Volcan Poas

Believe it or not, Cristina and I were up, out of bed, and at the breakfast table by 7:30. It wasn’t easy, but we did it. Today’s goal was to visit Volcan Poas, one of nine volcanoes here in Costa Rica. In all the trips we’ve made to Costa Rica, I’ve never made it to Poas, so today was the day.

It was a bit of a drive, but we made it to the volcano around 10. France’s first game in the World Cup started at 10, and since Nelly’s husband is from France, she was rooting hard for “the Blue,” even though we weren’t going to be able to watch the game.

On the road up the volcano, we saw an old man with a traditional Costa Rican oxcart, with two beautiful steers attached. We stopped for a picture. Tourism has definitely caught on here because the man asked for a dollar after the photo. We had no small change, and Nelly was annoyed that he asked for money, so we just thanked him graciously and headed on.

Entrance into the Volcan Poas National Park: the kids were free, Cristina and Nelly were 600 colones each (about a buck each) and my admission, as a non-resident, cost $7! It pays to be a local, that’s for sure.

We brought our jackets, since we knew it would be chilly up at the top of the volcano. Where we parked it was comfortably cool, not cold enough for a jacket, but not uncomfortable if you decided to put one on. As we walked up the path to the crater, Isabella did not want to ride in the sling (she wanted to nurse) and for some reason, she had a little bit of a bloody nose. So she cried most of the way up to the crater.

By the time we got to the crater, it was chillier and the jackets felt good. You could smell the sulfur from the volcano all throughout the park (I told the kids, “If you need to pass gas, go right ahead because no one will know the difference.”) At first the crater was obscured by clouds/steam, but within a few minutes, the wind pulled back the curtains and we got a great view of the crater. It looked like another planet. Poas is a fairly active volcano. Not bursting with photogenic lava like Arenal, but often belching up gases and making a bit of a fuss. One of the reasons we hadn’t ever come to see Poas is because several times the park was closed due to increased volcanic activity. Poas has been pretty active the past month, so I’m glad the park wasn’t closed today.

As we admired the crater, you could hear a sound that was similar to distant traffic. Not horns, and screeching brakes, but the airy whoosh sound of trucks going by fast on a freeway. That was actually the sound of the gasses coming from the vents.

Alex asked several times why we couldn’t go down into the crater. We explained it as many ways as we could (it’s dangerous, we could get hurt, we could die, it’s a one-way ticket, etc.) but he kept asking and asking. Either he wanted to go down really badly, or he was so fascinated with the thought of it being dangerous that he kept wanting to hear us reaffirm the danger.

We hiked on a path to the lagoon, which is another crater that has been totally inactive for many years. So instead of being a rocky, gassy, barren, alien-looking crater, it just looks like a beautiful, unnaturally round lake. The hike, while on a nice paved path, was more of a workout than we anticipated, especially when carrying a 25-pound toddler. Plus, it was all uphill, it started to rain, and we had absent-mindedly left our umbrellas in the car. But the kids had rain jackets, and though Cristina and I had non-waterproof jackets, we didn’t get that wet.

From the lagoon, we hiked a different path back to the parking area. This was a longer hike, and some of it was still steeply uphill, but it was a good hike. The park is beautiful and laid out well, with handrails at various places and paved paths in certain places. Overall, a great hike with small children.

Back at the entrance, we went to the bathroom and checked out the museum, where lots of information about the volcano was displayed. Some employees were watching the game (of course) so we were able to see the last 3 minutes of the France game. They tied 0-0. Boy, many people from the States hate those kinds of games, and that’s one of the excuses they give as to why they don’t like soccer. But that’s just the way it is sometimes. Nelly was disappointed, but I reminded her that it was much better than a loss. I told her I was going to tell Alexis that France scored as many goals as the United States did. Yes indeed. We’ve won as many games as Costa Rica and scored as many goals as France. We’re doing pretty well so far!

After the cold, rainy volcano visit, we were ready for a cup of hot chocolate. We had passed a restaurant on the way up that advertised “tortillas so good you will die” (as in, “tortillas to die for”) so we decided we had to try these death tortillas. Nelly had had them before and confirmed that, indeed, they were death-provoking. Alas, it was not meant to be. When we got back to the restaurant, we noticed the sign very clearly said “Open everyday…except Tuesdays.” But Nelly knew of another place that had tortillas that were probably about as good, so we went there. The waitress said that there’s were even better.

The kids played on a playground behind the restaurant until the hot chocolate came. The tortillas were hand-made, huge, fried, with cheese in the mix. Extremely tasty and satisfying. I did not die, but I came close. They were quite filling too, and after a tortilla and cup of hot chocolate, we felt like we’d eaten a full lunch.

The road up and down the slopes of the volcano offers several things: fantastic views, acres and acres of coffee plants, and very inexpensive and delicious strawberries. We bought a kilo and a half for 1800 colones. Over 3 pounds of strawberries for about 3 dollars.

On the way home, we stopped at Marta’s house. A brief slice of Cristina’s family tree for clarification: Nelly’s grandmother and Cristina’s great-grandmother were sisters. Marta is Nelly’s mother’s sister. I’m not exactly sure what that makes Marta and Cristina, but they’re related. That’s all that matters. Marta is one of those people that we have to make at least one visit to when we’re in Costa Rica, to keep those connections alive and healthy.

It was a short visit, and we were soon on our way back to Santa Ana. We were expecting Nelly’s sister Ana, the doctor, to come for coffee around 4:30 (and a re-check of Isabella). We got a good visit in with her, while Nelly made quiche for dinner, complete with homemade crust. She gave the kids some little bits of dough to play with while she was cooking. They loved rolling and shaping their own dough into the shape of their choice and then watching it bake in the oven, alongside the quiche.

Bella enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with Alexis during dinner. The big surprise during dinner was a visit from a crab, about the size of a large tarantula. The dog saw it first, creeping along the edge of the dining room wall, heading for the kitchen. Nelly thought it was a spider to begin with, then we all realized it was a crab, lost from the nearby creek.

For dessert, Nelly heated up some fondue chocolate, and we had Volcan Poas strawberries and chocolate. A perfect end to a great day.