Day 5... Chillin at the Craters

Written by: Alex Guy

As usual, the group woke up at 5:30 this morning but this time we went out for breakfast. No need to worry though, we still had our dose of rice & beans with eggs. Mmmmmm... so good. The diner that we ate at this morning wasn't so different from diners in Pittsbugh though. It still had the same atmosphere, the early risers that eat when the diner opens, and the food had the same quality. It was still good by all means, but it was just the same.

Today's event... Poas Volcano! We left from the diner to the volcano called Poas. By the time we got to the top, we were about 8,000 ft above sea level and only about 5,000 ft above where we were in San Jose. The first thing I noticed was that it was extremley cold. It felt colder because of the wind and because of the altitude. Once we started walking, we warmed up very quickly since we walked all up hill. Our guide showed us some interesting things on the way about the plants and the animals as well.
The hike up to the top of the mountain was worth the view of the massive crater at the top. Not only could you see the stone around the crater where the most recent eruption took place, and not only could you see the acid/liquid inside the active crater, but you could also see where the earlier crater was before the volcanic eruption in 2010 had ruined it. It was an amazing site and I never thought that I would see an acitve crater that size. What an experience it was.

I think that the best part of my day happened on the way down the volcano. On the way down, we stopped at two markets. The first one was the "more actracted" tourist place. It had a lot of more expensive souveniers and other products. The two things that caught my eye the most were the coffe beans and the strawberries. The coffee caught my eye for two reasons: I love coffee, and we were surrounded by coffee plantations. It was a little expensive so I didnt get the coffee and I decided to wait till the second stop. Then the strawberries were delicious. They were fresh picked and extremley ripe. They just melted in your mouth.

The second place we stopped was a coffee plantation. Alfredo explained to us the coffee procces, how the beans get from being planted in the ground to being in your cup, and then we went to the store which was directly on the plantation. Alfredo suggested that if we are going to by coffee in Costa Rica that we by it there because it is the best coffee you will ever find. So I bought some and I didn't regret it.

The rest of the day was just chill. We went to lunch and then to see someone make large mask. I still have not regreted signing up for this trip at the begining. There are still surprises around every corner and i am learning more than i could ever imagine.