Poas Volcano

Today ended up being more than I imagined. I drove to San Jose yesterday thinking I would be able to pick up my truck that I had shipped from the US. It is not ready so I thought I would drive up to the Poas Volcano which is 1/2 hour or so from San Jose where I was staying and thought I would spend the night on the mountain overlooking San Jose.

As I was driving up the mountain there were several road blocks due to utility trucks working on electrical wires. I kept driving and then I saw some very big cracks in the road which was carved high into a cliff which I was driving on. I stopped the car and got out and took some pictures as they were fresh cracks and deep ones. (I then started hugging the other side of the road). Then I saw 30-50 people out in a field and thought they were having a festival or something.

I drove all the way to the top of the mountain and the main gate was closed but there were 2 guys and 1 gal on the other side of the gate. I mentioned to them that I can't get in but they could not get out. They said "No, we are here as a team studying the 6.2 earthquake that happened last Thursday" (right as I walked out of the San Jose airport I felt something-did not know what it was but people started screaming to get away from the glass windows). 2 were from Spain and one big guy was from New Mexico. They reminded me of guys from the movie "Dauntes Peak". I wanted to say COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE. But I did not. (you see there was a line ......).

I found some "cabanas" but the caretaker only spoke Spanish and I only speak Alabamian (and that is with a Kentucky accent). But I got his drift as the whole mountain was closed. As I came back down the mountain I took pictures of entire houses that had fallen in. And the festival was not a festival but a multiple funeral.

John