Day 5- Guanacaste: Rincon de la Vieja National Park

Nacazcol Hotel & Villas is set in a great location not only is it just thirty minutes from Liberia's international airport it is only 5 minutes from the beautiful Pacific coast. Near the beach there are plenty of shops for tourists to enjoy. The Nacazcol has two pools, a great bar, nice rooms and awesome service. The Nacazcol restaurant's menu is geared towards a typical American diet, including brick oven pizza, french fries, hamburgers and more. Before leaving Costa Rica every tourist should visit a National Park.  Rincon de la Vieja National Park located in Guanacaste houses secondary volcanic activity including craters of bubbling mud baths. The crater pools are mainly water but elements from within the Earth combine with the water when they reach the surface of the Earth. A tourist might be overwhelmed with the strong stinch of sulfur. Sulfur makes these pools acidity level around a PH of 3.4 and over 200 degrees F. This National Park provides great hiking trails and scenic views. Tourists can see animals native to dry forest and rainforest. Some common animals include spider monkeys, butterflies, lizards, and many species of birds. When reaching the furthest part of the trail tourists can witness three ecosystems at one time. Each forest has different vegetation therefore it creates layers of color with the cloud forest being the upper most layer. Rincon is also sustainably resourceful. A geothermal plant was implemented because of the volcanic activity underneath it. Pipes are constructed underground, naturally pressure and steam creates free energy. 


Kallie Sinkus Biology '12