We visited Poás Volcano today and had a wonderful day . The weather was clear, albeit a bit chilly, but that's to be expected at 8100+ ft. Being Holy Week here, traffic was extremely light (except at the end of the multilane highway heading out of town where it narrows down to one lane; everyone was trying to get to the beach!). Jordan was in a really fun mood and there weren't too many people there when we arrived.
The main crater is about 1 mile in diameter and the pool inside about 1500 feet in diameter. The water in the pool averages 105 degrees Fahrenheit because it's heated from below. There is a constant sound of steam escaping through the water, forming the clouds you see right above the pool and a constant smell of sulphur in the air.
Beside the main crater, there are a couple of paths to stroll along. We took one to another laguna that is in an extinct crater, Laguna Botos. This one isn't heated, though, and only averages about 60-65 degrees in temperature.
Also of interest is that this whole area is a dwarf cloud forest that is a product of acidic air and freezing temperatures.
You may recall that the Poás area is where the earthquake was centered that damages a large number of homes and killed a number of people. On the drive to the volcano, a lot of the damage is still visible, including one destroyed house that's perched on a the ledge formed when the land below it slide away.
The photo above is a panorama of several photos that I "stitched" together using software. Other photos can be seen in the slideshow on the right.
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