We first climbed through a cloud forest to see the crater of the Poas Volcano. The steam comes from fumaroles, showing that there is still some activity going on. I will spare you the signs showing evacuation routes in case of a volcanic eruption. The most amazing part was our spectacular view. Apparently, it is common to get to the top and find it completely clouded over.
A cloud forest is a kind of tropical forest that gets a lot of moisture from clouds, and it has its own particular flora and fauna. The canopy cuts out a lot of light from the understory.
Our afternoon was spent at La Paz Waterfall gardens which had a variety of pavilions such an aviary, a butterfly building, hummingbird gardens, and, of course, some waterfalls.
In the aviary, many of the birds were seized as illegal exotic pets, but couldn't be released back into the wild. I met a couple of Black Mandible Toucans that way.
The butterfly house was magnificent and fascinating, filled with many many species, big and small. I'm sorry about the repetition of the model, but this picture shows the two butterflies that immediately landed on my hat just as I entered.
The hummingbird garden was actually a beautiful open area with hummingbird feeders throughout. All we had to do was hang out near a feeder and wait for birds to arrive. Apparently there are 26 species that frequent this joint.
Here is a Violet Sabrewing Male on the left and a Coppery-Headed Emerald Male on the right.
This is the first holiday that we have taken where by mid-day we were saying, "If this was all we got to experience, it was worth the trip." Rainforest tomorrow!
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