Today was a busy day. After breakfast at the Poas Lodge we drove up to the entrance of the Poas Volcano National Park. We hiked up to the caldera which is at 8350 feet above sea level. There was a fumarole in the crator and a lake of rainwater from which there was steam coming off. The volcano is active but not erupting which was good for us. From this viewpoint we could see part of the city of San Jose. If it had been a clear day we would have seen the Caribbean. From this caldera, Reg, Phoebe and I hiked up to the lagoon, another lake in another caldera of the same volcano. At this point we were up to 8800 feet above sea level. As we drove down we stopped and bought some fresh strawberries. They are red and sweet.
Crator of Poas Volcano
Our next stop was the La Paz Waterfalls. This park has not only waterfalls but an aviary, hummingbird enclosure, butterfly house, snake house (I didn't stay here long), frog house and wild cat enclosures.. All of the critters at the Waterfalls are rescued and not captured from the wild. At the aviary there was a special enclosures of toucans. There were all types f toucans including the toucanet. Most are relatively tame and would sit on your arm. It was fun seeing them so up close and I tried to take a lot of pictures, hoping some will come out. The butterfly house was filled with colorful butterflies, especially blue ones. We did see a bright blue and black poison dart frog plus a few tree frogs. The waterfalls were refreshing to see. Even though the rainy season is just starting there was plenty of water tumbling down. It was a bit of a hike down to the waterfalls but we were assured that there would be shuttles at the end of the trail to take us back to the entrance to the park. It was true but no one told us that the last part of the hike would be up a long series of stairs before you reached the shuttle area.
Rich eyeing the toucan
Elaine sees a toucan close up
Scarlet Macaw spreads his wings
Tiny poison dart frog
Elaine and Phoebe by the waterfall
After the waterfalls we had a drive over hill and dale to reach the Toucan Rescue Ranch where we are staying at the guesthouse. I was glad that Google maps was working because we would never have made it without it. There was a few times when we had to backup to get back on the right road and Google maps was premature at indicating the entrance to the ranch but we made it. The Toucan Rescue Ranch is a 10 year old facility for rescuing not only toucans but other birds and animals that have either been injured, orphaned or can not be released into the wild. We will learn more about this tomorrow when we have our tour.
More to come.
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