My Trip to Costa Rica


I recently got to visit San Jose, Costa Rica with my foster mom, Bethany.  She had to go there for work, and I got to tag along.  While she was busy at work during the day, I got to hang out in the hotel room and get caught up on my napping.  Those long plane rides really take it out of you!  It was nearing the end of the rainy season while we were there, so most days were cloudy and rainy.  It was also very humid, so my fur got a bit frizzy.  I had some time to do some research while Bethany was at work to figure out how we should spend our weekend free time.

Tom reading the local catalogs

We decided to take a day trip to several interesting spots.  We started the morning at a coffee plantation called the Doka Estate.  It is located on the fertile slopes of the Alajuela Poas Volcano.  Doka Estate belongs to the Vargas Ruiz family, which has been growing coffee for over 70 years.  We started the day at their café, where we enjoyed a delicious local breakfast and got to sample some of their delicious coffee blends.
Tom samples coffee blends

We saw how they grow the coffee beans, pick the beans, dry the beans in the sun, and process the beans through a watermill.   I got to pose for a picture on a bench next to a traditional oxcart and some baskets used to pick the beans.
Tom by a traditional oxcart

Next, we journeyed to the Poas Volcano. The volcano is at an altitude of 8884 feet.  When you reach the summit, you can see very far. 

Tom at Poas Volcano

We lucked out and went on a relatively clear day, so we had some great views.  We were above some of the clouds, which was pretty neat!
Tom at the summit

There are two crater lakes near its summit.  The volcano is considered the largest active crater in the world (it's about 1 mile wide and 320 meters deep).  It has erupted 39 times since 1828; the last time it erupted was in 2006.  Near the volcano's active crater, there are lakes of molten sulfur, which have a beautiful turquoise color.  You can see one of the sulfur lakes behind me – luckily I didn't fall in! These lakes are thought to be the only examples of their kind in the world.
Tom posing by the crater lake

From the volcano we went to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens .  Here we got to see lots of different animals and plants.  We started in the bird observatory.  I was very excited to get up close and personal to all of those pretty birds!
Tom with toucan

They were some very big and colorful birds flying around.  I wanted to get a closer look, but they were pretty interested in me, too, so I decided to stay in my bag for most of the time!
Tom and a macaw

After we left the birds, we went to the monkey house.  I was pretty popular with the monkeys, too!  One of them really wanted to be my friend, and he came right up and said hello to me.
Tom and his monkey friend

We then headed to the final stop at La Paz , which is the gorgeous waterfall garden!  There are a total of five waterfalls that line the trail.  We got to walk around on platforms and stairs and got a great up close view of the beautiful waterfalls.  It was very wet, so I had to stay in my bag for this part, but my foster mom Bethany got some great views.  Here she is in front of one of the falls.
Bethany at the falls

I got to peek my head out at the very end, when we were in a drier section of the falls.
Tom in the bag at the falls

We finished our sight-seeing and Bethany finished her work, so we headed back to Denver.  I wanted to take one last picture at the airport, so here I am.  San Jose is in a large valley, with mountains to the east and to the west.  You can see some of the mountains in the background here at the airport.  I had a great time on my first international trip!  I can't wait to head out on our next adventure!
Tom at the San Jose Airport