February 26, 2011 – Cloud Walking

Today was our first guided tour which Jackie arranged on our first morning in San Jose. Gray Lines has a desk in the Holiday Inn offering a range of tours throughout the country. We chose the trip that include a drive up to Volcan Poas (8,500 ft. elevation), then a tour of the Doka coffee plantation, finishing off at an artists’ colony. An 8 hour tour. The small bus arrived about 8:45 and our guide, Donald was excellent in English and Spanish explanations of the towns and villages we were passing through and some of the culture of Costa Rica. We passed through Middle Class areas, very poor villages, rolling hills of coffee plants, which then gave way to the Fern farms higher up the mountain. The clouds started getting denser as we rose into the pine section of the mountain climb, until we were immersed in the clouds at about 6,000 ft. where dairy farming was the principle trade. The final 2,000 ft. climb was very steep and the clouds we were in held rain mist and we finally entered the park. Donald gave us the history of the Poas Volcano, and while it is considered active, it does not spew lava or steam. There is a crater, however, which is fed by the rain and due to the sulfur level within the crater, sulfuric acid is formed to the concentration of 95%. Due to the dense clouds we are in, viewing the crater will probably not be possible, but we can go to the rim, which is a 15 minute walk up yet another hill. The walk up meanders through a cloud jungle of tropical plants and flowers, the size of which were mammoth in most cases. There was a low lying plant with leaves about 5’ wide, called the poor man’s umbrella. Moss-lined trees and vibrantly colored flowering bushes pressed in on us until we finally reached the rim. The first thing that attacks your senses when you get to the clearing is the intense sulfur smell emanating from the crater. As expected, the clouds had descended into the crater and you could only see about 25’ in front of you. We decided to take a side trail that went deeper into the forest and wound around to the parking area where we were to meet our bus. Again, the density of the forest was amazing. While the trees do not grow very tall, what they lack in height they gain in volume. The walk was a bit more brisk than an easy stroll in the park, with a fair ascent into the woods before heading downward to the bus. The next stop was the Doka coffee plantation, about 45 minutes down the mountain. The road to the plantation was typical Costa Rica, with ruts, single lane bridges, unpaved, and bottom scraping for the bus, but we made it safely. Donald took us through the coffee plant from seedling through its 15-year-old life expectancy. The berries had already been picked for the season and the plants were getting ready to flower for the next generation of berries. Inside of the red berry are two seeds under the pulp, and these seeds are wrapped in parchment, which is eventually removed to create the dried bean, ready for roasting. The Doka plantation is primarily geared towards selling the “gold”, unroasted beans to the mass roasters, but they do maintain a small roasting house where they package a private label selection of blends. After some tasting of the brewed product, we went to lunch at the little buffet at the plantation before heading down the mountain for a quick stop at a souvenir shop and then onto the artists’ colony of Sarni where ornate woodworking is performed. We went into the cooperative to view their finished product, which included everything from simple toys to ornate furniture, all handcrafted. Finally it was time to head the rest of the way down the mountain to the Holiday Inn for our last evening in Paradise.

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