World Class Travel & Tours

Costa Rica Central Region

Poas Volcano, Botos Lake, La Paz Waterfalls, & white water rafting.

Grecia, Sarchi, Zarcero, oxcarts, topiary, & butterflies.

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Special Photo Tour

Please contact us if you are interested in a special photo tour of Costa Rica with workshops and instruction in the field with an emphasis on digital photography.

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Poas Volcano

In the central region of Costa Rica near San Jose there are a number of interesting things to see and do. One morning we went to the Poas Volcano National Park. To get there you travel through coffee fields with colorful beans.  The volcano reaches a height of about 8,600 feet (2.62 kilometers).  From the parking lot you can walk to the crater of the volcano, which is one of the world's largest being more than a mile wide (1.6 kilometers).  The crater is pictured above. The volcano is active, and geysers can be seen in the crater.  There is a nice short walk through the woods to an older crater that is now the attractive Botos Lake.  In the park you will find the Puas Plant. The best time to see the Poas Volcano is usually early in the morning, since it is often lost in clouds.  It can be cold at the high elevation, so it is best to take a jacket or sweater.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens

Not far from the Poas Volcano are the La Paz Water Fall Gardens.  Within a cloud forest are five splendid water falls connected by trails.  Viewing platforms are provided for observing the water falls.  To appreciate the size if you look closely in the picture of the water fall above you will see two people not far from the bottom of the fall. On the way to the falls you will come to a very large and impressive enclosed butterfly garden.  Even without the falls the butterfly garden is worth the trip to La Paz.  Many beautiful butterflies can be seen and photographed.  There is also a fascinating exhibit showing the birth of butterflies.  In the hummingbird garden you can see many gorgeous hummingbirds at feeders.

Coffee & bananas

The climate in Costa Rica is very favorable for growing coffee and bananas, and you can see lots of fields of these agriculture products there. The quality is very good leading to large exports to North America and Europe.

Grecia, Sarchi, & Zarcero

Not far from the Poas Volcano National Park are the interesting towns of Grecia, Sarchi, and Zarcero. In Grecia is the Church of Mercy, which is a very unusual church having been made out of steel.  The church was built with steel parts brought from Belgium in the late eighteen hundreds.  In the picture above you can see weld joints.  It was decided to build the church out of metal because it was thought that such a structure would have a better chance of surviving earthquakes than the commonly used construction techniques.

In Sarchi you can buy beautifully decorated miniature oxcarts, which are made there.  Before mechanized transportation was available oxcarts were used to haul goods such as coffee beans.  Oxcarts are sometimes seen even today, and we did encounter a farmer with one being pulled by oxen. There are also a number of shops in Sarchi where you can buy souvenirs, including some carved out of wood.

In front of a church in the town of Zarcero is some amazing topiary.  The plants have been cut in the shape of people, animals, and other things.  Traveling throughout this region, and Costa Rica in general, you see one gorgeous landscape after another.  You will want to take lots of pictures when you go there.

White-water rafting

For a totally different experience we went white-water rafting in the Reventazon River east of San Jose. We had never rafted before, and what at first appeared to be very scary turned out to be exciting and a lot of fun. Much credit goes to our guides. They teach you the techniques of how to paddle in the swift river currents. All you have to do is follow their instructions. You will likely want to do this again. You can get very wet, so it is necessary to protect your camera in a waterproof bag if you take it with you.

Photo of Sunny & Rebecca by an unknown photographer. Remaining photos by Sunny Breeding. We sell prints and images.

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