Travel Journal 4
                                                                     Lake Botos

At Volcan Poas, we first ventured up the steep incline of the volcano. A few of us had foot races up the moutain to see who would reach the summit first. Our first scenic stop was the view of the crater, where we typically would be able to see both the Carribean and Pacific coast, but it was a little too cloudy. Standing at the top of the crater was like witnessing a meteorite crash that took place on  a mountain. From the crater came a fog of smoke, which signified that the volcano was still active, and in the middle of the crater was also a sulfuric lake. We took plentiful pictures of the scene and took note on how we could see the cuidad de Sala to our left. After the crater, we ventured up the volcano to reach the most beautiful lake I have ever seen. Lago Botos was its name, and it glimmered in the sunlight and was clear as the sky. A part of me wanted more than anything to jump in the lake had it been open to the public. The lush vegetation accomodating the lake made it appear like an oasis as it shimmered in the sunlight. We completed the Lago Botos round trip by venturing carefully back down the mountain with Mario as our guide to point out the unique and diverse vegetation. What really surprised me about the volcano was how the sulfuric lake and especially Lake Botos looked so inviting to swim in but was truly acidic and dangerous. The grand view from the crater was hard to comprehend as well as I looked down to the clouds and searched for the pacific and carribean coast of Costa Rica. I was particularly surprised by the actual existence of Lake Botos too as it formed as a water deposit coming from a landslide. I was most just shocked to see such a captivatingly beautiful body of water on the summit of a volcano. The excursion impacted me by demonstrating that volcanos are much more than a mountain that erupts lava every once in a while. I learned that there were three different types of volcanos, dormant, active, and extinct, and Volcano Poas was an active one. The summit itself is also a keystone in Costa Rican culture since you can see both the carribean and pacific side from the peak. The national park of the Volcan Poas is something that Costa Rica should be very proud of as it represents an outlet for locals and tourists to explore nature´s wonders. The excursion was included in the program so we would develope a well rounded opinion on volcanos having visited both Irazu and Poas. Our volcano adventures were not only meant to be an extremely exciting part of the trip, but they also showed us the very diverse and impressive terrain that Costa Rica has to offer.