Irazu Volcan and Cartago

Decided to visit the first volcano of my life. Hostel offered organized trips with other travelers with stops in some town and coffee farm for like 80$. I decided to go on my own in a local bus and make a stop on the way back in Cartago, a small local town that used to be the capital of Costa Rica in the past. Coffee farms are everywhere anyway. It was way more convenient both cost and time-wise.

Volcano was nice but the central crater lake has evaporated. Enjoyed the sights of fog and clouds moving, constantly present smell of acid and black volcanic rocks against the lush green forest on its outskirts. Met Diego there, a local interested in bird-watching who was there with full camera gear which size kinda scared me. Taught me a lot of things about birds, and we even saw some rare ones (don’t ask me for the names, please).

Stopped in Cartago for a lunch, loved the local market, tried like 5 new fruits, and enjoyed olla del carne which is unexpectedly tasty considering that it has all the veggies you can think of and a random large chunk of meat.

Saw Grinch escaping on the bicycle and causing mild traffic jam. Already at that point was falling in love with Costa Rica.Read more