Costa Rica - October 2002 - Cont'd
Holbrook - Selva Verde

Diversity of Wildlife

Costa Rica has incredibly diverse wildlife. During a 6:00 a.m. bird watching hike and while cruising down the scenic Sarapiqui River, we were able to see a small portion of the abundant wildlife up close in their natural habitat.

Banana Plantation

Tourism is the number one industry in Costa Rica, followed by banana exports and coffee. We visited a local Dole banana plantation for a tour. Carlos, the owner, explained everything from the history of the plantation to how the bananas are grown, harvested, cleaned, packed and shipped around the world.

La Paz Waterfall and Poas Volcano

On the last day of the trip, the group visited beautiful La Paz Falls and Poas Volcano. La Paz Waterfall Gardens is a nature park that includes four magnificent waterfalls. The Trail of Falls leads to a gorge that was created by the meeting of the Rio La Paz Grande and the Rio La Paz. The wonderful view from the balconies showcase three separate waterfalls: Encantada, Escondido and the famous La Paz Waterfall.

As our trip wound down, we drove to Poas Volcano, which is 2,708 meters (8,884 ft) high. Located in the Central Volcanic Mountain Range, it’s one of the most spectacular volcanoes in the country and has the largest geyser in the world. The weather at the summit was foggy, but after a shift in the winds, Poas’ enormous crater became visible to the delight of all who waited. We were able to see Poas’ active crater, one of the world's largest. One of the two cones is named Botos and was the active center until 7,500 years ago. It now contains the beautiful Botos Lake. The lake is about 400 meters in diameter and very acidic, with a pH less than one. Temperatures as high as 185 F (85 C) have been measured at the lake.