Exploring: Cloud-Shrouded Volcanoes and Honeymoon Destinations

Part of our thinking about this year is "we may never get to do something like this again...so let's see as much as we can see and experience as much as we can experience." Day trips and short get-aways are a big part of that. Over the past few weeks we have taken a day trip to Volcan Poas and another multi-day trip (this time to Manuel Antonio). A bit about each...

Poas...

Everyone needs a family photo from the top of a volcano...

Poas is a great day trip from the San Jose or Heredia area…even if we ultimately weren’t able to SEE the live crater with the creepy green lake in it (in fact, we only know about the green lake because of postcard pictures and guide books…we were basically swallowed up in a giant cloud by the time we got to the main crater).

Laguna Botos is the lake in the dead crater.

Laguna Caliente (the live Poas crater) is somewhere in that cloud...trust us...

We DID know that the crater was there, though. The sulfer-smell is a dead give away. As is the giant sign warning you what to do in the event of an eruption (a long list of directions that can be summed up as “get the hell out of here...wicked fast.”).

The drive itself (up into the mountains) makes it a worthwhile trip. Windy narrow roads through beautiful coffee farm land that is then replaced by dairy farms as you reach the higher altitudes. Roadside fruit stands. Views down into the valleys. It’s like 90 minutes in a living postcard.

Liadan was convinced something cool was living in this mossy hole by the side of the trail.

Once you are there, you have the choice of taking the 10 minute walk down the handicap-accesible path to the main crater OR taking a bit of a hike (emphasis on the "bit"...this isn't climbing Everest) through the forest to see a nearby dead-crater before then coming back down to see the main crater. We chose Option B. Much to the chagrin of Ella (our not-so-happy-hiker who thinks that ALL hiking is like climbing Everest). We’ll wear her down this year, though. : ) Actually, by Manuel Antonio she was already more into it. But at Poas her comment was “this is a LOT of climbing and a LOT of walking and the only thing on the other end of it is that we get to stop and look at what USED to be a volcano and then look at what still IS a volcano but is probably covered in clouds? That seems crazy to me!” Even Ella ultimately thought it was kinda cool to be standing near a live volcano, though.

Ella hiding from the rain under the leaves of "The Poor Man's Umbrella" (name kinda makes sense...those are some BIIIG leaves)

In short, as long as you set your expectations accordingly (meaning that you don’t go to Poas saying “if I don’t see the green lake in the live crater I’m going to consider this a waste of time!”) than Poas is a very cool and worthwhile way to spend a day.

Lunch after our Poas trip (when the clouds rolled we had super-cool views of lightening storms hitting down in the valley below)

Manuel Antonio National Park...

Last weekend, we took advantage of Audrey’s second Mother’s Day of 2014 (in Costa Rica, Mother’s Day is on a Friday in August and is a day off from school) to head to the Pacific for a few days.

Jack found this little guy (an Agouti) near the beach.

Audrey and I went to Manuel Antonio for the first few nights of our honeymoon back in 1999. We booked ourselves at the SAME hotel last weekend (on a side note, the woman at the front desk was a college intern in 1999 and still works there today!?!). Suffice to say it was a cool yet strange feeling to be back there almost 15 years later but this time with four kids in tow (!?!).

We have a pic from this EXACT same spot 15 years ago!?!

Jack with the frog he spotted hanging onto a rock by the pool

It is crazy how much that area has changed in 15 years. Just GETTING there is 10x easier (pot-hole filled roads and dirt roads replaced by a smooth highway...although it is a bummer that the super nice bridges have replaced the rattly old ones that used to have signs warning you to be careful because the bridge was narrow and there were crocodiles in the river below). The amount of development in the area is also crazy. It used to still have a backpacker vibe with a few cool hotels (back in 1999 Si Como No was totally unique in pitching itself as an “eco friendly” hotel). Now there is a small casino, a bunch of nigh clubs, a WIDE range of hotels from eco to resort-ish, restaurants, condo complexes, supermarkets, spas, etc. Of course development means people and yes, there were crowds.

Near the national park entrance still has a bit of that "back-packer town" vibe (street vendors, etc.).

BUT I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that despite the development and the crowds, the wildlife seems to have largely stuck around. The park is still well protected. Even outside the park there are big chunks of protected rain forest and mangroves (even the hotel we stayed at, the Si Como No, bought 40 acres of rain forest across the street and set up a small reserve). People seem to get that putting aside the general mantra of "conservation is king" --- without the flora and fauna, their economy would implode as tourists moved on. Sure, the wildlife has been impacted but I do think the folks in the area are doing a decent job of trying to maintain a balance.

We were only there for a few days but the kids had a GREAT time (as did we). Hotel was fun. And we were BUSY bouncing around each day, too. We fit in a guided hike in the national park (kids got to see 2 and 3 toed sloths, three kinds of monkeys, huge orb weaver spiders, agoutis, etc.) Hike ends at a nice protected beach (no big waves). That particular hike and beach trip took up almost the entire first day.

Golden Orb Weaver just off the trail in Manuel Antonio

The next day we were up at 6:30 am to go on a mangrove tour (bad luck on our part b/c they leave with the tides and we happened to get an early-morning day). The kids LOVED that tour. Audrey and I still remember going on a similar tour in 1999 (similar in location only...our 1999 tour was a wee bit less professional than this one…we found a teenager with a boat and asked him to take us out…this time we went with an actual tour operator). We saw boas hanging in the trees over the boat, a bazillion different types of birds and lizards (iguanas, “Jesus Christ Lizards” that run across the water, etc.). And of course monkeys. Monkeys that jump down on top of the boat and play peekaboo (they are NOT shy). Monkeys that swing along in the trees alongside the boat. Monkeys, monkeys everywhere. Even the mangroves themselves were pretty cool to look at. A definite 12 thumbs up from the 6 members of the Gavin family.

Basilisk (can't kill like the one in Harry Potter but he CAN run across the water!).

After exploring another beach (this one with pretty good waves) we split up that night. Audrey and the girls went to dinner while I took the boys on a “night walk” through the small reserve across the street. Also a VERY cool tour. It is PITCH black when you turn your flashlights off. The kids are warned NOT to stray off the path because of snakes and tarantulas. And then you are off. The boys were blown away by how LOUD it is when all of the frogs are out. They saw tree frogs, bullfrogs, vine snakes (chasing after the tree frogs...I think we saved a tree frogs life when we shone our flashlight on the snake about to get him), tarantulas a few feet away from our feet, etc. They’ll be talking about that experience for a long time to come, I think.

Red eyed tree frog (sorry about the flash, bud).

Vine snake (see...looks like a vine). Was about to take out an unsuspecting frog!

In the next entry I’ll share a few more of our observations re: how much the kids seem to be LEARNING on these little excursions. They have definitely been way more than the normal day trips or vacations. And as the kids get used to the fact that we have the freedom this year to truly EXPLORE, they are starting to think more and more about where they want to go and what they want to do next. That's exactly what we were hoping for!

Stay tuned…!