Coffee Plantation/Poas Volcano/La Paz Waterfall

The agenda for excursion numero dos: Early departure to Cafe 3 Generacions (coffee plantation). Continue on to Poas Volcano and walk to the old crater lake, look around and see the crater. Eat lunch and walk around to see the animals and La Paz Waterfall.


Now this is what actually happened. We arrive at Cafe 3 Generacions. It was wonderful. The weather was sunny and there was even a rainbow. I feel that a rainbow at a coffee plantation is a perfect fit...coffee is great and so are rainbows. I bought some coffee beans and they smell so good. I can't wait until I can get home and make coffee with them.

Next stop Poas Volcano. After a bit of driving up the mountain we ran into some rain and fog. Once we got to the volcano the weather continued to be rainy, foggy and cold--luckily we stopped for rain ponchos on our way up to the volcano, otherwise I would have been soaked. After walking for about 10 minutes we were greeted by a cloud of white--literally couldn't see a thing, the crater was hidden by a cloud. I was a bit annoyed --I had woken up early, my motion sickness pills were not working (the ride wasn't pleasant), I was cold and wet and I wasn't able to see the crater--clearly rosy retrospection hasn't set in yet.

After the disappointment of not being able to see the crater, we got back on the bus to head to our last stop, La Paz Waterfall. We had lunch there, saw all kinds of animals and saw our second waterfall of the trip. Lunch was awesome. There was a buffet of Costa Rican and American food awaiting us. I chose to opt out of eating Costa Rican food and went with a hot dog, french fries, pizza and fruit--very unhealthy but so worth it. After lunch I got to walk through butterfly houses, hold a toucan, see jaguars, learn about venomous frogs and hike to a waterfall. When I was holding the toucan it started biting my shirt, hence the "classic" Emily face in the picture below.


Overall it was another day of exploring Costa Rica, which was fun but the weather put a bit of a damper on some parts. Not being able to see the crater was a bummer and didn't follow the plan, but the whole waterfall/animal experience exceeded my expectations. I'm learning to accept that not everything goes exactly how you want it to go. It's hard but I'm trying.