La Paz Waterfall Gardens

We spent most of a day at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens about 1.5 hours from San Jose and loved it. We hired a very knowledgeable guide, Raphael, had an early lunch and then started on our hike through the property. First we visited the bird sanctuary, then the butterflies, monkeys, cats, reptiles, orchids followed by a hike down the canyon with 4 different waterfalls. There were so many things to see and the animals, all rescued from illegal ownership, were in natural environments and seemed very well cared for. Our grandchildren, aged 4 to 13 loved the place and so did we. At the end there is a shuttle bus that brings your back to the starting point.

La Paz is on the way to Volcano National Park although we
took a different route.

And as yesterday we saw lots of cows

At a stop to take a break the girls decorated
the barb wire fence with flowers!

Maya and myself pose at the La Paz Gardens restaurant

Josh & Michal cuddle

Father and son look alikes

There were endless stairs up and down the valley. You had to
be in good shape for this hike.

The flowers were lovely everywhere

Everyone got a chance to hold the
Toucan - here Maya,

A spectacle owl spies on us

There were a lot of Scarlet Macaws. These beautiful
birds live up to 75 years in captivity and mate for life!

The butterfly conservatory was amazing - huge with
thousands of butterflies that landed on us everywhere.

Maya shows off one lovely one

And Daniel gets a kiss!

Orchids are just so amazing

Shira has a twin leopard

But Uzi bonding with the mountain lion

This is the traditional oxen cart beautifully decorated. It's
in front of a hacienda built without nails like it would have
been a hundred years ago.

Cookie pumps some water

Shira with a green pepper and our guide Raphael inside
the hacienda

We sampled cinnamon rice milk and coconut corn
pudding - traditional treats

Posing at our first of four waterfalls.

These walkways and staircases were built hanging on to the
steep walls of the canyon where a series of waterfalls drop
down thousands of feet.

Our handsome oldest son Josh

Looking up at the misty hills dense with vegetation

Uzi and Michal stand in the spray of another waterfall

Shira looking adorable, as usual

The waterfall looks smaller here but it is actually much taller. It's the perspective.