Started the day early as we planned an hour and a half drive to the Tenorio Volcano National Park. It’s to the north, fairly close to the Nicaragua border.
Interesting scenery on the drive.
The wet hike back up was invigorating.
This bubbling area is a hot water vent from the volcano, very sulfur smelly!
This is the junction of two creeks, one high alkaline from the volcano (milky blue) and one a fresh water stream(clear)
First we had to wait for the cattle to cross the busy road…
We parked along the road near the expensive Tabacon resort/spa. It’s supposed to be public property. But the entrepreneurs were out in force, promising to “watch” your car. They wanted $10….Duane was a pro…said no and closed the car door. The guy came back and after two haggles we agreed to give him $4….
The river was just lovely and comfortably warm
We all relaxed and chatted for a couple of hours!
We went back to the Airbnb to clean up and grab a quick lunch. We were surprisingly filthy with lots of black volcanic sand sticking to us in unmentionable places, haha. We did a long excursion trying to find a sloth in the rental car but were unsuccessful.
I did want to show you a neat condiment storage method. We love mustard in a sandwich but had trouble finding it at the grocery store. Finally found it! A little different than US type.
Supper out at another “soda” restaurant. It just means family owned local place.
I have been ordering a “casado” meal at each little restaurant. They all offer it and it’s slightly different at each one.
When we finished our meals, the waitress offered each of us a gratis spicy Bloody Mary shot. Fun end to the evening!
Then, trusting the Waze app, we set off to the Paos Volcano national park. Leaving Bajos Del Toro, our very friendly waitress last night told us “you have to stop and get a photo of our bull!”. Mission accomplished
First order of the day was to try to view the Paos volcano it’s a national park and you have to buy timed tickets for entry. There is no cell service there so you have to buy your tickets ahead of time online . The view at the bottom was not very promising, since there was too much cloud cover.
But we arrived on time after a harrowing drive on a washed out dirt road that Waze sent us on for an hour….
We sat thru an introductory movie at the Park Service amphitheater.
Then we walked about a mile to the volcano overlook, knowing that it was foggy/cloudy. So this was our view.
It was fun though. The fog did tease us a bit, but we ended up leaving without any real view of the crater.
Having a good time anyway! (The hard hats were a requirement from the national Park service since the active volcano has been known to throw rocks!)
Random, beautiful scenery Driving back from the volcano.
The La Paz waterfall, a bit chilly!
Stopped at a local restaurant that was recommended by our rental car guy. Absolutely wonderful and the total cost was six US dollars per plate!
We drove about 2 hours north….just a few wrong turns!! Beautiful countryside
Some sugar cane fields
Just beautiful
Up into the clouds!
Finally found our AirBnB after a few missed turns. Amazing sounds!
We walked to a local restaurant….fabulous local trout!!! Long day!
And we’re off!! Boarded flight to Miami at 5:20am. Sharon is in the air now from Tampa and will meet us at the gate to continue one the same flight to San Jose Costa Rica at noon if all goes well.
Out for another pleasant trail walk, this time at the White Pines Preserve. Cool old abandoned barn.
Daffodils sprouting already!!
Nice views from the hilltops.
I try to get photos that show the steepness of the trail but don't think I really know how to do that as the photos always look flat.
Down the hill at water level. The water is actually fairly clear this time of year. During the summer it's murky like it is in Oriental.
Nice 3.6 mile walk....fairly warm - the jackets came off 1/2 way around.
