We skipped breakfast this morning and headed straight to the bus station. No reserved seating but we got there around 7 a.m. which gives us a pretty good shot at a seat. By 8 a.m. there were a handfull of people there and that was it so we had our pick of seats. Unfortunately I got on the sunny side and the lady in front of me decided to close the window. I hope she cooked. We moved back in the bus which was much better. It took us over an hour to get out of San Jose due to a traffic jam which was miles in front of us. These bus drivers sure have patience! We finally got to the source of the tieup and a bus was laying on it's side right near the airport. (remember what I said two days ago about the bus drivers only using the brakes when death was imminent?) How do you flip a bus? These guys have talent! The traffic continued to be tied up for quite a while after the accident scene but we finally headed out of town. The scenery was incredible as we climbed up past coffee plantations, farms and holstein cows. The green grass was brilliant so they must get a lot of rain up there. Bromeliads abounded in the trees although we didn't see any butterflies and not many birds. Lots of flowers, brugmansias, oleanders, and bougainvilleas added a lot of color to the one and half hour trip that turned into two and a half.
When we were about a half an hour from the volcano the bus stopped for a 10 minute banyo break and then it clouded over and began drizzling which isn't good for volcano viewing. I was surprised he stopped in view of the fact he was running so late. The trip cost about $3.00 each for a round trip and that gave us 3 hours to prowl. The entrance fee was $10.00 each. When we approached the park entrance we paid our fee and you could smell the sulpher in the air (even over my rotten runners). We walked along a paved area for about 20 minutes uphill to the viewing area. There was a platform for taking pictures and it was well back from the edge of the crater so that's where I headed (just to get away from the edge). It was a breathtaking site and my first time seeing a volcano. Huge! The clouds had lifted and the entire area was clear. It had rained recently when we began walking and the steam was rising from the walkway. After getting our pictures we walked for another uphill 20 minutes to the crater lake which is separate from the actual volcano lake. Beautiful but with no life forms in it due to the sulpher from a previous era. The walk in here was very nice and very damp with water dripping off the overhead vines and trees. Moss everywhere but no wildlife to speak of other than a squirrel and a couple of birds. I bushwacked a little hoping to see some colorful frogs but didn't see any.
We had a lunch of bread and some kind of nut stuff (nutella?) It tided us over until we got back. We also went into the information center where we bought a dvd on the cloud forest which I'll incorporate into my dvd when I get home. Not sure if I've mentioned it earlier but I also got one on the wildlife of Costa Rica which is very good. I haven't watched this new one yet.
We had a bite to eat after walking all over hell looking for some baking soda to fill my shoes. I think they're beyond help but we'll see in the morning. Which reminds me of the other day while on the chicken bus it was standing room only. I'd tied my shoes on the back of my backpack and one fell on the floor. Jo picked it up and tied it to her belt while some lady grabbed a seat that came available right next to Jo and it should have been hers. Well she paid the price as the shoe (which really was reeking) was right in her face for the whole trip. Everytime I looked at her I nearly broke out laughing. She was even holding her nose! Jo didn't notice this as her back was to her but when I told her last night she nearly wet herself laughing. This also reminded me of an earlier blog where I mentioned that our mngr in Cahuita was pretty stingy with his toilet paper and you had to chase him to get some more. Well we were with some friends on the patio one night when he appeared and everyone jumped him for more paper. I hollered over to him not to bother as we were all using the towels. That spurred him on to cough up the paper!
We still haven't been able to reach anyone at Arenal to make reservations so we're going to leave San Jose in the morning and wing it to La Fortuna/Nuevo. We'll find something around there and it will give us time to find exactly what we're looking for. This used to be the best area to view the lava at night but about 2 years ago the flow changed so we're trying to get into a small village a way off the beaten path where it's more visible. Viewing the lava is quite difficult due to cloud cover but we've also been told that Feb. is the preferred month so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Tomorrow will be another long day travelling and we've got about a 10 block walk to the correct bus stop with our packs so hopefully we'll find something quickly when we reach our destination.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28456&l=0c6b1&id=680056043
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