Last Post

We just have one day left in San Jose and then we will fly home again. This will be the last post of the trip.

Yesterday I took the Combo Tour. We started out having breakfast at a coffee plantation and getting a coffee tour after. I now know how to grow coffee, knowledge I will never have a use for. One thing was interesting (to me at least). The coffee processing plant was over a hundred years old and some of the equipment dated back that far. The plant had a belt and pulley system very much like the woolen mill at Upper Canada Village. It is now powered by a generator but apparently they used to divert a nearby river to power the mill.

We went from there to Volcan Poas, a volcano with two crater lakes. Apparently the last time the mountain really blew was 7,000 years ago but a few years ago they had some spewing. The volcano is on a mountain that is in a cloud forest. We got there and saw the crater moments before the clouds rolled in for the day. I knew from the book that this happened and had picked yesterday because the weather forcast was for clearer skies than either of my other two optional days. It was not a really clear view because the mists were already upon us but at least I can say I saw one (sort of). There is a secondary crater a kilometer up the mountain from the first one. By the time I got there, the clouds were in full force. I did get a picture of the sign that showed what you would see if there weren't any clouds. I had noticed at the entrance to the park a sign which said "by the way, the entrance fee is non refundable" and in Spanish it said that inclement weather was no reason to ask for your money back. Two young newlyweds said that they knew people that lived in San Jose that had been 6 times and seen the crater 1 1/2 times. I think we can count our view as 1/2 so we beat the odds. Nonetheless, it was a lovely walk through a cloud forest (with clouds) for an hour so I can't say that is a bad thing at all.

We then went to the obligatory souvenir shop where the driver and guide get their kickback on the way to lunch and a waterfall park. The guide was big on maintaining group integrity which was sort of a pain because we had to go through a zoo and most of you know my opinion of zoos. I would have liked to have been told right off the bat how long we had at the park and taken my time walking down to the waterfalls. Apparently the area had a 7.5 Richter scale eathquake in January and a lot of the roads and trails in the area were out. They used to let you off at the top of the park and you walked down to the waterfalls, then they picked you up at the bottom. Now you have to climb back UP the mountain too. You can only see two of the five waterfalls that run down the mountain because the of the trails being out, but they are impressive. Unfortunately they gave us just enough time to get down, snap a picture and climb back up. No time to commune with the falls or anything. I definitely got my workout for the day, not that it helped me sleep...I am typing this at 3 in the morning. I had been sleeping really well on the trip but it looks like that is over with now.

Tomorrow I am going to the gold museum, cathedral, etc. and that will be it for the trip. Home again, home again lickety split.