Beautiful Poas Early in the Morning

Having complained that I had been yet to see much of Costa Rica, a friend invited me out on a mammoth and exhausting 12-hour day trip last Saturday. Our four-in-one excursion took us to a coffee plantation, a volcano crater, a waterfall garden and a jungle río river. Up at the crack of dawn to meet with the group, breakfast was served at the plantation, a glinting sun and cool breezes ready to gently wake us up. Chewing on the sweet jelly of a freshly picked coffee bean, life felt rather peachy.

We headed onto the volcanic crater Poas. Walking up to a railing, nothing could be seen. But at the end, there it was – a sulphuric, gurgling greeny-blue lake in the middle of a crater. Steam intermingled with cloud and a pungent smell stopped us from leaning too close. Not quite England! We later toured five waterfalls, leaning out of barriers to get showered on with water. In the sanctuary I made friends with my first Tucan, a majestic bird with crinkled eyes and a beak of muddled, bright colours.

I arrived back to San José with somewhat of a bump. City life is not quite as enticing as that of my dear London, public transport being decidedly more difficult to get the knack of; this morning I waited 25 minutes for a bus that should come every 5. Much to the amusement of my colleagues, I arrived late and flustered and cursing my new hate affair. On the contrary, taxis are joyously comfortable. (When I, uh, have some pressing and important need to use them.) Drivers are Ticos and proud of it, too, praising my Spanish and asking eagerly if I like Costa Rica.

My first piece of early evening culture came this week in an outing of drinks with friends. A tiny, smoky bar with (somewhat dodgy) live music made for a great night. I ordered a Cuba Libre and was handed over … a can. Oh yes, rum and coke in a can! Still behind on food culture, I am however eating local breakfasts – my sweet colleague Marco whips up a feisty Gallo Pinto (rice and beans). He adds a ‘squeaky’ cheese to the side, and my mind drifts back to Colombia and her toasted corn breads, arepas.

These are good days, good days …

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Filed under: Living on November 21st, 2008