Nature immersion, Volcano Action, Culture
While some come to Volare for hard core action, others want to explore Costa Rica's culture and pristine nature. In the list below almost all are privately operated by a bilingual guide working with Volare.
Costs for these private activities depend on whose vehicle, number of guests, and activity.
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Volare Waterfall Walk 200 yards to Volare's small waterfall on the north edge of our property. The trail down to the waterfall reveals resident sloth and birds. Ask Yamilet to loan you a walking stick, because the trail is steep.
Guayabo Ruins National Monument, about 25 minutes from Volare, is Costa Rica's only pre-colombian ruins open to the public. The Guayabo people pre-dated the Aztecs and Mayans - the site was occupied from about 1000 BC (about same as the pharaohs of Egypt) until 1400 AD, before Columbus arrived. The people of Guayabo created a community with good roads, irrigation and fresh water supply for townspeople, and stone houses. The isolated location suggests the natives were hiding from ?other tribes? So little is known about these people, where they came from, why they left, who were their closest relatives. Guayabo has barely started excavation -- only about 10% of the area has been explored. But the petroglyphs show up all over the Turrialba Valley, in coffee fields and on river banks. Park closes at 3PM and there is an admission charge.
Aciares Waterfall If you can handle hiking on a unimproved trail, Aciares -- the little village with the orange roofed church you see below you -- has a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole with crystalline water. This is a certified organic coffee farm. We like to take the Labradors to swim here, too. Local people swim here on weekends.
Coffee Tour Coffee is the "gold" that built Central America. Below Volare is the largest organic coffee producer in Costa Rica. The tour guide explains the process from planting to harvest and then to the beneficio, the processing plant where the cherries are soaked peeled, skinned and dried. Coffee gets roasted after it arrives at the buyer's roasting house, hopefully within a few miles of where you will drink it.
Lankester Gardens - Orchids and More - 35 minutes away is Costa Rica's magical botanical gardens, now part of the University of Costa Rica. Lankester has more than 18,000 specimens and more than 1,000 orchid species, as well as species of over 400 tropical plants from around the world on the 15 acre site. As amazing as the orchids are the splendid bamboos, cacti, bromeliads and secondary rainforest. Admission is $6. Private driver/vehicle $80.
City Churches, Country Churches - within 45 minutes of Volare are several country churches and church ruins. To understand Costa Rica you need to understand the link between Catholicism and the country people. Most churches are open all day so go inside to see details of this spiritual relationship. The large cathedral in Cartago and inside the woodwork is astonishing, completely different from European or American cathedrals.
Farmer's market - the surrounding area is all about fresh fruits, vegetables and especially cheese. The daily market is in downtown Turrialba. You can buy everything from local vegetables and fruits to fresh fish caught 70 miles away in the Caribbean. The market is vibrant with local flavor, local people from the surrounding region. Private driver/vehicle $35.
Turrialba Volcano - right outside your window is one of the world's more active volcanoes. It's an old soul, rising to 12,000 feet above sea level, and the craters continue to produce steam and occasional ash. The drive up to the volcano is into a different climate and ecosystem, the cloud forest. Have lunch in Volcan Turrialba Lodge today, and enjoy the crisp air and be on the lookout for the Resplendent Quetzal -- one of the rarest of birds, but often seen right from the restaurant's windows. Private driver/4x4 vehicle $100. (We suggest having lunch in Volcan Turrialba Lodge, just beneath the volcano. The food is prepared over open firewood stoves, and the vista of the volcano changes as clouds roll in and out.)
Quetzal
Birding - Turrialba area is rich in both the highland (cloud forest) species, like the Quetzal, on the side of Turrialba Volcano, and the tropical lowland species, in the Pacuare Valley. We have just the right guide to take you for a day to ascend the volcano and then descend, to immerse yourself in real wild jungle. Get there in 4x4, and explore on foot.
Caribbean Coast
A Day at the Beach 3½ hours from Volare are the Caribbean white beaches of Puerto Viejo. Caribbean beaches are softer, not as hot or windy as the Pacific coast, and a lot more eclectic in foods, beach styles, lodging. This is undoubtedly our favorite place to see nature, too, with local guide Tino. Tino develops the drama of the jungle even as you are enchanted by the flavors and smells he hands you as you walk along- leaves, flowers, mushrooms, bark.