more crocs on the banks than last week as we drove by.Just past the Croc bridge you change to toll road (they have EZ pass) and get a highway with 2 lanes each way.As we headed inland from Jaco the terrain was more beautiful. We hit about 20” of traffic. If I was catching a plane my anxiety would be kicking in but as I was not, it was all Pura Vida.At airport i said goodbye to Leo and met Inez who would be my guide. She was driving a Prius taxi she had borrowed for day instead of the usual mini-bus as it was just myself for the tour.
This seems like a good spot for a break. Going to take a dip in pool/jacuzzi, hasta pronto.
Ah, nothing like a short, lazy swim, a few minutes under the hot waterfall and then a long soak in the Jacuzzi.
Ok, back to Saturday, at the airport at 11am.
I introduced myself to Inez and she responded “great, you speak Spanish, my English is not so good”. But, of course, it was better than my Spanish 😉 She told me it was only an hour to the Poas Volcano. On the way she told me a lot about Costa Rica, the different regions and answered any questions I had about things we saw.
All over the country there were roadside stands selling everything from cheese to flowers to BBQ chicken. The pickup trick had Poinsettas and I commented “por Feliz Navidad”. She told me their Spanish name. The car’s A/C was on at airport but after we passed El Restaurante Mirador (view) and saw San Jose below, Inez turned it off and we rolled down the windows to the first cool, dry air I had felt in a week. I checked on the iPhone’s compass app and it showed we were over 4000 feet up, San Jose is at 2500 feet.The vegetation changed as we climbed further, this was at 5000 feet.There were Hydrangeas everywhere, in front of houses, along pastures, etc. They are called Hortensia in Spanish. Along one road we saw a family collecting some huge bright blue blossoms.I like how the dog gets to ride! Woof.We saw many dairy cows (Vacos de leche) versus all the meat cattle we saw on the coastal ranches (Vacos de carne). There were lots of stores and stands selling cheese. I sampled a few of the local cheeses at breakfasts and they are VERY mild. This photo shows why CR is sometimes referred to as the Switzerland of Central America. Up here at 7000 feet the cool air, green grass, trees and sky don’t seem tropical. But it is like summer in Switzerland year round. This close to equator there are just wet and dry seasons with same temperature year round.MooooooooThe Lonely Planet guide told me that the Volcano had been quiet for 60 years until 2014 when it got going again. In 2017 there were significant eruptions and all the hiking trails in the park were closed and still are except for one to view crater and one to view the lake.Not that long a “hike” but at 9,000 feet I got a little winded on the uphill parts of the Lake trail.
Good aerial image showing how the lake is a former crater (higher up) filled with rain water, the color is from the volcanic chemicals. The crater is huge, a MILE across, largest active volcano in world.The lonely planet guide is a little outdated as after Covid they have gotten rid of the requirement for hard helmets and timed entry. Also the museum was undergoing renovations but the cafe and gift shop were nice. After the hike I bought Inez and I coffee, I shopped while she got us a table. Right next to me above is a quote from The Little Prince which was also widely quoted in a recent memoir I read called “Fox and I”.They had lots of signs, don’t want you complaining if you die.This is the nicely paved road for the less than one mile from visitor center to crater. One for each direction, must get crazy busy in peak tourist season. That doesn’t start until mid December and runs until April. Today it was totally TICOs out for a nice Saturday outing. I did not hear anyone else speaking English. There were ferns everywhere, on the trail to lake there were interpretive signs explaining that this was a cloud forest. But the sulphuric gases affect which plants thrive here.
