Costa Rica
Trip Start
Jan 12, 2008
1
15
21
Trip End
May 05, 2008
San Jose,
Costa Rica
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Greetings from sunny Costa Rica. I arrived by bus in San Jose after midnight, a dangerous time to arrive in a major city. Fortunately a friendly taxi driver found a hotel for me to stay at. The next day I moved over to a Hostel. This was my first time in a full service backpackers hostel. It had dorms, private rooms, a swimming pool, restaurant and bar, and free internet. It was pretty cool hanging out there and meeting travelers from Europe and America.
Cows as Art
I was walking around the city when I came upon an art exhibit of over 150 painted cows. I love the different colors and ideas they express
Cow 1
!4 in 1 Tour
The next day I took an 11 hour bus tour of a coffee plantation, Poas Volcano, the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and a boat ride on the Sarapiqui river. The coffee plantation wasnīt that interesting because none of the machinery was running, but we did learn about how the coffee beans are hand picked and processed. We had an excellent breakfast with fresh coffee that tasted wonderful. By law they can only grow Arabian coffee beans, but they have developed over 50 varieties so there are lots of different flavors. I had to try the Peabody as it is a rare variety and tastes delicious.
I was lucky to get a glimpse down into the cauldron of the Poa volcano, the steam from the cauldron and clouds from the surrounding mountains rolled over us shortly after. The clouds were so thick they hid the sun.
I would recommend La Paz Waterfall Gardens to everyone. Not only was the scenery great with large gorges, huge trees, and numerous waterfalls, but there were also giant cages that we could walk into and see birds like macaws and parrots
Cow 3
. Another cage was full of different butterfly's, they were fluttering all around us landing on the plants and flowers, or playing in the misty air. It was one of the most peaceful places I have been in. Not as restful were some small glass cages showing the different snakes that live in Panama, I only took one photo of the deadliest snake in Central America the fer de lance, responsible for 10 deaths a year.
After a buffet lunch we hiked a short distance down the gorge to see the waterfalls. We didnīt even have to hike back uphill, the bus moved down to pick us up.
The last stop was a boat ride along the Sarapiqui river. We saw a variety of birds, some small bats sleeping on a stump, howler monkeys, and two cayman. One of the cayman left the beach and swam up to the boat. Everyone was leaning over the side to take pictures, fortunately the boat was wide enough to hold our weight without tipping over.
The next day I caught a bus to a beach on the Pacific Coast.
Comments
howdy
Jimmy, m'boy. What a lot of wonderful pictures! You are certainly having the adventure of a life time. I went to Sausalito to see Tim. Sun, birds, flowers...certainly different from the cold spring rain and melting snow here!! Glad your boat didn't tip or it would have been a great lunch for the cayman! The Lyric is still afloat, we'll have to go sailing when you get back. Leslie
Hey Jim...
Looks like you are having fun, getting all sensitive playing with butterflies, huh? Going soft! Next you will start playing new age music and holding up your little finger when you drink your tea!
Anyway, you boat is just as you left it, perhaps it is feeling neglected, as if nobody seems to know it's there... Not much action on the docks, nobody around. So you are not missing any parties, or any scantily clad women either. Weather still wet. So have fun, Pal, you are on the right track! -Levon-