Catarata del Toro, Zarcero and Sarchi

Catarata del Toro, Zarcero and Sarchi

Day 17 - December 29, 2012

We got up early this morning to head out to see Poas Volcano, but alas it was too cloudy on the mountain.  Instead we headed for Catarata del Toro in the mountains of Bajos del Toro Amarillo with Richard, our host and Michael and Victoria our apartment neighbors.   We drove for close to an hour through the mountains and forest.  The road was perched on the edge of many steep drop offs.  We passed several mud slides that had covered the road during the past year.  We stopped for coffee and pastries at a small restaurant in the mountains.  After coffee it was a short drive to Catarata del Toro.  We were the only visitors.  It is a small, privately owned preserve that is not open every day to preserve its natural aspects.  While getting ready to go see the falls, we were treated to the sight of lots of hummingbirds.  Some were very big.  Our first sight of the falls was spectacular.  The water drops 300 feet into an extinct volcano crater. 

We worked our way around the crater on a beautiful nature trail through the rain forest.  The trees and flowers were spectacular.  The trees are covered in all kinds of bromeliads.

I think these flowers look like flamingos.

 

Then we headed down 377 winding, slick steps to the bottom of the waterfall. 

Eric the Explorer

We made it to the bottom!

These plants with the huge leaves are everywhere.  They are called "poor man's umbrellas" and the farmers around here actually use them for umbrellas. 

After enjoying the view from the bottom, it was time to head back up the mountain.  It was a long, hard climb back up in very muggy, steamy conditions.  We were glad that we had been exercising every day.  We stopped and looked at some of the huge rainforest trees on the way back. 

After we made it back to the top, we enjoyed a well deserved break in the lodge. 

After leaving, Catarata del Toro we headed out on a dirt road through a biological preserve.  We passed a couple of groups of bird watchers.  After leaving the biological preserve area, we drove quite a ways through an area referred to as the "Switzerland of Costa Rica".  It was beautiful alpine meadows covered with small farms and dairy cows. Calla lillies were growing wild all along the roads. 

We drove down into Zarcero a town famous for the sculpted bushes in its park. 

We walked all through the park looking at all the different sculptures made from plants.

We even found a beautiful nativity scene complete with a clothes line full of baby clothes. 

The cathedral overlooking the park was beautifully painted on the inside and out. 

Notice the lifesize nativity figures around the altar.  They were just gorgeous.  

After enjoying an ice cream treat in Zarcero, we headed back up into the mountains.  We stopped at a restaurant for lunch called El Mirador.  It was built out over the side of the mountain overlooking the whole central valley.  It was a great place for lunch.  I had fish and fried plantains and Eric had chicken with mushroom sauce.  Both were fantastic. 

Our final stop was in the town of Sarchi which is very close to where we are staying.  Sarchi is famous for its woodworkers and its painted carts.  We stopped at a souvenir factory outside of town.  We got a couple of carved wooden boxes and a Costa Rican coffee maker. 

Yes, that is a coffee maker not a sock dryer.  A cup goes under the sock.   Richard told us to get an extra sock so we could try it out.  It works similar to our Chemex coffee system and is supposed to make the best coffee. 

We stopped at the central park and cathedral in Sarchi.  The cathedral is exceptionally beautiful. 

Since Sarchi is famous for woodcarving, the interior of the cathedral was covered in beautiful wood carvings depicting the life of Jesus. 

Our last stop was the park in Sarchi which had a huge painted cart in the center. 

As late as the 1960's, the oxcart was the primary mode of transport through the mountains.  Around 1910, ticos started decorating their cart wheels.  Each district in Costa Rica had their own unique design and locals could tell where each cart came from.