Touring Poás and Sarchí

Adri and Alex invited us to come and stay with them in Curridabat when we came to town to pick up our reupholstered salon cushions. Since we had Thursday morning to kick around, we decided to head west to see a different volcano and check out some of the mountain handicrafts. Once again, we headed out in the cute blue Peugeot with the trusty Garmin to guide us.

Our first stop was Poás Volcano, but naturally that was easier said than done. Getting to Irazu (our destination a couple of weeks ago) at a reasonable hour was easy, but Poás is on the opposite side of the city and north. For this, we had to leave before morning traffic started. We resolved to get up in time to leave by six, when our hosts would be up to head to the gym anyhow. After a fortifying espresso or five, we were on the road and heading for the volcano. As expected, getting to Alajuela at that hour was a breeze. San Jose can be a tricky city to transit, but the GPS had no problem at all. It was only once we got into the foothills that it started to stumble. First, it didn't know that the road was paved. Well, "progress!" we thought. Unfortunately, we should have taken that as a sign. Soon the road wasn't paved... then we started to lament our lack of ground clearance and four wheel drive! Long story short, when we decided to go back and follow the bulk of traffic. After that, our going became much easier.

On the way up the mountains, I saw a blue-crowned motmot (which Ticos call "bobo" because they're so dumb). We stopped to get a better look, but as soon as we were in pocket-camera-range, he flew off. Shortly thereafter we passed a pair of men loading an ox cart with grass by the side of the road. We couldn't figure out why he was doing it, but he looked very authentic.

After a few more wrong turns, we wound up at the park. We were greeted by a very nice ranger who told us it would be about $20 to get in, and that there was little point since it was so foggy that we'd hardly be able to see anything. Oops! With that recommendation, we said, "Thanks, but no thanks!" and headed back down the way we came. We had to stop to get some photos with the giant-leaved, spiky plants growing by the side of the road. Each leaf was bigger than I was! It must be a cloud forest thing.

You may have heard about the devastating earthquake that Costa Rica suffered in January. Poás is right in the heart of the region. We got out to check out a couple of the places where the evidence lingered. There were many homes that were completely isolated after the roads serving them were washed out. Phil almost fell through the cracks in the road! Still, the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. It reminded me a lot of the mountains around Santa Cruz (only with different trees). Unfortunately, further troubles await this region when the rainy season comes.

Also, on the way down the hill, we finally figured out what the guys with the ox cart were doing. We saw them happily posing for photos with several gringos. Nice work if you can get it!

After Poás, Alex and Adri were most insistent that we visit Sarchí, near Grecia. This meant going back toward the main road and continuing a bit further west, past Grecia. We were amazed at how each city seemed to have an industry that it specialized in. For instance, Grecia must have had at least two dozen used car dealerships, each looking exactly like the one before. It makes you wonder how anyone chooses between them, not to mention why everyone decided that Grecia would be the place to go for a car.

Sarchí is famed for their wooden handicrafts, especially furniture and hand-painted carretas or ox carts. They also seem to have a special penchant for fleecing tourists, but then, we weren't in the market to buy anything anyhow. We did spend an hour or so wandering around. There was a man painting chairs that mom would have loved, all orange and red and green and yellow. Some of furniture was quite remarkable in its craftsmanship. The world's largest ox cart was really big!

Somehow, we made it back to Curridabat in time for lunch. After recovering from the most delicious yuca fries we'd ever tasted, we headed out with the GPS to help us find all of our favorite places for provisioning. This proved especially amusing when our navigator suggested we take a little road that ended in a flight of cement stairs. Oops! (another opportunity for four wheel drive and high ground clearance?)

We got done in time for a quick nap before the Regatta Round-up at Hooters in Escazú. It was hard to keep my eyes open by the end, but we had a great time chatting with all of our fellow sailors. It was a fabulous end to a very full day. Now we get to look forward to our "Revenge Regatta" with Batsú and Estancia this weekend. Wayne even said he and Ruby would help crew for us!