Volcan Poas

My entries are very delayed but I have a life, ya know? And by that I mean I write papers all day and study.

We left for Volcan Poas from Heredia at about 9:30 am and it took us about 2 hours to get there. By the time we arrived at the park and started to walk toward the volcano, it was about noon and it was already raining.  It was so foggy that I couldn't see the people walking 10 feet in front of us. After reading quite a bit about other travelers' experiences at Volcan Poas, it seemed like common knowledge that you should arrive at the volcano as early as possible to beat the clouds so I'm not quite sure why our school scheduled the trip so late.  And they definitely knew because on our way up, one of the teachers said "yeah, last time we went up we couldn't see anything"... oh okay. So we get to the lookout and it's so foggy that we can't see anything.  We all sort of stand there awkwardly, wondering what we should do.  As we stood around pouting, the could started to clear and we could see parts the crater but still not very clearly.  We decided to take a 15 minute hike up to the lagoon.  The walk was pleasant and the forest surrounding the volcano is absolutely beautiful. When we got to the top of the volcano, the clouds had magically cleared and we could see everything perfectly!  The lagoon was absolutely beautiful; the clear water that led into the lush forest against the bright blue sky.  Wonderful. On the way back, we had lunch in a little restaurant set in the mountains, with a spectacular view from the porch.  I was happy as a clam because I got to see gorgeous sights and then I got to eat a gigantic steak followed by tres leches cake.  I cannot quite explain to you how delicious tres leches cake is.  It's so moist that it is actually sitting in liquid so it's sort of a cross between cake and pudding with a light frosting.  To. Die. For.  No really, I'd like it to be the last thing I eat before I die. I will be attempting to make it when I come home (stay tuned for my cooking blog... oy vey) but it will probably just taste like sugary mush.

In general, Volcan Poas was a great day trip, there's not really a ton to do up there so I can't see making a bigger trip out of it.  I wanted to go to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, which we passed on the way up to the volcano but our teachers were telling us that park is still there but the waterfalls were pretty much destroyed in an earthquake that happened a couple years ago.  We were really lucky that the weather cleared so I would not recommend waiting that long.  From the review I have read and from observing the clouds as we drove up, I would say it would be best to try to arrive at the volcano by 8 or 9.  Because it's the rainy season here, it's pretty much a guarantee that it will be cloudy and probably rain like crazy starting any time after noon. 

Unfortunately, I won't be doing any traveling for the next couple weeks because I have to study for a horrific test and I am broke.  But I have some local adventures to share, so don't fret!