ecotourism: Poas volcano & La Paz waterfall garden

On Thursday we left for our last real adventure. We went to see the sulfuric lake at the bottom of Poas Crater. It was absolutely amazing. People will go and wait for hours to see the crater and it was very clear right when we got there. The volcano is active but we knew we wouldn’t be seeing it erupt or any lava flow. The last time they had eruptive activity ended in 1954. It has been a very long time since there was any major activity. Walking to and from the crater we were able to see the effects of acid rain, which was pretty cool. Then vegetation is mostly brown and black from the moisture that comes from the clouds. It was windy, cold and raining while we were there. I wasn’t dressed very well for that part of our trip.

 

Next we headed to La Paz Waterfall Gardens where we saw several animals, insects and other really neat things. There were several different species of birds that we saw while we were there. I love toucans and there were a lot of them. We actually saw two birds getting in a fight. It is really neat because you can tell that they were communicating with each other. I wish I knew what they were saying. Haha I don’t remember what it was called but there was this tiny bird and its head was a bright turquoise, it was so pretty. There were also several hummingbirds there. We saw the biggest one that exists. It didn’t feel very safe being surrounded by all of them; you could actually hear them as they flew by. They have an average speed of about 45 miles per hour and can make it to about 60!  They perch, but they can’t walk they have very weak feet and they are the smallest birds in the world. 

 

Then we went and saw a snake exhibit which held 30 of the most deadly snakes in Costa Rica. Some of the snakes we saw were the following: the Golden Eyelash Viper, Bushmaster, and the Green Vinesnake. There are 137 species of snakes in Costa Rica and 22 that are venomous.

 

 

We then went into a little forest where we saw frogs. It was really neat because most of the frogs were not locked up in the class cases like they usually are in museums. We felt like we were actually in the rainforest seeing these different frogs. Some of the frogs we saw were the Flying Frog and different Poison Dart frogs. When we went to La Selva there were so many frogs, especially the blue jean frog. The poison dart frog is in fact poison, hence its name. But the function of the poison on their skin is use for defense from their predators. They have bright color patterns to show their venomous nature.

 

We also saw some monkeys, which I love. There was the smallest monkey I have ever seen and it looked like a little gerbil with a monkey face. I wanted to remember the name so I could research them more, so I had Morell take a picture of it, but unfortunately I do not know where she is. I will come back and post the name because I think it is worth looking into.

 

We made it to the waterfalls and they were absolutely gorgeous. We walked through a trail where I believe we saw about 5 different waterfalls. It was a bad decision wearing glasses because the mist from the waterfalls kept getting on the lenses. The waterfalls were pretty rough, it would’ve been a lot of fun if we could’ve rafted down them, but it seemed like it would’ve been extremely dangerous. Ecotourism in Costa Rica has allowed me to have some of the greatest experience of my life that I will never forget! Oh, we also saw several beautiful butterflies…my grandma was everywhere. ;)