Since I had to be up for my transportation at 6:30am I slept early and had only a snack in the morning as breakfast was provided.
The shuttle picked me up at 6:20am, a little ahead of schedule but it was worth it as it had to make a few more stops to pick up more people from various hotels and then head off to the volcano.
The tour guide, Max was very chatty as our driving "Rigo" just smiled at nodded at every dumb joke.
Poas is one of the many active volcanos in San Jose, but unlike some other ones it is water and steam that comes out of this one. No magma but it is still a hot place to be.
Packing for Poas
- water - or don't but if you don't you'll regret it
- sunscreen
- bug spray
- good shoes
- hat
- long pants (convertibles are better)
- camera
The Coffee Plantation
Another hour and a half on the bus we arrived at the coffee plantation. I know nothing about coffee and honestly the smell makes me sick. But they had a fantastic breakfast of rice and beans, plus eggs, some various meats, cheese and of course coffee.
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| The coffee Museum |
After eating we went on a quick tour of the plantation. Max enlightened us on the process of picking the coffee berries and how Costa Rica's infrastructure was built on coffee. Then we were let loose in the gift shop - the only thing worth buying is the coffee as all the other trinkets are the generic ones you find all over the place.
Poas
From the plantation we left for the volcano. It was another hour in the bus. You will have to persevere the anecdotes of your tour guide. Broken English, bad jokes but they seem to love their job.
Once you get into the national park the walk from the parking lot to the volcano is 10 minutes - 10 brisk minutes. The altitude will take your breath away because you are pretty high up. The path is long and the sun will beat down on you.
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| The path to the volcano |
Once you get to the top though it will be well worth it - if you are lucky. It is next to impossible to predict exactly what the weather will be out there but if you can go on the day after a thunderstorm you will be treated with a clear view of the crater.
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| Poas Volcano |
You will definitely smell the sulfur so I would advise to not take a lot of giant breaths when you see the smog waft to you. After you take in the volcano you can "hike" up to the lagoon. The reason I put hike in parenthesis will be explained to you if you decide to trek up to the lagoon - well worth it but what a workout! It will take you about 15 minutes from the crater and you will travel up a path that is steep but is pretty much covered by tall plants giving you some shade from the sun.
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| Poas Lagoon |
The lagoon is worth it in the end. It is absolutely beautiful. And to think that all the water in it is rain water. But the viewing area is quite a ways away from the lagoon itself so a good zoom on your camera is a must.
After being allowed to wander the park for about an hour and a half the bus will take you to the rainforest which is the final destination and where you will also get lunch.
Rainforest and Cafe
This place is more like a mini zoo then anything else. The bus drops you off at the top of the establishment, you get a wristband showing you that you belong there and you just wander around for a couple hours until lunch. After that you will go on a hike to see 4 waterfalls.
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| You might want a nap after lunch |
There are a variety of things to see. A lot of birds, from hummingbirds to parrots. Monkeys, jungle cats, snakes, frogs and more butterflies.
When you walk just look out for ox crap. They use oxen to move things so if you aren't careful you will leave with a stinky parting gift.
After making my way through all the animals it was time for lunch. Basically it's another buffet with a lot of Western food, so if you haven't had a Montreal steamer, you have all the fixen's there to make one, minus the poutine.
Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls
After filling yourself with all that food you will make your way onto a path that has 4 waterfalls on the route. The first two are impressive as they are pretty high and you are in good locations to get some nice pictures.
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| Waterfall 1 |
The only problem is that after the first 2 you start to loose visibility as the path is significantly higher up then the waterfalls. So you see the less impressive tops of the waterfalls and then the substantially less impressive highway that follows.
When you are done the little hike you end up at an unfinished building and a green school bus that takes you back up the mountain to your tour bus. Hold onto your hats as you ride this bus. I am not sure if school buses were ever intended to go up mountains, but they do it here, and in 3rd gear.
Ride Back
The ride back was exceptionally long. You will have moved further away from San Jose on your trip so it will take a lot longer to get back. Plus there is traffic on the way back and a lot of people to drop off to their respective hotels. Like all tours here you will be given a questionnaire about the quality of service. It also says that you are encouraged to give tips to the tour guide and the driver. I left a $10 for them, most people leave a buck, but I figure coming from a customer service background myself, it's a hard life for these guys.
Dinner
I was stuffed from all the food earlier on in the day and too tired from all the walking so just a hamburger from a local place, some encouraging words about how my Spanish was much better and then off to sleep.
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