This morning was an early morning as we had an Irazu Volcano and Cartago City by Train tour via Airbnb Experiences with Alejandro. Now I didn’t check the weather before packing like I usually do I just assumed it would be hot here. I do remember however that he advised to bring a lite jacket as it tends to get cold up on the volcano. I had my jacket but my outfit could’ve been better for the occasion but I went with it and survived.

We needed to meet Alejandro at Cartago Station by 8am but in order to get there we’d have to take a train at the Atlantic Railway station. That train would take about 40-45 mins to get to Cartago station. We called a Didi around 5:30am and once at the station got on the train as it was already there around 6am. I knew we would arrive early to Cartago because we were aiming to catch the 6:30am train. We were able to pay on board and went about 7 stops until we got to our destination.

Once there we had a little over an hour to kill so we found a bench by the bus station and ate our prepared breakfast sandwiches (my mom made them last night). We also had a bag of snacks with water just in case we got hungry while out. We ran into Alejandro shortly after 8am and he took us to a nearby bakery where we sat and chatted while waiting for the bus to take us to Irazu Volcano. There I had a really good hot chocolate while getting to know Alejandro. Alejandro informed us that he teaches at the University twice a week and does the volcano tour fulltime.

We got on the bus I believe sometime around 9am maybe and up along the way it would stop and drop-off and pickup people. As we went up to the volcano we watched to see how high up we were going (the volcano peak is 3400 meters above elevation). Along the way we saw farmer, cows and a horse. The ride going up took about an hour and 20 minutes.

Once there it was chilly like 50°F and the wind was blowing with some light rain. It was very foggy so at times you couldn’t quite see how high you actually were until it cleared (if it did). We began at the base and walked up. Along the way we saw birds and some beautiful flowers. We paced ourselves with the incline and still managed to make it to the peak in about 22 minutes.

When we first got to the top it was really foggy and you couldn’t even see the huge tower that was further in front of us until the fog passed by. Over the fenced off area all you saw was a puffy white until it cleared and you could see the crater and dip downward. Alejandro said on a nice day you can see other provinces from our viewpoint. Thankfully there were moments where we were able to get better pictures as the fog passed.

As we were heading back down the volcano we saw a group coming up (some of them looked like they were barely making it and we assured them they were close. Going back down was quicker as we were back down in 16 minutes. I went to see some of the craters with Alejandro in the National Park while my mom took a break and sat down. The Irazu Volcano means the mountains of tremors and thunder.

Seeing the craters and how deep some of them were just puts the earth’s and nature’s  phenomenon into perspective. It looked as though a group of kids were there having fun on the surface crater. Back near the front of the park we met back up with my mom and visited the cafe/store that was there. We got a corn tortilla with sour cream and I got a cafe con leche along with some souvenirs. The seating area of the cafe was cute and decorated with photo opportunities which we took advantage of so we hung out there for a bit.

We got back on the bus at 12:10pm and headed back down to the city at 12:15pm. On the way down I think everyone slept (myself included). Back down in the city where the sun was now shining and it was warm, we got off near the Basilica de Los Angeles which has a story. A peasant girl discovered this statue of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus and took it with her but it however kept disappearing and ending up back at the site in which it was found which happened to be where the church is located. This continued to happen until it was determined it should stay there where it was found.

Alejandro told us on August 2nd is Costa Rica’s celebration of the patron Saint where people will walk from all over Costa Rica just to arrive at the Basilica de Los Angeles and thank the patron saint, maybe leave an offering, gather some holy water and then return from whence they came. It is expected to be a well attended event which will affect street closures and traffic. I took some Holy Water and filled my water bottle up and drank it while saying a nice prayer.

We walked by the Plaza de Mayor of Cartago which looked similar to the one in San Jose. Alejandro walked with us to the bus station as the train operates on certain hours during the weekday and not on the weekend at all. My mom and I thanked him and relaxed during the 45 minute bus ride into town. Since we were near the Central Market area we decided to grab dinner while out.

We went to an authentic Costa Rican restaurant Nuestra Tierra and it was ok (I was a little underwhelmed even though the plating looked amazing). With leftovers in hand and it now raining we called a Didi to go to the Airbnb (which took forever thank to traffic by the Central Market area). Arriving back around 6pm we had been gone more than 12 hours. After washing up we watched 2 movies and ate leftovers from the restaurant. Our day tomorrow isn’t so busy and we can sleep in longer than we were able to today (and I know we’re both tired).

Hiking up the volcano