Coffee berries wait to ripen at the plantation.
On Saturday, I took a day trip with my program to el Volcán Poás y las Cataratas en La Paz. On the way there, we stopped at a coffee plantation. Our guide told us that Costa Rica competes for quality in the coffee industry, so the government only allows the plantation owners to grow arabica. There were so many gorgeous views of the plantation and the coffee trees were covered in berries! I didn’t buy any of the coffee there, though, because I feel a personal loyalty to my host father, Matías, who owns a coffee farm and a cafe in La Fortuna that provides the coffee I drink every morning.
The crater is there…behind me…I swear they told me it was!
After the plantation, we arrived at the volcano. It was pretty cold for Costa Rica, so I had to wear an extra shirt (my SMC Class of 2015 one) and my raincoat for protection against the cold and the misting rain. After a short hike, we arrived at where the first crater of Volcán Poás should have been. I say should because there was so much cloud cover and fog that all we saw was a blanket of white. Basically the only indicator that there was actually a volcano there was the smell of sulfur everywhere.
This squirrel climbed on people’s laps and ate food out of their hands!
Some of us were hopeful and journeyed to the second crater. Unfortunately, we were met with the same disappointment: no volcano. However, there was a very friendly squirrel who even jumped up on a woman’s lap. He was very entertaining!
We made our way back to the bus and headed off to La Paz. When we first got there, we went into the aviary, which had macaws, ducks, and other kinds of birds that I need to look up. I even saw an albino squirrel!
Tookie looks at me as if to say sarcastically, “Gee, you’re the first human who’s ever wanted a picture with me.”
The highlight, however, was the toucan exhibit. You could go into the toucan section and workers would literally place a toucan on your arm so you could get a picture! They didn’t even look real. Most people say they got their picture taken with Toucan Sam, but I think my toucan was Tookie from George of the Jungle. He didn’t talk at all though…
After the aviary, we saw a bunch of hummingbirds swarming around nectar feeders!
Hummingbirds of all shapes and sizes whizzed around and slurped from nectar feeders.
Though incredibly difficult to photograph, they were quite a beautiful sight to see. And whenever one flew by you, it sounded like a mini-helicopter. Still, I felt envious of the wildlife photographer with a camera lens that was as long as my arm.
We followed that with a delicious buffet lunch. For some reason, all I kept craving was fruit: pineapple and papaya, pineapple and papaya. But I will admit they had some great ribs! Refreshed and energized, we headed off to the nearby snake exhibit. Anyone who knows me knows that snakes are my major week point, my biggest phobia. I have this thing, though, where whenever I go to a pet store I go to the reptile section, just to prove that I can be in the presence of a snake, even though we are separated by a panel of glass. So this was kind of the same thing. I saw firsthand the physical differences between coral snakes and king snakes, and I gazed upon the Fer-de-Lance, which apparently is one of the most dangerous snakes in Costa Rica because, aside from having venom with both neurotoxins and hemotoxins, they are not very shy around humans. Fortunately, this one was in captivity.
In the frog exhibit, we saw a tree frog, which looked absolutely petrified; a green and black poison dart frog (which I did not know was poisonous at the time); and a strawberry poison dart frog. I mostly just tried not to touch anything…
Red touches black, you’re okay Jack…
…red touches yellow, you’re a dead fellow.
A tree frog sits as still as possible while humans crowd around him.
This green and black poison dart frog reminded me of Darth Maul from Star Wars.
This strawberry poison dart frog seemed very safe. Luckily, we were informed of the contrary.
Cows, bunnies, guinea pigs and oxen wrapped up the captive animal portion of my visit. Unfortunately I didn’t poke around enough to find the big cat or butterfly exhibits, but I was able to spot several coatis digging around for food. Coatis are kind of like raccoons, only with curly tails and long, pointy, flexible noses. Though a little skittish around humans, coatis are generally okay with getting up close and personal. However, like hummingbirds, they can be tough to photograph since they don’t like to stop moving.
These oxen tried so hard to stay awake for this picture.
Carmela the cow smiles in the Costa Rican sun.
It’s been so long since I’ve held a bunny!
Coatis use their long noses to dig into the ground for their prey.
I can describe the journey to the waterfalls in three words: stairs, stairs, stairs. Flights led us down to different views of the waterfalls preserved at La Paz. But they were well worth the trek, with their gentle cascades and lush green surroundings.
The first waterfall.
Me with my friends Jordan and Amari.
Look closely and you’ll see three waterfalls!
These flowers along with many others lined the steps to the waterfalls.
I’m so happy that I was able to embrace even more of Costa Rica’s natural beauty this weekend. Next, onward to Monteverde and Arenal!
¡Pura vida!
-Cara
Pura Vida 