Poás Volcano

Hello all,

Today was a blast! We had so much fun. The big news is that Andrew and his dad, John joined us as they took a separate flight out. Now our group is complete.

After a good night´s sleep (we needed it!) we chowed down at the ubiquitous all american eatery, Denny´s. After the good old grand slam breakfast we were well fueled for what lay ahead, a trek up to the Poas Volcano.

From our hotel in San Jose, it was about an hour drive. During the trip, our guide, Diego, spoke about the topography and history of Costa Rica. His english is near perfect and the kids and I got quite an education.

The hike around the volcano was mild. Around the crater and the lagoon was about an hour trek all together. The kids and I loved the idea of actually hiking in the rain forest. Interesting factoid, the water in the crate has a ph balance of negative one. Of course, none of us would be taking a swim.

Later in the day we were treated to a lovely buffet lunch. Agua fresca de fresa (¨strawberry fresh water¨) was a hit. A far cry from Dennys, the meal was replete with fresh vegetables, and of course frijoles and arroz )beans with rice.

Then, it was a four hour journey by bus to our hotel in Lake Arenal. We lucked out, it was a clear evening so we had a fantastic view of the Arenal Volcano in its glory. The guide said that this was very, very rare. We got in about 7, had another filling and nutritious meal, the kids played cards, and off to bed we went.

Tomorrow, kayaking at Lake Arenal and a visit to the hot springs.

Stay tuned