Volcan Irazu

After every six weeks of school we have planned a week off to rest our brains. Our first week off we spent doing various fun things. Monday we went swimming at a local pool, Tuesday we visited Volcan Irazu and Wednesday through Friday we went to the beach on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.

To get to Volcan Irazu we drove 2 1/2 hours through beautiful countryside with spectacular views of valleys and lush green farmland. We arrived to the volcano at 9 am and already the clouds had rolled in. Had there been no cloud cover it would have been possible to see both the Pacific and Caribbean. Next time we'll have to visit in the dry season so we can see the views from over 11,ooo feet!

We were glad to have warm clothes as it was in the low 50's with a misty rain. It felt like a normal day on the Oregon coast, complete with sand for the kids to play in!









We met some creatures like the pesky Pezote (Caoti in English) who followed us after we fed him some crackers. He even tried to climb the leg of our friend Bernal who had joined us for the trip. We saw various birds, including brilliant blue and green hummingbirds.

Bernarl found unripened blackberries which we thought were raspberries. They were pretty sour! I was impressed with the size of the plants near the volcano. One leaf was bigger than Laura.

Tanner wanted to be carried the whole time and was quite unhappy that we wouldn't comply. He needed a nap. And lunch.

The kids and Bernarl all slept on the way home. I could have slept, but I didn't want to miss any of the incredible views!

Cindy