Weekend Excursion Numero Tres: Cataratas de La Paz y Volcan Poas

Our weekend started out on Friday evening with our first visit to the Latter-Day Saint temple near Herredia/Alejualah. We found an amazing Indian restaurant and I was singing (in my heart) after that meal. Oh, it was so good, like the Indian food from my mission in Sydney. I have to seek out more Indian restaurants here. Everything is prepared so fresh in almost all the restaurants we've patronized.

Going to the temple is a sacred experience that involves participating in special ceremonial meetings and is different from visiting a Sunday chapel because in the temple so much of the noise from outside is blocked out. Because of the utter quiet, the temple provides a place of meditation, and I can partake in often much needed peaceful solitude. We shed our streetwear for simple white clothing and speak in whispers. The temple attendants generally have welcoming smiles and helpful, patient attitudes. 

For those of my readers who haven't had an opportunity to visit a temple of this faith, if ever there is a new temple opening near you, I encourage you to attend an open house. Before temples are dedicated the general public are invited into the temple for tours. 

The temple here in "San Jose" is about the size of Oklahoma City. It's what we refer to as a "Gordon B. Hinckley" temple. The layout is the same as Oklahoma City except I did notice the main sealing room seemed larger than I remember. I wonder if they made it larger because family is very important to Costa Ricans. They tend to have large extended families. 

There was a stake center or large chapel on the temple grounds as a well as distribution center and a sort of "hostel". The building had a double kitchen and some dorm rooms. There were also temple busses. All this is to assist the people in coming to the temple for worship. 

Early Saturday morning we took off for La Paz (La Poss). On the way, Clark located a Krispy Kreme to celebrate our "donut day" tradition. Haha!! The kids were pleased because they prefer the USA style of donuts over the Tico style. I think we almost tried one of everything. The store was in this neat outdoor food court; very stylish. We couldn't resist playing a couple of the games before heading out.

Pano of the outdoor food court with games.

All the fresh produce delivered to a restaurant for the day's meals.

Hard to tell from the pic this is the largest KFC we’ve seen, even compared to the USA!

Unfortunately, rain began in and around San Jose Friday and we had hoped to go up to Poas first but switched our plans to give the storm a chance to blow out by Saturday afternoon. 

First, I suppose you should know "catarata" is the Spanish word for waterfall. The letter "a" is pronounced like "ah" or the short vowel sound for "o" as in octopus. La Paz is privately owned, and we knew a little about the place but for me, it was way more than I expected. I had read there were animal exhibits, but the reality was La Paz is a small zoo and very well done. Even though it rained most the time we were there, we didn't feel it. This park is beautiful, and it is clear the administration takes pride in maintaining the park. We were able to see toucans, visit butterfly and hummingbird gardens, watch sloths and wild cats (think Jaguar), and spot some unique reptiles and amphibians. 

A row of these cute ducks welcomed us at the entrance.

Beautiful toucan!

My two oldest girls cautioned us from the USA that toucans are unforgiving biters and to keep our distance, quoting Audrie, "They are scary birds. They'll rip your face off," and Quen, "They are awesome but DON'T touch them...they bite BAD!" Thanks for watching out for us. It's nice to be loved!

Scarlett McCaw

This sloth was funny. It was cooler that day because of the rain and this sloth knew right where to warm up. S/he climbed (slowly) up to the ceiling where the heat strips were and laid on top of it. That red strip is a heat element for the enclosure.

Rose fulfilling her wish to see a sloth. Now to get a view in the wild. 

At the butterfly garden:

Freshly hatched

Hummingbird garden:

Ecosystem inside a plant...

Fun tree snake

There is a snake in here that looks like the twigs. If you zoom in, you might spot it.

Oscelot

Unique frog

Then came the waterfalls. There are five altogether and we could stand right next to most of them. The amount of water and power of such was striking. There were times it felt like we were traipsing through a fairy garden the way the trails are designed. I cannot express the sheer beauty of this place. I think I saw Craig really relaxed for the first time in weeks. He seemed to really love the falls, as did we all. 

Between viewing the animals and heading down to the falls, we stopped into a replica of a native homestead. Inside they served us a perfect snack to energize us for the many stairs ahead: sugar cane tea and cheese samples. The device in this picture is a coffee filter.

We were happily getting wet!

These trails felt so much like Disney: being in fairy world.

Pretty girl with a bright leaf.

This is a wood carving of some of the animals presented by this zoo.

Super fancy bathroom!

Turn the rock on the right and the water comes down the rock spout.

And we got fairly wet, but we came prepared in our quick dry clothing and dried out quickly afterwards. We had packed some sandwiches from the convenience store which served us well because we cut it close getting from the falls over to Poas. Even though the sun started peeking in and out of the clouds, the crater of the volcano wasn't visible. Looking over the edge felt like the end of the world because you could see the rocky side of the cliff, but the rest was just foggy clouds. This was dizzying and disorienting to say the least.  Also, maybe the temperature dropped 20 degrees in a just a ten-minute walk up the hill. 

Looking down into the crater but where is it??

    

                                        

Next came the wind. I imagine that wind is similar to skydiving wind. It was insane. The kids enjoyed standing in it and letting their jackets ripple and whirl. For me, it was a bit much. I took shelter in the eruption zone to get a break. The combination of high wind and chilly humid air isn't my thing. I practically ran down the hill trying to get warm again. One thing is for sure: when momma is cold, she isn't waiting on anyone!

Audrie thinks this is "neurodivergent behavior". I say its kids being kids. The wind was STRONG!

Going up we knew the odds of seeing the crater were slim. I included a picture here of what it looks like when the sky is clear. 

On the way home, we stopped off at a few fruit vendors because I wanted to get some uchuva fruits. We finally found some, along with passion fruit, a tasty, jarred salsa relish, and homemade strawberry jam. 

Adios until next weekend! Upcoming... South Nicoya peninsula with Isla Tortuga, Santa Teresa beach, and Guanacaste.