We found San Jose to be a big noisy city (as most capital cities are) so we didn´t spend much time there. Our first trip was to the CafeBrit coffee plantation and production factory. Dylan, of course, was in heaven and had symptoms of a bad come down later that evening. The place is gorgeous (as it should be given the price of the tour, sorry, I´ll stop now). The tour around the plantation was not quite what we expected. It is run by 3 actors who act as workers. It turned out to be some sort of comedy show and pantomime. We did learn about the coffee plants and the production process but most of the 3 hour visit was a little bizzare. Funny, but bizzare. We were given a very yummy lunch and all the coffee you could drink (Dylan could drink alot). Classic moment of the trip was an older lady of a certain nationality asking how cocaine was extracted from coffee plants.
That evening there was a contempory dance concert at the National Theatre. Being true seekers of all culture, we went along. A couple of the dances were quite good but in the middle of it all there was some sort of variety show act with all the dancers´ younger sisters - not a pretty sight.
The next day we had booked ourselves on a tour (yes, I know it´s risky but it was a good way to see quite a few things, given the time we´ve got). Within a couple of hours´drive of San Jose there are a number of things to see and this seemed to be the best way. A word must be said about our guide. His name is Adonis (yes, I´m quite serious) and he had definitely been to guide school as every syllable of every word was pronounced sep-er-ate-ly (with a slight lisp) and we were always told "Now we are looking at the xxxx. Are you observing? ". It was hysterical and I found it hard not to giggle every time he spoke. Being fair to our Adonis, he knew his stuff and was a good guide. First we were taken to a different coffee farm - only time for one coffee which was probably a good thing for Dylan´s nerves. Again, a very pretty place with thousands of coffee plants.
Then it was on to the Poas Volcano. You can virtually drive right up to the crater on this one so Dylan and I were excited about finally seeing the crater of a volcano (given our failed efforts in Ecuador). The day started out sunny and clear so we were hopeful. Then, of course, as we came to the top the mist rolled in and it started raining. Still, we walked to the crater and saw nothing but more cloud. We were told a crater was down there but we saw sweet f.a. Our luck with volcanos is not changing. Dylan Says: There was a smell of sulpur though which reminds me of fireworks :o)
We then went to a beautiful area called the La Paz Waterfalls. First, we went into a butterfly sanctuary which was great. Then into the Hummingbird Garden where Dylan tried for a very long time to get a photo of a hummingbird hovering - fat chance. They are bloody quick (and very cute). After another yummy lunch we walked to the waterfalls. Stunning scenery and amazing waterfalls (well, they were to us as we´ve not seen waterfalls that big).
Dylan says again: Actualy I got a pretty good picture of a humminbird, just not in flight - look
The next stop was in a small town on the Rio Sarapiqui where we were taken on a boat ride to spot animals. We saw a two toed sloth, lots of monkeys, a few iguanas, a cormorant and a couple of caymans, so we were quite happy with that!
Feeling like true American tourists we were then taken back to our hostel. I surprisingly enjoyed the day - it didn´t feel too rushed, the scenery was beautiful and as I said, Adonis was a constant amusement.
Next we took a bus to Monteverde which is a small town north west of San Jose. It is well known for the lovely cloud forest surrounding it. There is an abundance of trips you can do from here, all made very easy for all the tourists (I´m thinking all of Costa Rica is like this - all very easy). We went to the frog sanctuary (we like frogs) to see all the different types of frogs they have in Costa Rica. Some are so tiny! We have also done a walk through the tree canopies - there are a number of suspension bridges through part of the cloud forest so that you can walk up at "tree level". It is really beautiful. Later the same day we went to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve which is a protected area. We walked for a couple of hours around there. I love cloud forest - lots of moss grows all over the trees and you feel like you´re walking through the Lothlorien Forrest in Lord of the Rings - stunning.
Today, we did a Canopy Tour which entails 16 suspension zip lines built in the cloud forest, some are over 260 feet high and almost a kilometer long. You are harnessed onto the line and then you fly through the air and the forest to the next tottering platform. I thought it would be terrifying but it wasn´t. I really enjoyed it. What was terrifying was the tarzan swing. They take you up to a high platform, harness you to a rope and push you off. You then free fall until the rope takes up the slack and you swing through the trees a la Tarzan. Great fun once the initial free fall is over. Before that, I almost pooed my pants.
This area of Costa Rica is very beautiful and there is a lot to do. I guess my only concern is whether there is some control on the number of companies running these sorts of trips and what they can build. So far there doesn´t seem to have been too much clearing of forrest. I only hope it stays that way. They seem to have a good balance at the moment.
Tomorrow we´re leaving to go to the beach (finally!!!!!!). We were going to go to La Fortuna which is a town at the base of the Arenal Volcano. That volcano is erupting at present and at night you can see the hot boulders being shot out of the crater and red lava seeping out. It sounds excellent but given our luck with seeing volcanos so far (and the fact that only about 10% of people get a clear day to see the volcano), we think on balance we should just go to a certainty - white sand and crystal clear water. Isn´t that in-cred-i-ble?