Sorry for the delay. It is 24 hours later now. Almost noon on Tue. Nov. 15th. I REALLY wanted to finish this entry before today but I think I used the time between massage and dinner to nap yesterday and then after a great dinner (and Pina Colada) I just read for a while before going to sleep at 9pm. I slept all the way to 5:30 and awoke to blue sky and birdsong. I had a powerbar and coffee as breakfast and then did an hour hike and then went zip-lining. Had a coffee in lobby when I returned and brewed another pot to drink while blogging on the patio. Poas Volcano is slipping in and out of clouds and humming birds distracting me at feeder and bigger colored birds flying in and out of trees below my balcony. My plan is to blog until done with THIS entry, pool/jacuzzi, a BIG lunch and then a nap until 4pm when the big cats are fed and most active. Planning to skip dinner tonight and just have a snack and to sleep early so can do a long sunrise hike tomorrow before breakfast and packing and 10am car to el aeropuerto in San Jose.
Ambulance at top of Poas Volcano, next to the station that monitors for dangerous levels of noxious gases. Even when at safe levels I imagine the sulfur smell and long walk at 9000 feet produces frequent cases of respiratory distress that probably usually resolves with a quick ride back to the visitor center.Glorious view! And soooooo lucky it was sunny and not fogged in by clouds as it often is in rainy season.Even in the sun it was coolish at 9000 feet but on the hike up to lake i had to take off the jacket.It was bubbling a little but Inez said sometimes it is much more pronounced.This is the view to the left of the crater where the lava fields ran.It is so huge that it is hard to appreciate the perspective, It is one mile diameter of the rim.This is the trail up to the lake. I noticed on the way to Poas that Inez was a little short of breath and I told her that I was fine doing the Lake Trail myself. She was VERY happy to agree to meet at visitor center.As I mentioned, this trail had a lot of nice interpretative signs in English also. As a cloud forest it had lots of moss, Bromeliads and a predominance of trees and plants that tolerated the sulfuric gases and occasionally eruptions (of hot gases, not lava lately).The lake was amazing, circular as old crater, it had some nice looking beaches that are no longer accessible to tourists. I heard someone say in Spanish to his friend that it has fish in it. If true, they must have been stocked there by people in the past since seems unlikely they could have gotten there any other was after the volcano went dormant and filled with rain over centuries.The path continued around the lake a few hundred yards but then was closed, it would have been cool to do the full loop but even if still allowed it would be at least 3.14159 miles and require more time than i had.Was glad i wore my hiking boots, they have been to the top of Kilimanjaro, the Galapagos and Iceland. The visitor center where Inez and I had some excellent coffee (supposedly the best beans get exported but I was very impressed with the coffee everywhere I was served some, even lobbies and the Dive shop). I got some overpriced souvenirs but glad to be supporting the national park. Inez and I discussed the World Cup. Costa Rica was one of the last teams in by a “wildcard” spot. They are in a tough group.Spain and Germany great and Japan decent.USA has a more easy group. England will be good but Iran not and Wales a ? Cup starts in a week or 2. Qatar bought off the committee at FIFA, their human rights record is awful but sadly little different than the Olympics being in repressive Russia and China so much lately. The European countries are planning to wear rainbow armbands to show opposition to Qatars intolerance even though they will be fined for a “political” protest. Not sure if USA doing anything, the men are so happy to actually be in World Cup they may keep a low profile. The sloths are super cute but I think Alex doesn’t need anymore stuffed animals.Only about a 30 minute drive from Poas to the Peace Lodge. Descended from 9000 feet to 5000 ft.It poured briefly and then was clear again by time we got to Peace Lodge.RUSTY, the lobby dog at Peace Lodge and my new best friend, very soft fur.Because I made my reservations only 6 weeks ago they didn’t have a smaller room available, don’t hate me …… 😉Volcano view from my patioHammock and jacuzzi tub on patio….Fireplace warmed the room at night, it did get down into 60s up here at a mile elevation.Map and activities!I had made dinner plans for 7 but since I got there before 4 I decided to just eat at 5pm. I was only one in dining room that early and then a family with kids came in and I was worried, but they were CANADIANS. Hadn’t heard an American voice since leaving Dominical at 8am. Menu was in English 🙁I had this ensalada bonita with flores and then a trout from the lake here and a flan for dessert! Deliciosa. I read my Kindle and enjoyed the Spanish music playing.
The room was just perfect temperature snuggled under comforter with fireplace on and I slept very
