Friday, May 2, 2014

Today the four of us Zoe, Katie, McCall, and I took a day trip to Volcan Poas.  We started off my riding the bus to a nearby hotel so that they could pick us up from a familiar landmark.  Then we went and picked up another lady from a hotel in Escazu before getting to a designated spot where we switched busses again to catch the one going to Poas.  We were in a tour with 10 people and made our way through Alejuela and towards Poas, stopping at several spots up the hill to take pictures of the view and several different coffee farms along the way.  Once we got to the top, we walked up as a group to check out the crater.  Naturally it was so cloudy that we could not see it.  We were literally up in the clouds at that point.  All we could see more than 10 yards in front of us was white.  So we hiked towards the lagoon to see if we would have better luck there and try the crater afterwards.  We made it to the lagoon and it was likewise pretty cloudy.  However, we were a little tired from the uphill hike so we chilled for a little bit.  As we were chillin’ the clouds moved on a bit and we were able to see the lagoon.  I had already seen it on a clear day before, but this was pretty darn cool with the clouds just coming off of the lake.  After some pictures and the clouds rolling back over, we hiked back towards the crater to see if our luck would change.  As we were standing at the cloudy crater once again, we were chatting with this couple from Israel who had just gotten here and were asking for suggestions (the guy was actually a big NBA fan and was like “oh, the Thunder are pretty good”).  And then it happened.  The clouds rolled on and we could finally see the crater.  It was pretty majestic and a work of beauty.  And I have pictures to prove it.  Afterwards, we walked back to the Visitor’s Center to catch the bus back down the hill.  On the way down, we stopped at a neat little strawberry place to sample a little thing of their strawberry wine and check out the souvenir shop.  Afterwards we stopped at this delicious place for lunch.  It was a $12 meal that included a Casado with a fresa fresca and cake for desert.  Our guide said that they use coffee wood for their fires to give it a better flavor.  She was right, because that was one of the best pieces of grilled chicken I’ve ever had.  There was even a hummingbird farm across the street which had a giant strawberry that I of course had to take a picture in front of.  Full and ready for a nap, we drove back towards Santa Ana, got dropped off at the Quality Inn and then caught a bus back to Santa Ana Central, our last bus ride of the trip.  During the afternoon, I spent time uploading the Poas pictures and packing up my stuff.  Just one more sleep in the Pura Vida land.