All roads lead to Rome (aka Canberra)

Today our adventure comes to an end, as we head home...just not together. Not wanting things to get boring, Tracey heads north to Dallas to eat ribs and stand on the Grassy Knoll (where JFK was shot) while Deb heads south, with Emergency Passport in hand but no US Visa, having to travel through Peru and Chile. This left Deb with a few extra hours in Costa Rica to squeeze a little more out of the trip. Having spent several days right at the base of the Arenal Volcano (see earlier post), but not once actually seeing it due to clouds and rain, Deb took the opportunity to attempt another volcano siting, Poas. Hiking up to above the Poas crater, you never know if you'll actually see it, as the sulphuric acid gas spewing out of this volcano can fill the whole crater.

See the cloud behind Deb, that's acid gas which can become acid rain if it rains here (which is often) and we'd have to leave. Also, if the wind changes, we'd have to leave. The lake is boiling hot sulphuric acid. There is a time limit on the time you can spend here as the gas can make you pretty sick, not to mention the strong rotten egg stench that make you not want to stay too long (unless you have teenage boys in which case you're probably desensitised to that odour). Poas is Costa Rica's most active volcano, with minor eruptions happening regularly. It is one of the largest acid lakes in the world, and just a few months ago it spurt hot acid mud hundreds of metres into the air.

No Costa Rican experience would be complete without a visit to a coffee plantation. Given the long flights ahead, Deb filled up on as much coffee as she could drink while she heard tales of the life of coffee beans. They have an archaic machine that separates out the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The bag on the left is the good stuff, the crap on the right I'm pretty sure they turn into airline coffee. 

Meanwhile in Texas, Tracey heads out on her 10 hour transit in the less wild jungles of Dallas. It was suggested in the airline magazine that a good place to visit on transit was the Mustangs of Las Colinas. The article said to take the DART light rail to this particular stop, so far so good...except when you get to that stop there is no one in sight and it is in the middle of nowhere. Tracey eventually found a bus driver to ask, unfortunately they knew nothing about these mustangs. Eventually an hour of walking and asking later, these were found:

Then it was back on the light rail to the Dallas West End district which was also listed in the airline magazine. By coincidence the 6th Floor Museum was seen just near the West End stop, this is the building from which JFK was shot while passing the Grassy Knoll. The museum was interesting and you get to see the exact spot the gun was fired. You weren't allows to take photos inside but below is the window taken from the spot the motorcade passed exactly were JFK was assassinated. Tracey had to run onto the road while the traffic was stopped...more chance of being run over than shot. It is the window you can see the box sitting just inside. The second image is looking over the Grassy Knoll, the car would have been near the middle lamp post.

That's the end of our adventures, we hope. Surely we can't get into any more trouble with Tracey on her 16 hour flight out of Dallas, and Deb spending 10 hours wandering the Santiago airport before her long flight home. Surely.