Mountain roads, Boston ferns, landslides repair at the epicenter of a Costarica quake made for an unusual journey, and a sobering one: Costa Rica is in a very active volcano (volcan) and terremoto (earthquake in Spanish) area. See also Irazu volcano park, another Costa Rica day tour to an active volcano from San Jose to Cartago. Below are my travel pictures of this part of the day tour to Poas, Costa Rica. From San Jose to Poas National Park is about 37 km (25 miles).
Day Tour Costa Rica mountain road views to San Jose valley
Day tour pickup times are usually early, and so we were on the road at a quarter to seven. I'd reserved my tour to Poas at the Adventure Inn and the driver processed my credit card for the $89 USD full day tour, breakfast, lunch and park admission fees included.
I usually plan on paying about $100 US for a full day tour most anywhere in the world, so this price was competitive.
As the highway climbed north of San Jose from our first stop (the coffee plantation), the road narrowed and wound around the steep mountain sides.
We got out at one point to marvel at the views, and how the farms clung to the steep slopes and to enjoy the warm sunny day.
Boston Ferns Grow Under Fabric Shades north of San Jose Costa Rica
Along this route, higher up the mountains than where the coffee beans were planted, we passed many farm fields like the one in this picture.
"These are Boston ferns," said the guide. "Costa Rica grows all these ferns for export to Netherlands."
The delicate ferns are grown in shade to prtoect them from the strong tropical sun, but the Costarican climate at this elevation perfectly suits the ferns.
Narrow paved roads pass terremoto epicenter of Costa Rica Quake
Day tours to Volcan Poas and the Poas Waterfalls begin in San Jose with the guides and drivers peering at the cloud cover on the mountains. They try to outguess Mother Nature as to whether the volcanoes will be sunny or socked in with mist.
The concensus this day was for mid-morning clear sunny skies at Poas crater. We hoped.
And on the way, our guide told a charming tale about a local shop selling strawberries, that, happily, were just coming into season. We would stop at Fresas de Volcan on the way back to San Jose. Then as we climbed the mountain roads toward Poas, he told us a chilling tale, of a tour group like ours, and the earthquake that rattled Poas almost a year ago to the day.
Highway Overlooking Landslide area, Near Poas, Costa Rica : Max's Story
Max, our guide told our rapt group about what had happened the year before:
"We were at a large restaurant, 300 seats (a wood building that didn't fall down). I had just finished my coffee when the ground started shaking. The shaking woke up the driver (the same one steering us up the mountain as he spoke)."
"Everything jumped up and down. There were over 200 landslides around here. When the shaking stopped, around 1 p.m., we gathered the group and drove on the bus, but we came to a landslide at a river, blocking the road. We tried another road, and it was blocked, too. So we just waited."
He said he called the office in San Jose (staff said they felt only minimal shaking in the city), to let them know all were okay, but stranded. The office and rescue officals knew exactly where they were, but couldn't get to them over the landslide blocked roads.
"There were over 200 aftershocks," Max said. "People were scared, crying. No way to get out. We saw the helicopters overhead, but none could help us that night. We waited for 5 hours for help to arrive. We called the office again on the radio, and they told us that a nearby town had been destroyed, and they were prioritizing rescues from the severest areas first.
"We had no food, no water, no phones once the battery died. We stayed on the bus, and in early morning, a man walked in to us. He said he'd walked 4 hours to get to us, and had come to lead us out. And so a bus full of people walked 4 hours back to where the roads were passable.
"This area was closed for 3 months," he said. "Twenty people died. Five hundred homes were destroyed. There was no work, no homes, and in this area, tourism is our economy."
Heavy machinery repairs Landslide area near Poas Costa Rica
And so it was a year later that we were passing a landscape still raw with landslides where heavy machinery worked to shape the hillsides into terraces, to build new homes, and businesses.
Many people simply left the area, and damaged and abandoned homes are testament to the power of the earth in Costa Rica. Except for that, and the active volcanoes, Costa Rica is as near to perfect a place to live on this planet
In relating Max's story, I am feeling very somber yet again. And so our group was happy, as I am sure you will be too, to see the National Park, the lovely botanical gardens, with birds and butterflies, the Poas Crater, and the waterfalls.
Here's a short video of a sloth we stopped to watch along the way: .
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