La Paz

This weekend I experienced the paradise of Costa Rica. I promise pictures soon! On Saturday we took a group trip to a volcano near San Jose. After a half mile hike we arrived at the basin. We looked down into a crater of beautiful red rocks, and he center was spewing white smoke. It smelled like sulfur which of course reminded me of my summer in Yellowstone. Another half mile led us to a hidden lake that was a perfect blue, surrounded by dense green vegetation. It was absolutely beautiful. After a traditional lunch, we went to La Paz, a waterfall and garden area. We entered a bird house, and got to spend time walking around with the toucans, humming birds, parrots and all kinds of other birds. One of them landed on my friends arm. The humming birds flew around their feeders so quickly I felt like I was going to get hit in teh face. They just wizzed right by. There was then a butterfly house, and the butterflies were everywhere. They frequently landed on us and flew around our heads as we took pictures of their pristine blue. The waterfalls were absolutely breathtaking. We had to descend several hundred stairs to reach them, but the hike was worth it. There were 3 falls we saw, each about the height of Canyon Falls, but of various sizes. The river was actually pretty narrow for such immense falls. we were happy to see them, because the rumor had been that they were destroyed in the earth quake, but trust me, they are still spectacular.

Sunday we went to Punrarenas, a local beach that is an hour and a half bus ride from San Jose. The sand is black, and it is not the best beach (it is the beach the ticos go to) but the view of the mountains against the water was beautiful. The water was nice and warm, and while the beach was on the Pacific it is in a cove so it was really calm. There was a triathalon finishing right on the beach, which provided some great entertainment.

Off to write 3 papers (one of them in Spanish :))