Day Trip to Irazu

Julie, Chris and David spent the weekend bumming around — we actually only work 40 hours a week or less, now. On Sunday, we took a bus from Tres Rios to Cartago and waited at the 500-year-old church ruins for the bus to the top of Volcano Irazu. The bus took us up through the hills and past small farms overlooking Cartago to just over 3,400 meters (11,000 feet). From there, we spent about two hours walking around to view the two craters.


As we approached the fenced-off edge of the walking area, the faint odor of sulfur wafted up from the base of the crater below. To one side was an open field of black volcanic sand. To the other side a fence, and then, a drop off.


Down below lay the calm green water of the lagoon 300 meters (almost 1,000 feet) down. This is the largest crater, which is more than a kilometer across.



It was cloudy, and a bit chilly at that altitude, so we meandered along the fence, waiting for a break in the clouds or looking for any new views down into the crater before heading to the cafe for a snack and a "cafe negro." Before entering the cafe and gift shop, we stoped to take pictures of the tentative, but friendly coatis.


They were searching for food in the parking lot, the garbage cans, as well as any hands extended with bits of food. The five of them moved like they were on a mission, moving like agents searching a home for evidence. Coatis are actually a lot like racoons — they're related — but they have the ablity to hang from or support themselves with their tails.


We finally made it to the cafe and gift shop to rest and kill time before the bus left for Cartago. It's not that we would have bought trinkets or anything if the prices were good, but it was the most expensive gift shop I have ever been in. We drank our coffee and ate our snacks. Then we sat. Waited. Talked. Watched the clouds roll by. And then, we walked around the parking lot for a bit and got on the bus to return to town. It was a fun trip, one of hopefully many more here in Costa Rica.


— Christopher